REVIEW: 'Junkyard Heart' by Garrett Leigh
Title: Junkyard Heart
Series: Porthkennack #7
Author: Garrett Leigh
Published: December 4, 2017
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Cover Artist: G.D. Leigh/Black Jazz Design
Genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance
Length: 195 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Bisexual; Comfort/Hurt; Family Drama; Standalone; HEA; CW: Alcoholism
About Junkyard Heart
Tired of the London rat race and the heartbreak that comes with it, photographer Jas Manning returns to Porthkennack, the Cornish seaside town where he spent every childhood summer on his father’s farm. Resigned to year-round rain, wind, and homemade jam, he’s sorely unprepared for the impact that artsy carpenter Kim Penrose has on his heart.
Kim’s free-loving reputation precedes him, and he’s as generous with his inked-up body as he is with his time. The sex is hot, the easy friendship even better, and Jas’s time with him building his family’s new farmhouse canteen is everything Jas was missing in his empty city life.
But Kim’s carefree existence isn’t as simple as it appears. He’s worked hard to vanquish his demons and build his dreams, but the devil on his shoulder is ruthless, and when it comes to call, their happy bubble bursts like it was never there at all. The canteen opening looms, but Kim is gone in more ways than one, and it’s down to Jas to shore up Kim’s soul and convince him that he deserves his place in Jas’s heart.
4 HEART READ
REVIEW:
Let me start by saying, “darn the 5-heart system. Because Garrett Leigh’s Junkyard Heart deserves 4.5 stars!” A beautiful edition in the Porthkennack series. Although standalone's don't miss all the collaborative stories brought to you by five award-winning, best-selling British LGBTQ romance authors.
Photographer Jas Manning’s mom and dad were swingers when he was conceived, and she raised him in London. After he learns his boyfriend has a wife, Jas escapes to Porthkennack, where his dad, step-mom and two half-brothers reside on a farm, and where he’d spent childhood summers. Hard drinking and bit of a rebel, himself, Jas has an understandably jaundiced view of relationships.
When Kim Penrose, who creates eco-friendly furniture, gives him a rocking one-nighter, Jas isn’t ready to admit it might mean more. Kim, sober less than 6 months, warns he’s a poor risk, a man who’s strained many friends’ goodwill. But the farm is preparing to open an eatery, and Jas’ brother asks him to see if Kim will design their furniture.
Can two men who feel broken look beyond their own pasts – and one another’s – to create a future? Kim entices Jas, suggesting, “‘A friend with benefits? ’Cause it seems like that’s all my junkyard heart is good for.’”
In this down-to-earth novel, sneaky memories skew two men’s vision of themselves and their relationships. Garrett Leigh gives them, and her readers the antidote, to disregard the past in favor of our present moment and the gifts it may present to us.
If some singers have perfect pitch for sound, authors can have a great ear for dialect. Junkyard Heart is a whole a cappella choir of soaring phrases, from every-day discussion to important conversations. For example, “‘Here, come and have a butcher’s at this.’” Or, “‘Where’ve you been? Thought you’d sloped off home.’”
Garrett Leigh must be great at puzzles. We only learn why Jas and Kim’s pasts cause their misperception's as needed. How can she keep track of all the small bits of history?
I felt off-base the entire book, the pieces not quite fitting in, until they did, creating a completely satisfying psychological drama.
I love Jas and Kim’s mixture of fragility and strength, each man attempting to take responsibility for himself, while getting in his own way. “‘There’s no magic pill for anything,’” Kim tells Jas. “‘You just have to find better ways of coping with reality.’”
Garrett Leigh looks at life with eyes opened wide, never glossing the tarnished, instead finding the shine underneath. The gentleness with which she treats Jas and Kim’s rough edges is almost a spiritual blessing. Junkyard Heart is a well-timed book for a season when spirits can get frayed.
A copy of Junkyard Heart was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Riptide Publishing, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
Meet 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. In 2017, she won the EPIC award in contemporary romance with her military novel, Between Ghosts, and the contemporary romance category in the Bisexual Book Awards with her novel What Remains.
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 is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess.
For more from Garrett be sure and visit her website!
