Phoenix Emrys

High school is a crucial time for many people, a time when they decide who they want to be, or at least what sort of a person they will become once they grow up. While reading stories set in that time are interesting, I find the ones that look at people thirty or forty years later even more fascinating. They offer the opportunity to look at what really happened, and in the case of “King”, who used to be a hero and feel like a hero when he made his school bully-free, there was bound to be a grand story. Right? Wrong. The way King sees it he is a total failure. For me, the real story unfolds in this book and it is all about how he got to that point, and how an unexpected turn of events helps him see the truth of the effect he has had on so many lives – which does make him a hero. Just of a different kind than he expected.

King’s last good deed of his high school years was, as far as he was concerned, no different than any of the others he performed. Keeping the bullies powerless and giving the kids who need it the courage to stand up for themselves was what he and his merry band of helpers was all about. His great dreams crashed though, and now he lives a boring, closeted life, never having left town like he intended. He may still work small “miracles”, but he doesn’t see them as really important. Boy, does he have it wrong!

On his fifty-seventh birthday, a new chapter of his life begins. Not that he realizes it at first, nor does he expect anything to change. He is too old. Right? Wrong again! His friends have organized not just a party, but an encounter with King’s own hero, Rex Rodman. Their encounter sets in motion a chain of discoveries, discussions, and events that reveal a lot of unexpected truths and teach King some valuable lessons. I loved the road the author took me on as King and Rex maneuver their way around obstacles, preconceptions, and accepted “truths” that turn out to be not so true after all.

If you like stories about second chances, if two men who seem destined for very different things end up discovering there are many more options than they thought sound like an interesting couple, and if you’re looking for a slightly different kind of romance that revolves around self-discovery and learning to be honest with yourself, then you will probably enjoy this novel.… (more)