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Soulmate for Sin
The effects of an attack on SIN, a twenty-nine year old University lecturer, reach out further into his future than SIN could ever imagine.
In a story, which seems doomed to start with an end, SIN learns about the forever kind of love, and how family is not just biological.
‘Soul-Mate for SIN’ shows how twists of fate can take a loving, but ordinary family, from a small market town in England, and turn them into something extraordinary.
In a story, which seems doomed to start with an end, SIN learns about the forever kind of love, and how family is not just biological.
‘Soul-Mate for SIN’ shows how twists of fate can take a loving, but ordinary family, from a small market town in England, and turn them into something extraordinary.
- GenresM M Romance
182 pages, ebook
First published January 28, 2015
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Izzy Van Swelm
2 books37 followersIzzy is an animal loving veggie - a supporter and member of the LBGTQAI+ community, and wishes we'd just replace the letters with 'Queer'. Izzy is gullible, gentle and naughty. Spent 12 years at University studying English and Literature and is just learning how to write fiction :D
My alter ego 'BJ' Jansen reviews LGBTQ+ romance books for All About Romance www.allaboutromance.com
My alter ego 'BJ' Jansen reviews LGBTQ+ romance books for All About Romance www.allaboutromance.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 3, 2015
I really loved this book. A Soulmate for Sin had me thinking long after I read it. It touches on topics that are incredibly important to me. I have a child who is LGBTQ and I live in fear of something like this happening to him. This book is also very different than most m/m books I read.
First of all, it is set in England. I’m a crazy Anglophile, so that wins points right away. In a nutshell, this book is a sweet romance that tells the story of how a couple and their friends and family deal with the aftermath of a gay bashing/attack. What makes it truly special is how the author weaves in the idea of reincarnation, time travel, family dynamics, impotence, and how rehab and PTSD can affect a relationship. I grew to love these characters, even as I became frustrated with Sin during his recovery. His relationship with his parents was such a joy to read about, and just made me so happy.
The book has a lower “heat” level than I’m used to reading and usually gravitate toward. There are some sensual sexy bedroom scenes, which are lovely, by the way, especially imagining them with English accents. The fact that there aren’t any truly graphic sex scenes is genuinely plot driven. For that reason, and because this book was so good I didn’t miss my usual dose of graphic sex, I’ll happily give the author a pass on this one.
Another aspect of the book that made me savor every page was all the current pop culture references. The author researched well, and I laughed out loud many times, and grinned ear to ear, as these characters and their situations came off the page and into my head.
The really awesome thing about Soulmate for Sin, was that it felt to me that the author was putting her story and characters in a larger context of yearning for a world where gender identity and gender expression is fluid, perhaps neutral, and certainly never judged. It is a world where sexual orientation is not even an issue. It becomes a matter of just the person you are attracted to period, not the gender.
A little bird tells me there is a sequel coming soon, and I can’t wait!!!
First of all, it is set in England. I’m a crazy Anglophile, so that wins points right away. In a nutshell, this book is a sweet romance that tells the story of how a couple and their friends and family deal with the aftermath of a gay bashing/attack. What makes it truly special is how the author weaves in the idea of reincarnation, time travel, family dynamics, impotence, and how rehab and PTSD can affect a relationship. I grew to love these characters, even as I became frustrated with Sin during his recovery. His relationship with his parents was such a joy to read about, and just made me so happy.
The book has a lower “heat” level than I’m used to reading and usually gravitate toward. There are some sensual sexy bedroom scenes, which are lovely, by the way, especially imagining them with English accents. The fact that there aren’t any truly graphic sex scenes is genuinely plot driven. For that reason, and because this book was so good I didn’t miss my usual dose of graphic sex, I’ll happily give the author a pass on this one.
Another aspect of the book that made me savor every page was all the current pop culture references. The author researched well, and I laughed out loud many times, and grinned ear to ear, as these characters and their situations came off the page and into my head.
