Review: An Enjoyable Debut
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 8, 2013
Out of the PastWith his debut novel Out of the Past, Jeffrey Ballam successfully pulls his reader into the wreckage of his protagonist's life and his slow assent to a chance at love. A teaching career spanning twenty-nine years and presently a teacher of language arts to sixth grade students, Ballam uses his experiences as a basis for this novel which proves to be a touching read.For the past two years Paul Vanderwall has been slowly picking up the pieces of his broken heart after his lover left him with no explanation or goodbye. Throwing himself into his teaching and spending time with friends as a way of avoiding the prospect of getting back into dating, Paul is blind-sided when he finds himself hopelessly attracted to Defense Attorney Javier Villalobo. As it turns out Javier is attracted to Paul and is looking toward a future together.Finding himself happy for the first time in years, Paul is taken aback when his ex Eric turns up out of the blue with the intention on rebuilding their broken relationship; an intention that leads to threats, and the possible death of one of them.Jeff Ballam writes with an emotion that can only be told from experience. He takes the reader from heart break to hope and has them rooting for the happiness of his protagonist. Ballam's character development is spot on giving life to each of the players, so-much-so that you can't help but make a connection. His storyline is well plotted out and flows easily, making the book an enjoyable read.In my opinion Jeff Ballam is an author to take note of. With another book presently in the works I expect Ballam will become a strong presence in the gay, specifically, the m/m genre.Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the author for an honest and unbiased review