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Jan 04, 2012

Heidi rated it:

I have a Thing about books revolving around abuse. In theory I like to read them, but they're so often poorly done, and a poorly done abuse book is a terrible, terrible thing. The balance is as delicate as a spider's web. It can't be too angsty, but it can't be too glib. Most authors think the way to deal with abuse is for the character to wallow directly, which I have to tell you, I've never seen a real abuse victim do in real life. The stories are also often so heavy you can't stand to read More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Amy rated it:

I grew up in a Mormon town and watched painfully as one of my best friends dealt with both the wonderful support and the painful doctrine after her parents divorced. Her struggle to choose the interpretation of her faith that felt right in her heart always struck me as poignant and real--and when reading this book, I saw Levi go through the exact same struggle. I loved that Marie Sexton didn't treat this lightly--I loved that she found both the good and painful in Levi's family dynamic. I lov More...

0 comments like (16 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Eyre rated it:

I picked up this book with a little trepidation because I knew one of the themes would be about religion,which can be a touchy subject for me. There have been times when I've read books that made it seem like all Christians are closed-minded, and that bothers me because we're not all like that. However, I also understand that the most visible "Christians"--I use quotation marks because I don't feel these people truly are Christians--seem to be the ones who are ranting and shouting the More...

8 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Cole rated it:

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I like reading slow and sweet love stories, and this definitely fit the bill, due to Jaime's history. Even more (though they often infuriated me), I enjoyed Levi's family. I think it was very smart of Marie Sexton to let this story run the course it did. Now that I think back on it, there isn't one book I remember reading right now in this genre that doesn't offer a complete resolution for coming out (even though Levi is already out) that isn't More...

5 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Wave rated it:

I didn’t think that Marie Sexton could top One More Soldier, a book I love and have re-read many times, but Between Sinners and Saints showed me a different side of her writing and proved once again what an incredible writer she is. The plot and characters moved me so much that I couldn’t put this novel down.

The protagonists will grab on to your heart especially Jaime who was vulnerable and scarred from his past experience. He was a complex character who was so fragile it seemed a More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Heather C rated it:

Such a sad, heartbreaking story with a HEA

I've been putting this off since the release because I was freaked out by the religion, abused MC, and the slutty MC. So yesterday I finally started it because I wanted to read something where I could really connect with and feel for the characters. And this was exactly what I was looking for.

First, there is Jamie, who spends his days healing people with his touch and his nights locking himself away and hiding from his inner mo More...

43 comments like (9 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Lauraadriana rated it:

4.5 mayyyybe 4.75

Love is selfless, patient, open and forgiving. I think this story was about that more than anything for me. Levi comes from the LDS church he left his family years ago to live in Miami where he could be free to live how he chose, and he did he surfed, tended bar, had a lot of sex...That was life. After having pain in his back he goes to massage therapist Jamie Marshall for some help. Jamie is attractive, but closed off and shy and looks almost scared all the time he do More...

24 comments like (11 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Andi rated it:

Villains are easy. Demonizing a character, or a group of characters, is far easier for a writer than getting under the skin of a character or group and giving them a legitimate perspective and realistic motivations. To create characters, a whole family of them, who are members of a religious organization that is traditionally perceived as being extremely homophobic and make them a family of human beings like any other who love each other, are different from one another, want the best for each, More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Lisa rated it:

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0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Sylvie rated it:

3.5 stars rounded down

Let me start by saying I love Marie Sexton - she's a must-read, auto-buy author for me. As much as I love her brand of m/m, there are certain themes and elements in the story that bothered me. I thought the religion aspect was way too overblown, to the extent that I felt like I was reading a sermon and joined in on a recruitment camp. Sexton might have done it altruistically, with no intent to push the religion. Perhaps she wanted to expound on the misconception More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Nichole (Dirty H) rated it:

This book deals with some heavy stuff but handles it really well. I liked but didn't love the characters, but the way Marie handled the heavy stuff, particularly the religious angle, was so good it bumped a 4 star book up to 5.

Having never experienced sexual abuse I can't speak to that aspect, really, but having grown up Mormon I can say that this is by far the most complete, the most accurate and the most compassionate portrayal of the Mormon faith I have ever come across in gay fic More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Kate rated it:

3.5

Sexton took on a tricky subject here and I think she handled it well. Her two protagonists are both lonely and damaged men, Levi because he is at outs with his religious Mormon family and Jaime because of childhood abuse. But Levi's family is also wounded by his homosexuality, and it is the sympathetic portrayal of them that made this book more than a simple hurt/comfort read and bumped it up a star for me.

