Book Review: Purpose by Andrew Q. Gordon

Purpose
by Andrew Q. Gordon
M/M Supernatural/Paranormal
Dreamspinner Press
5 Stars

Blurb:

Forty years ago the Spirit of Vengeance—a Purpose—took William Morgan as its host, demanding he avenge the innocent by killing the guilty. Since then, Will has retreated behind Gar, a façade he uses to avoid dealing with what he’s become.

Cold, impassive, and devoid of emotion, Gar goes about his life alone—until his tidy, orderly world is upended when he meets Ryan, a broken young man cast out by his family. Spurred to action for reasons he can't understand, Gar saves Ryan from death and finds himself confronted by his humanity.

Spending time with Ryan helps Will claw out from under Gar’s shadow. He recognizes Ryan is the key to his reclaiming his humanity and facing his past. As Will struggles to control the Purpose, Ryan challenges him to rethink everything he knew about himself and the spirit that possesses him. In the process, he pushes Will to do something he hasn't done in decades: care.

Review:

This is one of the most original books I've ever read. I don't think I've read anything quite like this before. As host to the Purpose, William is faster, stronger, smarter than any normal human, his wounds heal quickly and his reaction times are off the scale. He's been alone for the past forty years, but he doesn't look a day over twenty five.

He cut himself off from his family and expects to continue his mission of vengeance alone.
That all changes one night when he saves Ryan from being murdered during an attempted mugging. Ryan has nowhere else to go and Will (from his supernatural powers) knows that Ryan is going to attempt prostituting himself on the streets, so Will offers him a place to stay, no strings attached.

What Will hadn't counted on was how close the two of them become, and then Ryan starts feeling the 'pull' of the Purpose, those murdered innocent souls who demand vengeance.

I adored Will and Ryan. Ryan was so lost and confused and I really wanted to reach in and hug him when he says he's never had friends before. Although the romance between them happened fairly fast, it was believable within the context of the book. Most of it is told in third person POV from Will, with a few fist person POV journal entries by Will. I would have liked to have been inside Ryan's head for some of it, to see what he thought of things too. There are a few love scenes, mainly a bit of banter and foreplay before fading to black, but you have no doubt that they are lovers and not just friends.

It's a gritty, sometimes dark story, but always gripping and you keep reading wanting to know what happens next. I don't want to say too much else in case I spoil it, but it was a wonderful, engaging read.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby