“A World Apart” by Author Mel Gough Is a Story About Love, Support, and Hope

A World Apart by author Mel Gough is a story for you if you’re into M/M romance that will pull at your heartstrings. Both main characters have issues in their life that enables them to come together and offer much-needed support to each other.

I was provided a copy of ‘A World Apart’ by the author for an honest review.

I’ve been looking forward to reading and reviewing A World Apart ever since I had Mel Gough over for an interview. It’s an emotional story that deals with a medical issue a lot of people around the world have to go through. The way Mel Gough handles the medical aspects shows that she did her research.

Here’s the official synopsis for A World Apart!

Ben Griers is the darling of Corinth Georgia’s Police Department—intelligent, handsome, and hardworking. Thanks to his beautiful wife and clever daughter, Ben’s family is the envy of the town. Yet desperate unhappiness is hiding just below the surface.

When Donnie Saunders, a deadbeat redneck with a temper, is brought to the Corinth PD as a suspect in a hit-and-run, Ben finds himself surprisingly intrigued by the man. He quickly establishes Donnie’s innocence but can’t shake the feeling that Donnie is hiding something. When they unexpectedly encounter each other again at an AA meeting in Atlanta, sparks begin to fly.

With his marriage on the verge of collapse, Ben is grateful for the other man’s affection. But he is soon struggling to help an increasingly vulnerable Donnie, while at the same time having to deal with the upheaval in his own life. Ben eventually realizes that they cannot achieve happiness together unless they confront their darkest secrets.

Being someone with an academic background in medicine, I’m going to start the review by talking about how Mel Gough handled the medical side of the story through Donnie. I liked how she didn’t gloss over the things individuals who are HIV-positive have to experience. Such a medical condition takes a physical as well as an emotional toll on people, and the author handled everything with sensitivity. This book will also help educate readers about the different treatment options that are available and what they entail.

The other thing that the author deals with in her story is bisexuality. Ben is bisexual and I liked how it wasn’t depicted as a ‘pitstop-to-gay-town’ in A World Apart or a phase he needs to get over. Even today there are members in the LGBTQIA+ community that think of bisexuality as a myth. It’s unfortunate and I hope that at least the queer community becomes more accepting of bisexuals in the near future. Falling in love with the same or opposite sex doesn’t invalidate a person’s bisexuality.

Now, I get that there might be some readers who could have an issue with how Ben and Donnie’s relationship is depicted. Ben is shown to be a person who prioritizes his career instead of his wife and daughter. However, he seems to ignore his career as soon as he meets Donnie. The ‘love-at-first-sight’ trope also comes into play.

While this could be an issue for some readers, I liked it. The whole thing showed that Ben isn’t a perfect character. He has flaws and he tries to do his best considering the bond he ends up creating with Donnie. To me, it felt like Ben had learned his lessons from being married to Helen and tries not to make the same mistakes as he enters a relationship with Donnie. Also, kudos to Helen for being a reasonable female character. I’m glad the author didn’t go the ‘women-are-crazy’ route with her.

All in all, A World Apart is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in a romance that doesn’t gloss over the hardships people have to go through.

A World Apart is currently available for purchase.

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Category: Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Word Count: 51900

Have you read A World Apart? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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