Mormonism is at its heart a religion of family and at the same More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Kassa rated it:

3.5 stars

Between Saints and Sinners shines in many ways; the skillful handling of abuse and PTSD, the inclusion of a very sticky subject in religion and theology, difficult and absentee families, and a complicated relationship. This book could have gone horribly wrong but Sexton is a great writer and kept the subjects complicated yet not overwhelming. None of the characters are perfect or evil but show various shades of grey. They have intolerance yet also an ability to learn and chan More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Ella Jane rated it:

3.5 stars. I found Marie Sexton did a great job with Jaime’s thread: the abuse is really well handled (how it happens, how people react, the life consequences for the victim, the irrational fears, the slow awakening, etc). I did have a few niggles with his story: how Jaime finds Levi’s bed both the trigger and remedy to his nightmares, how he often sounds very naïve and young (where I would have expected him to be more hardened and cynical - but I can see how he could also come across as young), More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

~♡♥Ang ♥♡~ rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

13 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Tara rated it:

So, Marie Sexton is an auto-buy author for me, and I barely read the blurb before I started this book, so I really didn't know what it was about. I actually discovered recently that I like not reading the blurbs because often they either make promises they can't keep or give away too much. Anyway, in this book, only her second departure from the Coda boys, and the first full length, we meet Levi and Jamie. Levi comes from a big, devout Mormon family. His family has been struggling for years w More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

A.B. rated it:

Over the last twelve months I got to know two guys online. One was abused as a young child and one has been scarred by his upbringing in the Mormon religion.

Marie has woven these two types of backgrounds skilfully together into a believable romance.

I just wish the men I met had a similar successful outcome. Unfortunately in both their cases, they're still having problems dealing with the aftermath decades later.

Marie particularly captured that feeling of shame More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Karen K rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Yvonne rated it:

This is probably more like a 4.5 Star for me. Levi is a man who is somewhat estranged from his religious Mormon family, who works as a bartender and engages in frequent fairly anonymous sex. Jaime is a massage therapist who due to his past is living a fear filled life. Both characters are very likable & the romance is built up very nicely & slowly between the two of them as they start off as friends. You end up really rooting for both of these guys & it's nice to see their growth over the c More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Lily rated it:

Despite the fact that I dislike reading stories dealing with the overly religious and their anti-gay feelings I totally loved this story. Once again Marie has delivered a wonderfully written love story featuring interesting and very likable men. I loved the slow pace of their relationship and the touch of angst (on both of their parts) was just right. Despite their attitudes I also liked Levi's family. Overall a great read from beginning to end!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Mandi rated it:

I liked this one. A little too much religion in it for me - Levi's family just became too overbearing for me to enjoy towards the end. I would have liked less of them in the story. The heavier storyline with Levi's non-accepting family and the abuse suffered by Jaimie otherwise worked pretty well for me. I also liked how their relationship progressed.

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Mandi rated it:

This was just plain awesome. Very hard to put down (I hate when real life gets in the way of my reading! *snickers*) and I just loved the main characters. (and even Levi's family!)

Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Go. Buy. Read. (you'll thank me for it)

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Enny rated it:

Right now I'm too overcome with emotions to give a review because I just finished reading the book but I wanted to say how much I loved this book. This is definitely the best book I've read in 2011 so far and one of the best I've ever read.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2011

L-D rated it:

This book came highly recommended by GoodReads friends and I'm very happy that I moved it to the top of my TBR list. Levi Binder is a Miami bartender that was raised in a very close, loving, Mormon family. The problem is, when Levi tells his family that he's gay, they work very hard at trying to save his soul and guide him down the righteous path. Levi, pressured by his family to give up his homosexual lifestyle, spends the next 10 years doing everything he can to live up to the expectations More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Fangtasia rated it:

Marie Sexton handles two very difficult topics in her usual masterful way. I won't go into a synopsis, the book blurb does a good job of that. Excellent example of character development and progression that remains fully believable and hooks the reader from the start. You know why these guys are hurting, you know the way to healing is going to be very painful, yet you want their HEA in a visceral way. And not just the main characters, but each and every one mentioned in the book gets enough page More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Top 2 Bottom Reviews rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Alex rated it:

Overall
This is a long and beautiful piece that follows the journey of two men whose chance meeting leads both of them to emotional growth.

The most challenging part of this novel is that it's pretty long, compared to some of its peers, and is slow moving. But I can't mark that was a weakness because rushing this story would have ruined it. It requires a gentle hand to guide the reader through the delicate situations and build up to the climax. Even though this isn't what would n More...

10 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 03, 2011

DarienMoya rated it:

^^THE PERFECT BALANCE!^^

More of my reviews and thoughts on my blog PANTS OFF REVIEWS

I really enjoyed reading this book. Marie Sexton is a wonderful author, and I have yet to be disappointed by any of her books. Between Sinners and Saints addresses some deep issues, which the author managed splendidly. Always a hot topic when dealing with homosexuality and religion, as a reader and a human being I have some opinions on it. Something I w More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Ami rated it:

4.5 stars
This story proves once again that Marie Sexton is a wonderful authors. She tackles some heavy subjects: rape/pedophilia, depression, faith/religion, and penance, woven with the concept of love and family (and one of the "oldest" argument about homosexuality: is it a sin when it's also love?), into one well-written and thoughtful novel.

It's a story of opposites attract: Levi Binder, the playboy bartender with Mormon family, and Jaime Marshall, the innocent the More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 27, 2011

Rossy rated it:

This was such a roller-coaster of emotions! At the beginning i was not too impressed with Levi and felt pity for Jaime. But as the story unraveled i found myself, partly angry at some characters one minute, and sad for them at others.

I was glad the author made every obstacle or milestone in this couple's favor, not as easily attained. They had to work to get there, and in some cases it would never be perfect, but in the end there is understanding.

This book is not about sex, More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)