Avery Duran

Pilgrimages can have powerful effects, whatever reason they are undertaken for. In ‘Ahava is Love’, Brooklyn real estate agent Josh may start out wanting to explore his heritage, but he ends up finding a lot more than a connection with the country of his ancestors. The setting of this story is mostly in Israel, and the author has done a great job making that country come alive for me: from the sights he visits, to the sounds he hears, and even the smells and tastes of the food he experiences – it all comes through loud and clear.

Josh is a romantic, almost desperate to find a man to settle down with, and finding lots of rejection from the looking-for-a-hookup guys he dates. The idea of traveling to Israel starts as a way to escape his lack of a relationship, and based on his experience volunteering with young adults he goes as a tour guide. Not because of his local knowledge, but as an additional pair of hands – which I thought was an interesting idea. He does expect to see some interesting sights and to learn some things, but he is not really ready for an eye-opening experience.

Yaron is a security guard who also does tours; his underlying need is to protect people. This is especially important to him because the man he loved was killed in a terrorist attack, and Yaron has never really allowed himself to recover from that and move on. Meeting Josh and entering a sort-of-relationship makes him rediscover feelings and emotions he did not expect to be able to feel again, but the feeling of being disloyal to his lover makes Yaron hesitate and pull back when things are about to get serious. Guilt, as misplaced as it seems in Yaron’s case, is a very powerful emotion.

Josh and Yaron develop a physical relationship really quickly. Josh hesitates because he does not like the "no strings attached policy” Yaron establishes, but Josh also does not expect a vacation fling to develop into something serious. The inevitable separation when Josh returns to the US before Yaron can sort out his feelings and overcome his reservations is very painful, but it serves as a good “test” of both men’s feelings before they attempt to find a solution.

If you like exploring foreign countries (or revisiting familiar ones) from the comfort of your e-reader, if you think that a pilgrimage can have unexpected effects and want to see what they could be, and if you’re looking for a read that is entertaining, thoughtful, and has a message of hope, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.… (plus d'informations)