Recovering
addict Jamie Yorke has returned to England from California. With no
home or family to speak of, he sticks a pin in a map and finds a small
town in the Derbyshire Peak District. Matlock Bath is a quiet place—he
just needs to get there, keep his head down, and stay clean. Simple,
right? Until a chance meeting on the flight home alters the course of
his so-called life forever.
Ex-Army medic Marc Ramsey is recovering from life-changing combat injuries while pulling nights as a trauma specialist at the local hospital. Keeping busy is a habit he can’t quit, but when Jamie—so wild and beautiful—bursts into his life, working himself into the ground isn’t as compelling as it used to be.
Marc falls hard, but chaos lurks behind Jamie’s fragile facade. He’s winning his battle against addiction, but another old foe is slowly consuming him. Both men have weathered many storms, but the path to the peace they deserve might prove the roughest ride yet.
Ex-Army medic Marc Ramsey is recovering from life-changing combat injuries while pulling nights as a trauma specialist at the local hospital. Keeping busy is a habit he can’t quit, but when Jamie—so wild and beautiful—bursts into his life, working himself into the ground isn’t as compelling as it used to be.
Marc falls hard, but chaos lurks behind Jamie’s fragile facade. He’s winning his battle against addiction, but another old foe is slowly consuming him. Both men have weathered many storms, but the path to the peace they deserve might prove the roughest ride yet.
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What I thought about Soul to Keep
After a year of being clean from drug addiction, Jamie Yorke has had enough of California and returns to England. He's still struggling somewhat with his sobriety and other issues. When Marc Ramsey, a former combat doctor helps him during a turbulent flight, they both find they are attracted to each other. When Jamie runs into Marc later, he's both surprised and happy to reconnect, and so begins their journey.
Marc thinks Jamie is gorgeous and is interested in connecting with him, even though Jamie is upfront about his issues. They slowly become friends and venture into something more, but it's a hard ride for Jamie.
I really liked both of these characters, and I think that is why this book has such an impact on me. I don't know if it was just me, but I found Soul to Keep left me feeling depressed and sad for Jamie in a way that I have not felt when reading similar stories of recovery. I suppose it's a testiment to Garrett Leigh's writing that I felt so much while reading this book, but unfortunately, it just didn't leave me in a good place at all.
There is a happy for now in this story, and I did like that Marc and Jamie fill the loneliness they both feel. Marc's character was fabulous and very sensitive to Jamie and what he was going through. I did find the story leaned more toward Jamie's story than Marc's and I wanted to know more about him and why he was drawn to Jamie.
I have very mixed feelings about Soul to Keep and I am struggling with how to rate it. On one hand, it's a very emotional story -- which I love. On the other hand -- it did leave me feeling depressed and unsettled, so I'm a bit on the fence here. Maybe it just wasn't for me, although it did make me want to read the first book in this series, Rented Heart, so I don't know! Soul to Keep did work for me as a standalone.
So I'm not entirely comfortable with recommending this title, but if you are looking for a mm romance dealing very realistically with addiction and OCD, then you may like this book.
An ARC was provided for review.
About the Author
Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer,
currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing,
and Fox Love Press.
Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.
Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.
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