Travis by Tracie Podger

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of this book by the author.

Synopsis:

"Travis Curran spent his childhood surrounded by physical abuse, until he could take no more…

His father has a drinking problem - he liked to take that problem out on his family. 

His brother has a drinking problem - he liked to take that problem out on Travis.

At the age of eleven, Travis was forced to run, forced to leave his sister, the only mother he ever knew and flee to Washington, DC, with a man he doesn’t know. It should have been simple; his sister was to follow a week later - But she never arrived.

Alone and homeless, Travis survived. 

He survived with the help of a boy who became his best friend, his brother in all but blood. 

He survived with the help of the family.

Today he lives a life of secrets, a life of wealth but also of crime. 

He enjoys this life - until the moment his past catches up with him. 

This is the story of an exceptional man, a dangerous man. His life in his words. 

This is the story of Travis Curran."

I've falling in love with the Fallen Angels series and this is my first look at the earlier years of both Travis and Robert (since I haven't read Robert yet).

It was such a pleasure to have this insight look of what their life, or Travis' life, was like when they were younger. I think I enjoyed reading this even more than their current years which we also saw in Fallen Angels. Seeing the heartache and hartship he needed to overcome made me feel for him and made my heart go weak yet again for this amazing character.

During the whole ordeal of his early life, you cannot help but admire the person that Travis is and is becoming. We see a boy who doesn't let anything get him down, who manages to overcome the odds of a broken home and find something, or someone, worth living for. Meeting Robert was the best thing that ever happened to him, and even though they might not be blood related, he is the closest thing to a real family he has ever had. Their relationship is remarkable, how they look out for each other, support each other and yet respect their privacy. Neither one of them wants to devulge the misgivings of their past, and it's that respect that makes their relationship so amazing. 

Seeing Travis grow up is remarkable, and having him go through what he did, it's incredible. I would've loved to see more of it, of how he deals with his newest relationship, but I'm sure Tracie has something up her sleeve in that case. 

What it comes down to is that this story gives a great look into the person Travis is growing up and how he came to be the amazing person we have all fallen in love with during the Fallen Angels series. It's a great deep look into his past and an amazing addition to this series.

However, I do recommend reading the Fallen Angels series before, because it made the book much more pleasurable to me! But it's not absolutely necessary, because this book can very well stand on its own.

Thank you for letting me read this story!! It was truly a pleasure!!

Always yours,

Yvi