The Son and His Hope
by Pepper Winters
Release Date: February 12th
The Son and His Hope, a sweeping standalone from New York Times Bestselling author Pepper Winters.
“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 sorrow 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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MY REVIEW - 5+ STARS
All I'm saying is like father, like son. Both of them smashed my heart to smithereens whilst making me fall totally and utterly in love with them
On paper, when you look at the basis of this story, it could so easily be one of those over emotional, angst-filled-for-the-sake-of-it, too-much-repetitive-back-and-forth books. Instead the amazing penmanship, world-building and character development of the author makes this a book that will stay with you a long time after you finish the last page. This book took me some time to read, both because it is long AND because sometimes I just couldn't see for the tears. If it made Pepper Winters half as emotional to write this, as it made me feel reading it, I'm surprised she ever managed to complete the book.
To experience the full impact of this story, the one that eviscerates your heart, you really need to have read The Ribbon Duet first. That way you will understand Jacob's family and why, even as a child, he was so broken by life. You will forgive that he makes you want to shake him until he listens, whilst at the same time your heart bleeds for his self-inflicted pain.
This book, like it's predecessor, made me cry so much I had to step away at times, just to gather the pieces of my shattered soul together and forge the strength to read some more. Like it's predecessor it will also stay with me in a way very few other books have. As will Jacob and Hope, who have carved a little space inside my heart and will rest there alongside Ren and Della.
If I was going to be critical I might say that the 17 year old Hope didn't feel 17, she felt much older.
However her back story had been crafted in such a way that it felt entirely possible that she would be more mature and eloquent than many girls of her age. Her whole life had been spent in the company of adults, with few interactions with other children.
I had no backbone but only because he's stolen it. Just like He'd stolen my lungs, my heart,
my soul. He'd stolen them so many years ago, yet he didn't want them. He'd never asked
for them or given his in return. And although I ached for a heart and begged for a soul
and wished for a backbone, I had no idea how to claim them back.
Oh and the push and pull between Jacob and Hope, the passion, the pain and the fury. It held me spellbound, it held me in the moment there with them. These two feel like so much more than words on paper, they are living, breathing, sweating, crying, loving people with such spirit that they must surely exist someplace somewhere.
Lace and a silver locket will now sit alongside blue ribbon as one of those images that triggers a thousand thoughts, feelings and memories. Despite the struggle and hard work of getting to the end of the story (both for the characters AND me) it was such a worthwhile journey in the end. It was so perfect even in all it's brokenness and pain.
I did my best to laugh when all I wanted to do was cry.
I'd lost.
I'd failed.
It was over.
I'm now going to have a long lie down in a very dark room whilst I recover.
Excerpt
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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 t
here 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.
with a certainty and calmness that made me fidget and bristle. Only now, a deeper element was t
here 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.
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?”
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.”
my arms, I raised my chin. “Walking it would take hours. It’s big.”
About Pepper:
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.
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