The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Suzy K. Quinn - #bookreview #blogtour

 

I've always hated school playgrounds. They are noisy, terrifying places whre lunchbox items, such as unwanted sandwiches or empty Ribena cartons, can fly at you from all angles. Sometimes, even whole lunchboxes come your way.

As I crossed the Great Oakley Primary School playground this morning, my hands were already positioned to protect my face. Everywhere was chaos. To my left, two boys engaged in an angry ballet spin, apparently trying to tear each other's shirts off. To my right, a group of children attempted a dangerous cheerleading pyramid, shrieking as they tumbled onto the hard tarmac.

Chaos...

***

Michael Lamb is not a manly man. So when he has to research tough, nine-year-old Callum Duffy for university research, he has certain, negative expectations.

Young Callum is the epitome of boy culture with his football boots, shaved head and love of chair kicking. So Michael fully expects his research to revolve around violence, aggression and toxic masculinity in low-income families.

Little does Michael know, he is about to hear a love story. The greatest love story ever told. And when Michael sees the world through Callum's eyes, he finally learns what real, courageous love is all about.

***

O my! This is a wonderful book. If I had not been reading to a deadline for this blog tour, I would have slowed down my reading so that I did not have to finish it so quickly. I would have loved to have kept reading this just a little bit longer.

It is a life affirming and very touching story about the relationship between Michael, a university researcher, and Callum, a nine year old school boy whom Michael expects will fulfil his preconceived ideas about toxic masculinity in lower income families. 

Whilst, on the face of it, the story is about Callum's relationship with a girl called Angel Rain, the connection which develops between Michael and Callum was something very special to read. In fact, this was one of those books which I kept thinking about when life made me put down my book and get on with other things. 

Not only were Michael and Callum fantastic but the secondary characters were equally enthralling. Callum's family, in particular, were well drawn and I loved each and every one of them.

The book is both humourous and poignant. The author is a skilled storyteller and this was well written. Whilst there are points of sadness, it was not depressing and the book left me with a feeling of hope and optimism.

At the end of the book, the author explains that she self-published this novel after several rejections from mainstream publishers. I was really shocked by this as it is such a super book and is well worth reading, and will easily make it into my top reads of the year.

I am delighted to learn that Callum's family feature in other publications by this author. The Bad Mother's Series follow Callum's aunt Juliette as she manoeuvres her way through single parenthood. If this book is anything to judge by I cannot wait to get started on this series.

ISBN: 978 1999866358

Publisher:  Devoted Books Ltd

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  372 (paperback)

About the Author:

Suzy K Quinn writes edgy romantic comedy and has sold over 1 million books worldwide. She is a bestseller in the UK, US and Germany and has plans for total world domination with literary love bombs in the near future. So watch this space. Then go read one of her books.

Suzy lives in Wivenhoe, Essex, with her husband Demi and two daughters. She is a twin, an incompetent parent of two and now fully decaffeinated. Her twin sister, Cate Quinn, is also a bestseller author.

Suzy loves her readers and is ALWAYS happy to chat on social media. You can find her @suzykquinn on most social media channels. Throw her an emoji ball, she is friendly.

(book, photo & all info courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)