book spotlight & review: abroad by liz jacobs

I’m happy to be joining up with the Abroad Promo Tour this week.

Quote from the author about the book:

ABROAD is a story of struggle, love, identity, fear, family, and friendship. It's about finding your people. It's a story of how our cultures can define, constrict, and, ultimately, free us. It's a story of immigration and its fallout, of confusion and clashes and how help can come from the most unexpected places. It's the story I have always wanted to tell, ever since I was a confused, frightened immigrant kid with no recourse but to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings or sink. In many ways, while fictionalized and quite altered, this is my story.

***

Abroad by Liz Jacobs
Brain Mill Press
Publish date: June 27, 2017
Subgenre: NA; LGBTQIA

Nick Melnikov doesn’t know where he belongs. He was just a kid when his Russian-Jewish family immigrated to Michigan. Now he’s in London for university, overwhelmed by unexpected memories. Socially anxious, intensely private, and closeted, Nick doesn’t expect to fall in so quickly with a tight-knit group of students from his college, and it’s both exhilarating and scary. Hanging out with them is a roller coaster of serious awkward and incredible longing, especially when the most intimidating of the group, Dex, looks his way.

Dex Cartwell knows exactly who he is: a black queer guy who doesn’t give a toss what anybody thinks of him. He is absolutely, one-hundred-percent, totally in control of his life. Apart, maybe, from the stress of his family’s abrupt move to an affluent, largely white town. And worrying about his younger brother feeling increasingly isolated as a result. And the persistent broken heart he’s been nursing for a while . . .

When Nick and Dex meet, both find themselves intrigued. Countless late-night conversations only sharpen their attraction. But the last thing Nick wants is to face his deepest secret, and the last thing Dex needs is another heartache. Dex has had to fight too hard for his right to be where he is. Nick isn’t even sure where he’s from. So how can either of them tell where this is going?

Goodreads | Brain Mill Press | Amazon

Source: ARC prided by A Novel Take PR in exchange for an honest review

Review:
Abroad is a fresh take on the NA genre with a slower pace that feels both realistic and allows the characters to explore identity, culture, sexuality and self discovery in a way that allows all of life’s complexities to shine through. It’s one of the few books I’ve read this that yeah – I got my steamy sex scenes quota filled lol – but I also got to walk in other people’s shoes for a bit and learn something.

At it’s core, Abroad is about the blossoming romance between Nick, a Russian-Jew who immigrated to the US, now a foreign exchange student in the UK, and Dex, a black queer man both attending university in London. It's about the (very) tentative start to their romance, but is also about the changing dynamics between their diverse group of friends and family.

Even though many of the characters have some of the same experiences – being gay or bi sexual for example – the way they deal with it (or don’t) was touched on in a way that I don’t often read. Each character brings something different to their personal experience and therefor, a different way of dealing with and reacting to things, allowing for a more nuanced and inclusive portrayal of their issues. Fear and resentments build and explode and relationships are slowly stitched back together. It was all really well done and a New Adult novel that actually deals with new adult issues.

Despite the summary only mentioning the Dex/Nick romance – there is also the third pov of Dex’s best friend, Izzy. At first I found this kind of jarring because it was so unexpected and I do think it took away from their romance but it also added another layer to the story and the overarching theme of friendships and self discovery.

This is a duology, and while it ends on a HFN note, there is a lot up in the air regarding several relationships. There is no definitive date set for the sequel but I’ve heard that it might be November of this year. So not too long of a wait. I consider this the *how we met book* and the next one will probably be the *all the hard work to the eventual HEA* book. It's not a cliffhanger so don't worry about that but it's not tied in a neat little bow quite yet either.

If you are looking for a New Adult that moves at a slightly slower pace that allows the story to really get into the complicated factors of race, ethnicity, LGBQTIA issues and just the idea of feeling like an outsider and deciding what to do with the rest of your life – this is a great book to read.

Author Bio:


Liz Jacobs came over with her family from Russia at the age of 11, as a Jewish refugee.  All in all, her life has gotten steadily better since that moment. They settled in an ultra-liberal haven in the middle of New York State, which sort of helped her with the whole “grappling with her sexuality” business.

She has spent a lot of her time flitting from passion project to passion project, but writing remains her constant. She has flown planes, drawn, made jewelry, had an improbable internet encounter before it was cool, and successfully wooed the love of her life in a military-style campaign. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for her essay on her family’s experience with immigration.

She currently lives with her wife in Massachusetts, splitting her time between her day job, writing, and watching a veritable boatload of British murder mysteries.


Connect with Liz: Website | Twitter | Facebook