Review of Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen

by Sarina Bowen 

4 Stars

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

In Paradise, 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 temptation 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 the way he craves.

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.

Josh finds himself homeless in a world that doesn’t want him. Can Caleb find him in time? And will they find a place of safety, where he can admit to Josh how he really feels?

 

This book took us by surprise, how much we loved it!  And honestly if not for a recommendation wouldn’t have been on our to-be-read list.  But there are so many good things about Goodbye Paradise, focusing around an interesting topic of Cults in America.

Josh and Caleb, both around 20 years old were born into a polygamist cult in rural America.  A male dominated society that regularly dis-owns young men they don’t deem valuable to their society.  Josh is one of those men, tossed out to fend for himself, but his best friend Caleb follows him to try and build a life together.

The love story between Josh and Caleb is so sweet.  There are 2 men struggling with what they were brought up to believe and the reality of their life going forward.  The set off to find Maggie, one of the cults runaway’s, to help establish a new life - Maggie gives them a place to live and a sense of family.  We really enjoyed Josh and Caleb’s  sexual experimentation, they both know what they want, but have no idea if the other is interested and must break the belief that being gay is wrong.  Because Caleb was allowed to go out into the real world he seems to acclimatize earlier than Josh.  Josh struggles with being tossed-out and unwanted.  It creates this push and pull, not angst, which is really interesting and kept us reading.  And really, Josh and Caleb are so loveable you really want them to have a happy ending.

The real treasure in this book is the subject.  We thought the religious pieces would be a bit much, but they really worked.  Let’s be honest, there is a fascination with cults, who belongs to them, why do they stay, what happens when they leave.  And Goodbye Paradise takes this subject and does it justice.  It is not a subject that is readily dealt with in m/m romance books, but Sarina Bowen takes the time to develop the topic, and doesn’t just ignore the elephant in the room after they have finally escaped the cult.  It is really fascinating.