"In Front of God and Everyone" by Nealy Wagner

"In Front of God and Everyone" by Nealy Wagner

Title: 

In Front of God and Everyone

Author:

Nealy Wagner

Buy link:

Amazon

Summary: (231 pages)

Most people called it a cult. But for twenty years, Josh and Caleb called it home. 

On the Compound, there is no television. No fast food. Just long hours of farm work and prayer on a dusty Wyoming ranch, and nights in a crowded bunkhouse. The boys of the Compound are kept far from the sinners’ world. 

But Joshua doesn’t need any help from TV or porn to sin. His whole life, he’s wanted his best friend, Caleb. By day they work side by side. Only when Josh closes his eyes at night can they be together in the way he’s always craved. 

Yet it can never be. And his survival depends on keeping his terrible desires secret. 

Caleb has always protected Josh against the worst of the bullying at the Compound. But he has secrets of his own, and a plan to get away — until it all backfires, and Josh finds himself homeless in a world that doesn’t want him. 

Luckily, there is someone who does. But can Caleb find him in time? And will they find a place of safety, where he can admit to Josh how he really feels? 

Rating: 5 stars

Review: 

I really wasn't in the mood for a religious book, so I was very sceptic in the first 7% or so, but I was really surprised. What I read was really good and though religion plays a significant role, it isn't overwhelming.

The book starts out at the compound, where the cult members, also Josh and Caleb, live. Polygamy is the norm and men receive several wives when they are in their twenties. Before that age, they have to work. Because of the several wives policy though, there are too many men. So some of them are tossed out and left to fend for themselves. That’s a significant problem for them, because just the children of the first wives receive birth certificates and the tossed out men aren’t the children of the people that stand high in the hierarchy.

Joshua and Caleb’s story continues when Josh is tossed out at the age of 19 and Caleb follows him, because he loved Joshua for years. But Josh never realized it before and because of his fear of corrupting Caleb (because the morals of the church teach that lying with a man is a sin), he never made a move on his feelings for Caleb. Caleb is a lot less concerned by these morals, because he realized that no one is hurt by not following them. 

That’s most likely a consequence of his much more carefree life than Joshua’s. Due to being born to the first wife of an important family, he was able to leave the compound regularly, owns a birth certificate and a drivers license. But he still tries to help Joshua whenever he can.

Joshua is a lot more insecure. He sees himself as weak and a burden for Caleb. But while reading the book, you realize how caring he is and that his opinions about himself were just a result of the behavior of the other members of the cult.

Joshua and Caleb find an ally in Maggie (another runaway) and her husband, where they have a place to stay. But even then, their lives aren’t easy, they have to overcome many problems. On  one hand, money, but on the other hand, feeling as if they are useless, unimportant or a burden. 

“In Front of God and Everyone” is a story of love and acceptance, of overcoming prejudice, pain, problems and of finding happiness. But also of overcoming dumb decisions and unnecessary self-sacrifices … It made me smile, it made me cry, it made me angry, it made me feel happy and it made me feel relieved. It’s a really great book and I would recommend it to everyone who likes an interesting storyline, wonderful characters and heartbreaking emotions. Well, like I said, everyone.

Note: This book was kindly provided by the author through the MM Romance group in exchange for an honest review.

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