Review of Hard Journey of the Heart: Jesse's Story

[Adisapelumi5]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Hard Journey of the Heart: Jesse's Story" by Mark Zullo.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Hard Journey of the Heart by Mark Zullo is a romance book that narrates the life of a man coming to terms with his sexuality told in first person by the main character, Jesse. It gives us an insight into the span of his life. There is no particular order to which the story is told but it all comes together beautifully eventually and does not leave the reader confused.

The story begins with Jesse and his lover on a journey to a location which their friend claims to be "gay friendly". As the journey proceeds, both Jesse and his lover, Carlos have flashbacks regarding the maltreatment they both received for their sexuality with Jesse being bullied by classmates and Carlos bullied by his father. Jesse takes us on a rollercoaster that is his life as he experiences heartbreak, sexual encounters, pain and love.

My favorite part of the book was the main character, Jesse's growth brought about by his experiences. Although there were times when all seemed hopeless for him but he was able to overcome those situations and grow as a person. The setting of the book was mainly in mexico which gave us a perception as to what living there would be like. The use of Spanish words gave the book realism and allows us plunge into the world of Hard Journey of the Heart. It establishes a real sense of place to create an atmosphere readers can be fully immersed in. I enjoyed Jesse being open to sexual exploits which are told in explicit details with nothing held back. The author Mark zullo brought those sexual scenes to life, captivating me.

It was a very engaging and immersing book. It was well written and professionally edited. I spotted zero errors. Although the sexual scenes were alluring, it became monotonous after a while leaving me bored and making the reading somewhat tedious. The idea of the book was to be an erotic novel, but ended up being monotonous and took the pleasure out of reading the book since there were so many sexual scenes lacking variety. Hence, I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars.

I will recommend the book to those who are open minded and love to discover new things sexually. This book will appeal to those discovering their sexuality. It may not be for everyone as it covers topics like gay bashing, religion and death.

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Hard Journey of the Heart: Jesse's Story
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