Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Thank goodness I had a sixth sense about For the Love of Grace by Andy Blackman, because neither the cover or the blurb made me anticipate what was to come. I was quickly captured, wondering how Tom will unravel his complicated life and find a happy ending.

Tom grew up poor and hungry, with a thirst for knowledge that was aided by a photographic memory. He is a gentle, loving boy, devoted to his mother, until…

His entire life changed in the blink of an eye. Circumstances beyond our control can cause our lives to take a turn we never could have anticipated and this is just what happened to Tom.

I feel so much sympathy for Grace, his mother, that deserves sainthood in my book. She is a selfless, loving person, giving to others just because of their need. How much pain is such a wonderful person supposed to endure? I feel *** is not doing right by her.

I am halfway in and my heart is breaking for Tom. He is a good guy caught up in bad situations through no fault of his own, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Life deals him some bad breaks, but this 30 minutes was the worst of his life and nothing would stop him from exacting his revenge. And I am with him! I want to pick up a gun and hunt them down like the brutal savages they are.

I love when a man is bad and good at the same time. Know what I mean? Where do you draw the line? I sympathize with Tom, I feel his pain through Andy Blackman’s words. Andy does a fantastic job of taking me sky high only to drop me, splatting my feelings all over the ground.

I knew from the beginning that something really bad, tragic, would have to happen to take him down the road of an assassin and I kept waiting for it to happen. The suspense never let me rest. The writing created a sense of impending doom.

The peripheral characters are not written just for support. They all play an important part in his life, whether they are his friends or on the receiving end of his wrath, but this is Tom’s story.

I don’t know why I didn’t see the ending coming. I should have seen it. I guess I was so wrapped up in Tom, that I really didn’t want it to end, because I just could not find a way for it to end the way I wanted.

My only complaint…the book is too short. I would have loved to be with Tom through his training to become such a proficient killer. I would have loved a few other parts of the story to be fleshed out more, giving me more details. Maybe this is just because I didn’t want the story to end. BUT…it doesn’t.

I definitely want to check out Book II, The Second Son!!!!

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of For The Love of Grace from Andy Blackman.

  4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB:  Grace Backer had a life full of tragedy. But despite everything, she raised her son, Tom, with her secret intact. Tom is a prodigal child, destined to escape the slums of the East End of London for a better life; circumstances will make him flee his loving mother and their home much sooner than expected.

Tom starts a new life in Odessa, Russia, and with the help of new-found friends starts a business. At last, he is finally accepted into a new and loving family, but one which holds its own dark secrets. A chance meeting with the son of a duke of the realm leads to close friendship and a new business partnership. When Tom decides to move his company to London and have his regal new friend run it, the firm thrives. However, not everything is as it seems, and Tom’s business soon conceals dangerous secrets of its own.

Years later, when Tom finally decides to return to London, he is a wanted man, one hunted by the intelligence agencies. If he is finally to be reunited with his beloved mother and his best friend, he must fight to put the past behind him. But keeping secrets is never easy.