The really awesome thing about Soulmate for Sin, was that it felt to me that the author was putting her story and characters in a larger context of yearning for a world where gender identity and gender expression is fluid, perhaps neutral, and certainly never judged. It is a world where sexual orientation is not even an issue. It becomes a matter of just the person you are attracted to period, not the gender.
A little bird tells me there is a sequel coming soon, and I can’t wait!!!
February 24, 2015
First of all, Thank you Izzy for gifting me a copy of your first published novel. I am extremely flattered that a GRs and Facebook friend rates my opinions highly enough to trust me with a copy of their work.
I liked this story, it's a great little read and covers several genres, the main being m/m. Although the protagonists are late twenties it could almost be read as YA, and then there's "The Beginning" and "Prologue" which could be, is in fact, SciFi. Throw in a bit of "Crime & Punishment" and you have the story which is "Soul Mate for SIN".
The synopsis states, "In a story, which seems doomed to start with an end".... and how horrifically true was that? This novel touches on many important gay related topics, homophobia and Gay-Bashing being the first, but how equally horrific that the perpetrator happens to be the brother of the victim. Don't worry, the victim survives and there is a HEA, complete with cottage in the country, Christmas, fireside snuggling and fluffy puppy.
There are many British-related mentions in this novel, so I suggest our American cousins have Google on standby.
Over-all a really nice HEA story with a bit of angst getting there, simple writing style, lovely secondary characters and decent plot.
I liked this story, it's a great little read and covers several genres, the main being m/m. Although the protagonists are late twenties it could almost be read as YA, and then there's "The Beginning" and "Prologue" which could be, is in fact, SciFi. Throw in a bit of "Crime & Punishment" and you have the story which is "Soul Mate for SIN".
The synopsis states, "In a story, which seems doomed to start with an end".... and how horrifically true was that? This novel touches on many important gay related topics, homophobia and Gay-Bashing being the first, but how equally horrific that the perpetrator happens to be the brother of the victim. Don't worry, the victim survives and there is a HEA, complete with cottage in the country, Christmas, fireside snuggling and fluffy puppy.
There are many British-related mentions in this novel, so I suggest our American cousins have Google on standby.
Over-all a really nice HEA story with a bit of angst getting there, simple writing style, lovely secondary characters and decent plot.
January 30, 2015
I loved this book. The blurb is very intriguing which is what caught my eye, but basically its the timeless story of finding your soulmate where you least expect them to be, when you least expect to find them, and how it doesn't matter what life throws at you with the right company you can get through anything. I don't know what I was expecting when I started this but it exceeded my expectations.
February 1, 2015
This story deals with many topics: brain injury, homophobia, impotence, family and love. The beginning 20% and odd POVs confused me, but once SIN's soulmate was revealed, I enjoyed seeing how supportive he was of SIN and his difficulties. I really liked SIN's parents and was sad at what his brother did. Good effort from a first time author!
October 7, 2015
Review by Jaycee for BOOKS 'N COZY SPOTS BOOK REVIEWS, www.Talon-ps.com
-purchased on Amazon.com
It is truly difficult to tag this story as no one key word does it justice. So I will approach my impressions by thinking of it as contemporary fiction embracing a lovely gay romance and a breath of the supernatural.
In an interesting change of pace, the contemporary story opens with a tale as old as time and as long as eternity, about the origins of a soulmate, in all its representations. Legend proposes that once joined with one’s other half, both halves are destined to be reborn together throughout eternity. Almost a harbinger of things to come, a random if ominous question is posed: what happens then, should one fail to meet one’s other half?
