OUT OF THE RAIN

Hollis Shiloh

Publisher: Spare Words Press; 1 edition (April 3, 2015)

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BLURB

Oliver’s life has been hard—but even so he doesn’t need the kind of clients who try to corner him and hurt him, possibly kill him. During his escape from such a man, Oliver meets Theo, a bashful scholar who ends up losing his job because of Oliver—and then inviting Oliver home. Not for sex, not as a client, but as a friend, so he can get out of the cold.

REVIEW by Christopher Hawthorne Moss

This gentle story tells the tale of a young street prostitute and the lonely intellectual he befriends.  Both lose their jobs at the same time: Oliver, the young man, when he runs from a violent john and Theo, who was at the man’s home organizing his library.  Out of pity on a rainy day, Theo invites Oliver to come to his flat, and Oliver winds up staying.  Oliver is charming, sweet, trusting, and clever.  What Theo lacks in the social graces to accomplish, Oliver manages out of his own open nature.  The two go to a rich man’s home in the county to sort his many books, and when the job is done, the rich man asks Oliver to stay with him.  Theo believes the young man will jump at the chance, but Oliver has more to him than simply a mercenary heart.

The portrayals of the two characters are beautifully illustrated: the fresh-faced young man whose childhood was stolen from him, and Theo, the educated man who has more friends in novels than in reality.  Just about anyone can identify with one or the other, and while this is not a glamorous romance, it is a genuine one and full of hope and fulfillment.  Simple but sweet and credible, I recommend this book to anyone.

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