ARC Review: The Parable of the Mustard Seed by Lisa Henry

From the blurb:

John Faimu is an Australian-Samoan police officer who deals with hurt kids every day. Caleb Fletcher was the teenager John saved from a cult eight long years ago, and he’s now the young man John wants in ways that neither of them should risk.

Eight years after his rescue, Caleb is still struggling with PTSD and self-harm. John has always been his rock, but now Caleb wants more. Can he convince John to cross a line and love him the way they both crave? And when the monsters from Caleb’s past come back seeking to silence him for good, will John’s love be enough to save him?

Heather's rating:





Angsty, angsty pain that hurts so good, Lisa Henry wrote a book that pulls no punches and was extremely hard to put down. The Parable of the Mustard Seed is a beautiful story that will stay with you for a long time.

Honestly, I wouldn't have thought that I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did. To start, it is extremely angsty with no easy fixes, which means that there is no "magic sex button" that makes all the pain go away. The pain is real, the trauma is real, and it's an ongoing issue throughout the story.

Also, I don't usually like stories where the love is already established. True, the dynamics of the relationship between the two MCs changes over the course of the story, but the love they have for each other is a constant in their relationship, no matter the form. I usually go for books that take us through first meeting to a slow-burn love story, but this wasn't that type of novel.



Also, there are a lot of flashbacks, which also doesn't usually work for me. I didn't mind it here, and it gave me a lot of insight to their characters.

I was awed and disturbed by this story. Parts were a bit hard to read, but I found it to be endlessly interesting and nearly impossible to put down. I read it straight through, practically all in one sitting. I loved the love that I felt between the two MCs, and I loved that we got a POC MC. There was a lot to love in this story.

If you are in the mood for an intense but rewarding read with a hard-fought HEA (yes, it's there, I promise), The Parable of the Mustard Seed is exactly what you are looking for.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Buy this book:

Amazon

Enjoy, my friends!