Cut to the inner dialogue of key but secondary character Charlie, as he walks to the first day of a new job, and encounters SIN, Samuel Isaac Newton, tweaking him from a perch up in a tree. This initially too-happy-to-be-real SIN harbours a dark, sad tale and as the two converse and flirt in the park, it comes to light that SIN was in the tree evading a group of homophobic bullies who had previously beaten him senseless. Turns out, one of said bullies was his brother. Turns out still, that both were so absorbed in each other they did not notice the bullies come upon them and inflict almost fatal damage once again, this time on both men. Charlie recovers slowly but steadily and finds support in the police officer who handles their case. SIN has extensive injuries including serious head trauma, and his eventual reawakening is preceded by a coma conversation with an angelic entity named Gabriel who introduces himself as SIN’s soulmate.
The remainder of the story is a process for all characters, primary and secondary. It is a skillful discourse wrapped in a moving fiction about the aftermath of such hate on all whom it touches. Family, friends, relationships; no aspect of life is spared inspection, and the effects run deep and leave permanent scars. It is honest and often unattractive.
SIN enters a relationship with the nurse, Gabe, who guided him back to health through both attacks. Yet even the relationship runs a tortuous course caused by the sequelae of the assaults. SIN’s parents deal with loving two disparate children, neither of whom will ever be the same. Friends struggle to offer support while coming to terms with such unmitigated hatred.
Key throughout the struggles is love and support and patience and time, and all of it is presented in what could, in lesser hands, be a very clinical, didactic book. Instead it is a heartfelt tale from a very knowledgeable place, and an excellent marriage of both. It ends with the same whimsy it began, though the clinical “me” still leans toward ICU psychosis.
My loss, I fear…
-purchased on Amazon.com
It is truly difficult to tag this story as no one key word does it justice. So I will approach my impressions by thinking of it as contemporary fiction embracing a lovely gay romance and a breath of the supernatural.
In an interesting change of pace, the contemporary story opens with a tale as old as time and as long as eternity, about the origins of a soulmate, in all its representations. Legend proposes that once joined with one’s other half, both halves are destined to be reborn together throughout eternity. Almost a harbinger of things to come, a random if ominous question is posed: what happens then, should one fail to meet one’s other half?
Cut to the inner dialogue of key but secondary character Charlie, as he walks to the first day of a new job, and encounters SIN, Samuel Isaac Newton, tweaking him from a perch up in a tree. This initially too-happy-to-be-real SIN harbours a dark, sad tale and as the two converse and flirt in the park, it comes to light that SIN was in the tree evading a group of homophobic bullies who had previously beaten him senseless. Turns out, one of said bullies was his brother. Turns out still, that both were so absorbed in each other they did not notice the bullies come upon them and inflict almost fatal damage once again, this time on both men. Charlie recovers slowly but steadily and finds support in the police officer who handles their case. SIN has extensive injuries including serious head trauma, and his eventual reawakening is preceded by a coma conversation with an angelic entity named Gabriel who introduces himself as SIN’s soulmate.
The remainder of the story is a process for all characters, primary and secondary. It is a skillful discourse wrapped in a moving fiction about the aftermath of such hate on all whom it touches. Family, friends, relationships; no aspect of life is spared inspection, and the effects run deep and leave permanent scars. It is honest and often unattractive.
SIN enters a relationship with the nurse, Gabe, who guided him back to health through both attacks. Yet even the relationship runs a tortuous course caused by the sequelae of the assaults. SIN’s parents deal with loving two disparate children, neither of whom will ever be the same. Friends struggle to offer support while coming to terms with such unmitigated hatred.
Key throughout the struggles is love and support and patience and time, and all of it is presented in what could, in lesser hands, be a very clinical, didactic book. Instead it is a heartfelt tale from a very knowledgeable place, and an excellent marriage of both. It ends with the same whimsy it began, though the clinical “me” still leans toward ICU psychosis.
My loss, I fear…
August 14, 2015
In my further quest to read books unlike anything I’ve read before, I stumbled on Soulmate for Sin. I didn’t know this was going to be a read filled with unexpected twists, surprising appearances and totally unforeseen outcomes but that’s exactly what I got. It caught me off guard as well because the author’s writing style is rather matter of fact even while describing the most astounding or shocking of scenes. As a result I’m not entirely sure how to review this book, but I’ll try.
