The May 2020 issue of Publishers Weekly Magazine features a booklife review of Nephi's Courage by Rory McFarlan.
Buy it on Amazon now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082HCDV52
Full booklife review:
McFarlan’s emotional contemporary romance debut grapples with being a gay believer in a hostile religious environment. Nephi Willard, a 30-year-old devout Mormon, loses his leadership role in his Pleasant Grove, Utah, congregation when he expresses his intention to start dating men. His first attempts stumble due to his deep naïveté and his continued attachment to Mormonism, both of which make his dates bristle. One date, Latino chef Alex, rejects a romantic relationship but agrees to help Nephi navigate gay culture. After causing a stir by bringing Alex to a church activity, Nephi takes in Bradley Hanson, an 18-year-old thrown out by his family for coming out. Nephi and Alex return from a hunting trip to an unfolding tragedy propelled by rumors, the rippling effects of which culminate in a bittersweet but satisfying ending. McFarlan capably explores the contours of his characters’ inner lives and emotions, especially Nephi’s rigidity after years of closing off his sexuality. The dialogue is sometimes stilted (“I have been reflecting on my standing in the church as a gay man and my state in eternity”), and extraneous details occasionally drag down the pace of the story, but the characters’ strong personalities provide stable footing and enough gravity to keep events from slipping into melodrama.
Early chapters are weighed down by awkward explanations of Mormon practice, but McFarlan folds in some details more naturally, as when he depicts Nephi’s encounter with church discipline. The presence of Nephi’s boss, Mark Stone, who also serves as a major church leader, highlights the messy overlap of religious and professional lives in the insular communities of small-city Utah. McFarlan effectively contrasts the more tolerant but conflicted approach of Nephi’s family with the exceptionally harsh decisions of Bradley’s family. This romantic story will ring true to Mormon readers and help others begin to understand the depth and complexity of trying to reconcile sexual desire and religious beliefs.
Takeaway: This sympathetic exploration of the clash of sexuality and Mormon faith will have broad appeal for readers of contemporary romance.
Great for fans of Keira Andrews, Laura Stone’s And It Came to Pass.
Production grades Cover: B Design and typography: A- Illustrations: - Editing: B+ Marketing copy: A
Print Date: 07/27/2020