REVIEW + EXCERPT: The Son & His Hope by Pepper Winters
Title: The Son & His Hope
Author: Pepper Winters
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: February 12, 2019
"Things you should know about me from the very beginning: I was born to true love, witnessed the destruction it causes, and vowed never to let such agony happen to me. I am not a story-teller like my father. I am not a writer like my mother. I am just a son--their son. I am happy being alone. And that is all I ever want to be." JACOB The day he was born, Jacob learned his hardest and longest lesson. It wasn't a lesson a boy should learn so young, but from his earliest memories he knew where happiness lives, so does tragedy. Where love exists, so does heartbreak. And where hope resides, so does sorrow. That lesson carved him from the kid to the teen to the man. And nothing and no one could change his mind. HOPE I first met him when he was fourteen at a movie premiere of all places. A movie based on his parent's life. He was stoic, strong, suspicious, and secretive. I was only ten, but I felt something for him. A strange kind of heartbreak that made me want to hug and heal him. I was the daughter of the actor hired to play his father. We shared similarities. I recognised parts of him because they were parts of me. But no matter how many times we met. No matter how many times I tried. He stayed true to his vow to never fall.
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Rating ★★★★★★
Pepper Winters once again proves she’s a master at telling a beautiful story that takes your breath away. The Son and His Hope is full of emotions. While this can be read as a standalone, I do highly suggest that you read The Boy & His Ribbon and The Girl and Her Ren as it will make this story even more special. And yes I use the word special, because all three books have been truly special. The story telling is just perfection if you ask me. And within the first few pages I felt my chest tighten and the tears start to form. I knew that I would be in for an epic story, I knew that it would be angsty and I knew that I would become wrapped up in it. Jacob whom we first met in The Girl and her Ren, well we watch him grow up from a young boy to a young man. We see him close himself off from love, and it's heartbreaking. My heart literally ached for Jacob. And despite all the love he still has surrounding him, he manages to have that wall around him. Scared to open himself up and risk more heartbreak. Oh how I wanted to jump into this book and wrap my arms around this boy and the young man as he grew up and just tell him it was ok to let love in. Dayum just writing this review and thinking about him makes me feel all over again. Then there is Hope, she's blunt and feisty and so curious as a young girl. She pushes Jacob at every capacity and with each push I held my breath wondering when the wall would break or if it would break. She's determined, and eventually I worried for her as well, worried if she too would suffer heartbreak. At times throughout this book I literally held my breath, at times throughout this book I wasn't even sure I could take anymore because this book and the story at times, got overwhelming. It's tragic and hopeful. It's sad and happy. And it tells a tale of love in every single capacity. I'm not sure what more I can say about this story. It's just SPECIAL !!!! And it's a story I will never forget. It's also without a doubt going on my fav reads list of all 2019 even though it's still very early on in the year. The books preceding this just happened to be my top reads of 2018, and I'll be honest I was somewhat worried whether The Son and His Hope would live up to everything that The Ribbons Duet was. Thankfully it absolutely did and I absolutely suggest that you read these books.
It’d been a long time since I’d seen her, and this new woman in front of me didn’t compute with the waifish girl I’d done my best to scare off.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She blinked with eyes too hooded to be innocent. She spoke with a voice too rich and feminine to belong to the annoying Hope Jacinta Murphy.
My hands curled, fighting away sick appreciation. For years, I hadn’t bothered mingling with anyone other than family. Back when I’d attended school, the girls showed off their newly formed bodies and flaunted their sexual preference. Their obvious flirting turned me off rather than on. They all seemed so desperate to impress, so eager for a connection that would end up destroying them.
Hope, meanwhile, was none of those things.
She was shy beneath strength. Quiet beneath conversation. And when she’d hugged me?
God, she’d shown me pain had multiple levels.
A hug from family could sear and sting.
But a hug from her?
It drew blood.
“It isn’t safe to wander around this late on your own.” My hands balled, my voice thickened, and I did my best to keep my eyes on her face because there was no way I could look at her body. No way I could permit myself to see the change in her, the growth, the knowledge that she might drive me to rage and disturb my carefully perfected world, but she was the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
Soft but sharp. Trusting but careful. Fragile but brave.
All the things that drew out the best and worst in me. I wanted to be kind, so she was happy. I wanted to be cruel, so she’d leave.
I didn’t have the strength to fight both instincts or convince myself I was content with being alone. My phobia of getting close to anyone ordered me to back up and point at Mom’s house.
“Go back, Hope.”
She bit her lower lip, looking at where I pointed before capturing my stare again.
I didn’t stand a chance with the way she studied me. The same way she’d watched me as a child with a certainty and calmness that made me fidget and bristle. Only now, a deeper element was there too. A terrifying welcome. A petrifying invitation that had nothing to do with the years we’d danced around each other and everything to do with this new torturous existence.
“I don’t want to go back yet.” Her voice whispered through the grass, sounding part breeze, part shadow.
“What do you want?” My jaw clenched.
What the hell sort of question is that, and why did I ask it?
She cocked her head, hair tumbling, eyes searching. “To walk.” Taking a hesitant step toward me, she smiled softly. “Want to walk with me?”
“What I want is for you to get off my property.”
Her smile warmed instead of cooled. “Can I walk on it first? Then I’ll get off it.”
I couldn’t understand her. Was she joking with me? Teasing? Being plain exasperating?
Crossing my arms, I raised my chin. “Walking it would take hours. It’s big.”
While The Son and His Hope can be read as a standalone it is highly recommend you read The Ribbons Duet first.
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years.
Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.
Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pepperwintersbooks/ Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lLHxdG Twitter: @PepperWinters Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511645192400372/ Never miss an update! Sign up for Pepper’s newsletter today! http://www.subscribepage.com/www.pepperwinters.com https://pepperwinters.com
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