Feet Of Clay by AJ Graham

Feet Of Clay by AJ Graham
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance. LGBTQ
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When Galvin Cloud, a shy young journalist, is unexpectedly offered a chance to interview his favorite author, he ought to be delighted. Instead, he’s terrified. Galvin has always idolized Spike Radcliff, but the idea of actually meeting him face-to-face is overwhelming. Furthermore, despite the sensitivity of his prose, Spike has a reputation for being a surly, reclusive misanthrope. Still, Galvin knows he can’t pass up this rare chance.

After the disastrous interview, Spike surprises Galvin by offering him a job as his assistant. As they spend more time together, Galvin discovers that beneath the harsh exterior is a complex, broken man… one with whom he’s quickly falling in love.

Galvin has been a longtime fan of the author Spike Radcliff, so when Galvin is given the journalistic opportunity to interview Spike he knows he should be thrilled – but he is equal parts terrified. While the interview begins in an even more disastrous way than Galvin could have imagined, he is shocked when Spike offers him a job as Spike’s assistant. Can these two men look below the surface and see what’s truly happening between them?

I really enjoyed this lovely story. While Galvin has some serious problems, he’s still standing strong, still doing the best he can and functioning each and every day – despite what it costs him. I really empathized with this strong but fragile character and almost immediately started to hope his long-held dreams of finding someone who was strong enough to hold and love him, to help him feel wanted and safe, would soon come to pass. I feel Galvin’s character was totally relatable and should appeal to a very wide range of readers and I was hooked on him from almost the first page.

Spike’s character initially comes across as a mish-mash of a few different elements, and so I found it really interesting as we, along with Galvin, sorted through all the various layers to try and understand what was really going on with Spike. Much of the story revolves around these two men learning about each other and through their interactions learning stuff about themselves too. While the attraction between them is present from the start, it’s a very slow simmer as both men have some significant wounds and baggage of their own and I felt this slow, cautious approach to a more intimate relationship really suited the characters, where they were, and it made the whole situation healthier and more realistic to my mind. This is the first book in a series (Bound By Words) and I’d be interested to see if these sorts of themes are carried through into the next books later in the series.

Readers who enjoy the sort of hurt/comfort style of stories should find this really clicks for them and I absolutely loved the emotion and rawness to a number of the scenes. There is quite a bit of chemistry and sizzle between Spike and Galvin, but no physical intimacy until towards the end of the story – so readers looking for something heavily erotic (in a physical and not emotional/chemistry sort of style) might not that this fulfils that expectation. But readers who really enjoy a story of two men coming together and helping to heal and uplift each other while finding a deep, emotional connection and building a strong foundation for a wonderful relationship should absolutely enjoy this story as much as I did.