Let me start by saying that I loved the characters in this story. Sin, Gabe, Charlie, Snowy and Sally all captured my heart. I hurt for Sin and his parents after the attacks he endured at the hands of his brother Win and his friends. I admired the way the author dealt with the pressure this puts on a family and the tough battle they had on their hands not to have their unit completely torn apart.
I was also very impressed with the way Izzy van Swelm dealt with everything Sin has to deal with. His whole life is turned on its head as a result of the second assault. He finds himself without a job, unable to concentrate and with weakened limbs, facing an uphill battle to get his life back on track.
I really enjoyed the supernatural/futuristic twist in the middle and at the end of the story as well. It was a nice and completely unexpected turn of events and I’m delighted that the author made sure to extend her happy ending to that aspect of the story as well.
But, and I’ve got a feeling you saw this coming, I can’t help feeling this story could have been more. On one or two occasions I felt a bit short changed when we were only told about a character going through certain emotions rather than feeling them from that person’s perspective. I would have loved to have been inside Sally and Snowy’s heads as they try to keep the love they feel for both their sons balanced without short-changing or alienating either. I wanted to be inside Sin’s head as he struggles with his body’s apparent inability to act on his attraction for Gabe and I wanted to spend far more time looking at Gabe’s feelings as he’s faced with the mixed signals he’s getting from Sin. As it was we were told about these thoughts and feelings almost in passing and for me that was a shame. A slightly different approach might have turned a good read into a brilliant book.
Having said all that, I should add that the author’s imagination and her ability to introduce a supernatural twist to an otherwise contemporary story had me amazed. Should Izzy van Swelm ever decide to tell Charlie’s story I will most definitely read it, even if I do think I have his big secret figured out
Let me start by saying that I loved the characters in this story. Sin, Gabe, Charlie, Snowy and Sally all captured my heart. I hurt for Sin and his parents after the attacks he endured at the hands of his brother Win and his friends. I admired the way the author dealt with the pressure this puts on a family and the tough battle they had on their hands not to have their unit completely torn apart.
I was also very impressed with the way Izzy van Swelm dealt with everything Sin has to deal with. His whole life is turned on its head as a result of the second assault. He finds himself without a job, unable to concentrate and with weakened limbs, facing an uphill battle to get his life back on track.
I really enjoyed the supernatural/futuristic twist in the middle and at the end of the story as well. It was a nice and completely unexpected turn of events and I’m delighted that the author made sure to extend her happy ending to that aspect of the story as well.
But, and I’ve got a feeling you saw this coming, I can’t help feeling this story could have been more. On one or two occasions I felt a bit short changed when we were only told about a character going through certain emotions rather than feeling them from that person’s perspective. I would have loved to have been inside Sally and Snowy’s heads as they try to keep the love they feel for both their sons balanced without short-changing or alienating either. I wanted to be inside Sin’s head as he struggles with his body’s apparent inability to act on his attraction for Gabe and I wanted to spend far more time looking at Gabe’s feelings as he’s faced with the mixed signals he’s getting from Sin. As it was we were told about these thoughts and feelings almost in passing and for me that was a shame. A slightly different approach might have turned a good read into a brilliant book.
Having said all that, I should add that the author’s imagination and her ability to introduce a supernatural twist to an otherwise contemporary story had me amazed. Should Izzy van Swelm ever decide to tell Charlie’s story I will most definitely read it, even if I do think I have his big secret figured out
March 7, 2015
4.5 STARS
REVIEWED BY TAMMY
I must say I find the authors ideas on soul mates to be very intriguing! I found the sub story with in the book to be very disturbing, not because of the topic but because it is so prevalent in our society today.
