Beyond Love

by J.A. Harmon

Sometimes love is stronger than death.

Former foster child Gabriel Jacobs is determined to make something of his life. Easygoing and more comfortable in a pair of old sweats than the Brooks Brothers suits he will have to wear when he finishes his law degree, Gabriel is also a naïve romantic looking for love. That turns out to be a problem when the ghost of Adrien Beauchene, the son of a French plantation owner, makes an appearance in the house Gabriel just moved into. Adrien is convinced Gabriel is the reincarnation of his slave turned lover, a man he has spent 160 years waiting for.

Before long, Adrien gains control of Gabriel. He vows not to be parted from his love again, even if that means Gabriel must join him in the spirit world. But Gabriel’s best friend, Scott, won’t give up without a fight. He enlists the help of a gypsy witch and twin warlocks Jaivyn and Jaquan to keep Gabriel safe. As Adrien tightens his grip, Gabriel begins to fade, and Jaivyn grows desperate. He and Gabriel just met—Jaivyn can’t lose him now….

Genres: Paranormal, Gay, Romance, M M Romance

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 7, 2013

About the author

J.A. Harmon has always immersed himself in a spiritual and magical world. The son of a preacher man, he often found himself moving to new places. His only constant friends were the characters in the books he read and the stories he would write. J.A.’s creative writing took a side trip as he traveled down a road of self-discovery, which led him to religious education and law. He finally reunited with the friends of his childhood when life presented an opportunity to create stories once again. New friends emerged and old friends returned, taking new life in historic New Orleans, where J.A. lived for ten years.

J.A. currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky, the city of his birth, with a roommate and three cats (Momow, Bubby, Mikey and Ally—you decide who is whom). He currently supports his writing as an attorney, insurance agent, marketing consultant, and copy editor.

Reviews

[Andrew Intuitive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is one that every person interested in the afterlife, witches, ghosts and many other aspects of the paranormal should read. I read this two times and I am starting on my third time. My emotions shifted from fear to sorrow to triumph with each chapter. J.A.'s time in NOLA and his desire for answers related to the expanded thought realm mixes with his own love and death experiences to brew up a wickedly delicious literary cocktail.

This book will entertain and educate. While it is primarily set in the New Orleans area, the characters and storylines will take you to many varied places.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears · Rating 4 out of 5]

POC on the cover - check.
A GLBT romance with PoC as leads - check.
One atrocious case of ethnic name fail - check and deduct one star.

[Janell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond Love was an unexpected delight. This was no mere ghost love story.

I settled in to read a sugary-sweet romance about star-crossed lovers finally reunited via reincarnation, but not even half-way through, I am literally glued to my Kindle as the story evolved into something more complex. The author managed to skillfully blend elements from all of my favorite genres into a very unique paranormal romance/mystery/thriller.

There's shadowy and clandestine figures whose activities influence both the ancestors and descendants of the major players (as told through time jumps and flashbacks). And there's a race against time to get answers to the mystery behind the haunting.

Some instances of 'paranormal activity' had me laughing out loud as Adrien made his preferences known (and felt), especially around smartie-pants (and utterly adorable) Scott. At the same time, I was delightfully spooked with Adrien's ghostly texts ("Where is he?" "Bring him back!"), Adrien's slow seduction of Gabriel (who gets real comfortable cuddling in bed with a poltergeist - creepy!!!), the séances with manifestations, and the eerie foretelling about Gabe finding love with a violet-eyed man. Well, just the whole spiritualism angle - it was really well done.

The use of "found" historical journal entries to fit the pieces of the mystery into place were an awesome premise and voiced very convincingly. You could feel the oppressiveness of the era, feel the awe and wonder of a young Southerner hopelessly in love with his slave, as well as the sense of foreboding and loss as they are tragically separated. Everything just gelled.

There was a "colorful" and endearing cast of characters (what was up with the twins and their literal yin-yang thing?) Also, Mel and Patrick's back story (and their link to Adrien) was so touching and well written.

Not a ton of sex scenes, but in the case of Adrien & Ben in the past or Adrien & Gabriel (as Ben) in the present - I got the sense that their intimacy was more demonstrative of their "soul-deep" connection and familiarity, but certainly no less erotic in intensity.

Among the secondary characters, Scott's quips about his own (real and imagined) sexual exploits was hilarious; and there was enough steamy innuendo about the twins Jaquan and Jaivyn, and their assets, to remind you this was an adult read. Honestly, there was more than enough going on plot-wise; extensive sex scenes would have appeared out of place, and detracted from the story as a whole - IMO.

I got a little lost with some of the background on the "six houses of magic", the cross-breeding of bloodlines, and who was actually related to who (I still don't think I understand all of that fully), but it was very intriguing and imaginative nonetheless. I wanted to read more about the twins, whose family history has a huge tie-in to the bloodline subplot.

So the star-crossed lovers eventually do reunite, the curse is broken, but not all of the subplots were resolved in the epilogue - which is perhaps open-ended enough for a continuation (or a new novel) with the secondary characters at least. There's a lot left unsaid about these magic bloodlines. I can't believe J. A. Harmon only has this one novel out - give us more, please!!!!

[Melinda Sprayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book from beginning to the end. I think the fact that it is written in the present tense makes the story and characters come alive and gives it that extra little bits that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens. I walked around work looking like a zombie from staying up later than I should because I couldn't put ot down. Cant wait for the next one to come out...WRITE FASTER PLEASE!!!

[Shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

More mystical than romance but whatever.