Book: Virtue Author: John Moot Genre: Romance, Fiction Pages: 235 (PDF) Publisher: Roads End Books LLC Publication Date: 4th August 2020 My Rating: 4/5 Stars
*Disclaimer: I was given a free advanced review copy (e-ARC) of John Moot's book 'Virtue' in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Kristen at Mindbuck Media for this opportunity, and also for providing me with the book cover image.
Virtue will be released on 4th August 2020 from Roads End Books, and will be sold in both paperback and ebook versions.
Synopsis
Hannah is sick of being a stay-at-home mom marooned in a rural college town, her teenage daughter, Madison, is the subject of anti-LBGT bullying, and her teenage son, Dillon, is failing at school and having run-ins with the law. Her husband Tom, a philosophy professor, once supported her plea for change—a return to Boston that would give their kids a fresh start and her the chance to finally finish her law degree—but now his life is unravelling as he struggles to fend off attacks on his career from the college president, reconcile with his estranged, cancer-stricken father and confront a dark, hidden past. (Synopsis provided by Mindbuck Media)
Review
Moot's book follows the lives of Tom and Hannah, husband and wife, who have one very difficult year. Hannah is eager to progress and is determined to go to law school in Boston, while Tom wishes to stay where they are until he finishes writing his book. Add their son Dillion, who has a little trouble sticking to the law, their daughter Madison who is coming to terms with her LGBTQ+ identity, and Tom's estranged father recently diagnosed with cancer into the mix, and that only complicates the situation further...
This book is a sweet little romance with a 'will they' 'won't they' situation, they both have their battles to face and must rely on each other to get through, but that's easier said than done. I thought this book handled some difficult issues very well, touching upon LGBTQ+ themes, estranged parent-son relationships and a cancer journey.
The characters were well written; plenty of emotion and personality shone through. Admittedly, I did prefer Hannah's side of the story as she was more relatable. Whereas, Tom was a little too focused on politics which unfortunately didn't interest me.
Moot's writing was also very good, with a dual narrative between Tom and Hannah, it allowed the reader to see both sides of the story and feel more involved. As previously mentioned, there are some hard-hitting themes, so as a trigger warning, this book does include mentions of drink driving, a cancer journey, estranged parents and also a suicide mention. There is also some strong language.
I'm glad to say that I did enjoy this book. It was a cute little romance that I quickly connected to, and I give this book a rating of four out of five stars. If you're looking for a romance novel, then this is definitely a sweet read, with some humour also.
Thank you again to both John Moot and Kristen at Mindbuck Media for giving me this opportunity. If you'd like to find out more about the author, click here. You can find 'Virtue' on Amazon and Goodreads.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with or endorsed by any links in this blog post. I will not receive anything if you buy this book or use the above links.
Take care, Sophie x
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