Book Review:

An unbreakable bond forged in the bowels of a hell visited on two young boys, Val and Peter were kidnapped and held as sex slaves in a Turkish brothel.  Far from being a story that ‘relives’ those horrific experiences, this story attempts to give us a look into the bond between two very broken young men, on their way to a new life.

Val’s reaction to his past is hidden behind a brash arrogance, laced with a manipulative streak that keeps those around him either doing his bidding or waiting for his approval.  Peter hides his pain of not being brave enough, or feeling loved enough by his best friend, that he retreats in drugs, alcohol and cold, meaningless sex.

What a rollercoaster ride Pearce packed into this novella: neither character is completely ‘lovable’ in any sense of the word, but their bond, and their brokenness is both well-described and presented. I can’t begin to say that I ‘know’ either character well, but as a prequel to the series there is background information and interactions that will help in understanding them in the further instalments of the story.  Pearce managed to combine some serious steam, an awful start, and two very broken characters and come out with a ‘must read’ series for me.