Reverb By J. Cafesin

James scowls at him. “Well, since I no longer hear music in my head, you’ll be pleased that I don’t hang out there anymore. You have my attention, Martin, just above the screaming.”

Martin stares at him. What is he supposed to say to that? “Screaming isn’t good. The dreams probably won’t go away either until you deal with whatever happened to you, find a way to live with it and move on. You won’t get away with trying to bury it.”

“Watch me. I bury it or it buries me. It’s warped and distorted and I just want it to go away. Dissecting the past won’t change it.”

This is the story of a young man with a tortured life, a life that he’s been trying to get away from before it kills him.

James Whren is a young man with a tortured past, one that will be with him for as long as he lives. From the tragic childhood loss of his mother and step-father, to living a life as a troubled musician, James has trouble letting anyone in for fear of the loss. But when James’ father, Edward, does something so incomprehensible and cruel to James, thinking that he was helping his troubled son, it backfires into a lifetime of bad memories for James.

Chapter after chapter, a lifetime of these memories unfold before you as you read about the torture that he endured. As each memory unfolds, you can’t help but feel sorry for James. Yet, is there more to James than meets the eye? He can run to the ends of the Earth, but James can’t get away from these painful memories.

When he finally gets away, he goes to Greece and meets Elisabeth and her young son. Although he is distant at first, he slowly begins to trust her, to open up to her, to tell her about himself. In turn, she tells him things about herself. Together they open up a lifetime of memories by creating new ones. And though it’s difficult for him to open up, Elisabeth understands and is willing to wait for him to open up to her. She knows that if he doesn’t come to terms with his own demons, then there isn’t much chance for their relationship. And, it’s a relationship they both are craving.

What happened to James to make him such a tortured soul? Will he ever forgive his father for what happened to him? Could he ever forgive him? Will he be able to confront his demons so that he can build a relationship with Elisabeth?

This book is a must read! I can’t say enough good things about it. It captured me from the very first chapter. It was dark and tortured, the memories of James’ past so painful that as you read it, you feel what is happening to him. I couldn’t imagine even one day of what he went through…and he went through over a year of this. And yet, there were the beautiful romantic moments between James and Elisabeth that I found myself wanting more of.

I felt myself wanting to reach into the book, to free James, to shake him into reality and to let others in. I cheered when Elisabeth and her son came into his life, to bring some life and light into his unhappy existence. I secretly wanted to smack Edward for what he’d done, and yet, he had his reasons, misguided as they were.

I don’t often read this genre of book, but this one was a wonderful read, and will be on my list of books that are must reads. Although it is long and seems daunting, the info from each chapter is relevant and necessary. The book is divided up into three sections, some chapters being in James’ first person point of view, while the others were in third. But it was never confusing.

I found myself reading this book when I shouldn’t be just to find out what was going to happen next. I can definitely say that this book is one of my favourites to date. I happily give this book 5 stars!