The first two chapters are focused on Charlie, a young gay man about to start a new job and a new chapter in his life. He meets Sin, who is hiding from the people who are chasing him, looking to bash him. Unfortunately for Charlie and Sin they are found whilst they are talking. They are beaten so horrifically they’re hospitalized. As luck would have it, when Charlie meets the detective in charge of their case, Detective Daniel Burgess, there is an immediate attraction. It is whilst he is recovering in hospital with the support of Daniel that Charlie learns the extent of what has happened to Sin. Sin was still recovering from the first attack that saw him hospitalized, by his homophobic younger brother and his mates.
It is as he’s recovering in hospital that Sin meets his soulmate Gabriel. The story from here is both heart-warming and heart-breaking. The absolute devotion Gabriel shows to Sin as his ICU nurse and then as his friend is heart-warming. The patience he has for what Sin has gone through, as this is the second time Gabriel has been Sin’s ICU nurse and what he is still going through, as Sin has a brain injury and needs to relearn everything, is an incredible thing to read. Both Gabriel and Sin come to rely on their small group of friends, Charlie, Daniel, Julie, Alex and Prof John McRae, (who are a mix of old and new friends) to keep them sane and on track. They meet up regularly to go to a new gay club, where they take Sins parents, who have a blast!
The devastation Sins parents feel not knowing if it was something they did or didn’t do when raising their boys. You feel what they’re going through, having two sons on complete opposite sides. They are very lucky that they also have gained the love and support of Gabriel, Julie, Charlie and Daniel.
This book covers all aspects of being a gay man with loving parents, friends and a brother who hates you because you are gay. And in the midst of all the madness you find your soul mate! I can’t imagine the devastation it would cause a family to have one brother in jail for trying to beat his brother to death just because he is gay. Izzy van Swelm has handled the subject with the love and respect it deserves.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of m/m stories.
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
REVIEWED BY TAMMY
I must say I find the authors ideas on soul mates to be very intriguing! I found the sub story with in the book to be very disturbing, not because of the topic but because it is so prevalent in our society today.
The first two chapters are focused on Charlie, a young gay man about to start a new job and a new chapter in his life. He meets Sin, who is hiding from the people who are chasing him, looking to bash him. Unfortunately for Charlie and Sin they are found whilst they are talking. They are beaten so horrifically they’re hospitalized. As luck would have it, when Charlie meets the detective in charge of their case, Detective Daniel Burgess, there is an immediate attraction. It is whilst he is recovering in hospital with the support of Daniel that Charlie learns the extent of what has happened to Sin. Sin was still recovering from the first attack that saw him hospitalized, by his homophobic younger brother and his mates.
It is as he’s recovering in hospital that Sin meets his soulmate Gabriel. The story from here is both heart-warming and heart-breaking. The absolute devotion Gabriel shows to Sin as his ICU nurse and then as his friend is heart-warming. The patience he has for what Sin has gone through, as this is the second time Gabriel has been Sin’s ICU nurse and what he is still going through, as Sin has a brain injury and needs to relearn everything, is an incredible thing to read. Both Gabriel and Sin come to rely on their small group of friends, Charlie, Daniel, Julie, Alex and Prof John McRae, (who are a mix of old and new friends) to keep them sane and on track. They meet up regularly to go to a new gay club, where they take Sins parents, who have a blast!
The devastation Sins parents feel not knowing if it was something they did or didn’t do when raising their boys. You feel what they’re going through, having two sons on complete opposite sides. They are very lucky that they also have gained the love and support of Gabriel, Julie, Charlie and Daniel.
This book covers all aspects of being a gay man with loving parents, friends and a brother who hates you because you are gay. And in the midst of all the madness you find your soul mate! I can’t imagine the devastation it would cause a family to have one brother in jail for trying to beat his brother to death just because he is gay. Izzy van Swelm has handled the subject with the love and respect it deserves.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of m/m stories.
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!
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