Debra Anastasia
Poughkeepsie

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Autumn

Synopsis:

He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him—just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he’s homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day.

Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She’s the same as a million other girls—certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe.

When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she’s surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it’s not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives.

Blake’s heart beats for Livia’s, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right? (Goodreads)

Review:

Every reader has an author that they will read no matter what genre they venture into.  For me, Debra Anastasia is one of those authors. She takes her readers on a journey of the heart and you know you will never look at the world in the same way again.

Blake Hartt is a romantic hero in every sense of the word.  He is homeless, yet proud, kind and strangely beautiful.  Every day, Livia McHugh marvels at him as she catches her train into the city.  She finds that the short time she spends with him is the highlight of her day.

Blake was raised in foster homes and after he “aged out” of the system, he is pushed out into the world at large.  Alone, except for his adopted “brothers”, Beckett Taylor and Cole Bridge.

Beckett is the most surprising character in Poughkeepsie.  He is a criminal with links to prostitution, guns and murder.  You want to dislike him, but you just can’t.  He is always “doing all the wrong things for all of the right reasons.” He goes to any length to protect his brothers and slowly reveals that he does have a soul; however lost it might be.

Cole has turned to the church as the result of his abusive childhood and struggles daily with his propensity for violence and for love.  They both feel that Blake is far too fragile for the new blossoming relationship.

Livia McHugh is a college student who lives at home with her father, who is a police officer and her insanely hilarious sister, Kyle.  Her mother abandoned her at a young age and that has shaped both of the sisters in ways that they try hard to ignore.  Livia gathers courage enough to escape from an abusive relationship with her then boyfriend just to have a chance to talk to Blake, her “Green Eyes.”

Blake and Livia have to fight pressures from society and interference from both friends and mortal enemies to be together.  How far would you go for those you love the most?  In Poughkeepsie, they go all way…

All of Anastasia’s characters are both horribly broken and unbelievably strong in their own way.  Each one is a different side of the same coin, a paradox. It is the beautiful paradox of good and evil, right and wrong, compassion and revenge that make this one of my favorite books of the year.