Salvation: God May Forgive Them. He Won't.

Jonah Grady #1

by Frank Faustino

America was never great. It was just better at hiding how broken it’s always been.

Jonah Grady, a gay former SAS operative, escaped the Kentucky mountains and the faith that tried to erase him. He was never coming back to the Dominion of America where deviants disappear into "curing" camps and brutality is dressed in scripture. But when his estranged parents die in a suspicious car crash, he returns to settle their estate and bury what’s left.

He walks right into a trap.

Drugged and dumped in the wilderness, Jonah becomes the sacrificial lamb in a “Redemption Hunt,” a twisted game run by fanatics who believe his death will erase their sins and cleanse their souls.

They made a fatal miscalculation. They didn't just catch a sinner; they caught an operative who learned long ago how to turn pain into a weapon.

God may forgive them. Jonah won't.

Salvation is a brutal dark dystopian survival thriller with heavy content warnings about faith weaponized, patriotism rotted into fascism, and one queer ex-soldier who refuses to kneel for either. For readers who want tactical violence, political rage, and a gay action hero who kills without mercy and loves without apology.

354 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 11, 2026

Reviews

[J.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy shit. Now, this was a thriller I was ecstatic to delve into!

The concept is terrifying because it doesn’t feel impossible. A society built on Christian zealotry where LGBTQ+ people are hunted and erased should feel like pure dystopian fiction, but Faustino writes it in a way that feels just close enough to reality to make you think it’s fiction, but let’s be real, the parallels are terrifying.

Jonah is an endearingly flawed MC. He’s broken, angry, impulsive, violent, and about as far from a perfect hero as you can get. And that’s exactly why I loved him. As a gay man, my inner child was screaming. We don’t get enough queer male protagonists who are allowed to be this messy, this capable, this unapologetic, and still be the hero.

It’s brutal. It’s graphic. It doesn’t pull punches. Read the content warnings. More than anything, though, it’s incredibly satisfying.

I’m super excited to see what’s next for Jonah and his Dominion revenge tour!

Thank you to Frank Faustino, Twisted Jezebel Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Salvation!

[Asheley · Rating 4 out of 5]

** ARC Review Incoming **

Thank you to Frank Faustino and Booksprout for allowing me to be part of the Arc Team and for giving me a free copy of this book.

Salvation is a dark, addictive ride that hooked me from the start. Faustino absolutely nailed the thriller atmosphere, keeping the pace fast and the tension high enough that I was constantly telling myself "just one more chapter."

The standout for me was the MMC. He is raw, brutal, and stitched together by trauma, weaponising every scar to survive. There are no apologies for who he is or what he's become, and that made him endlessly compelling to read. He's broken in all the best ways, and Faustino doesn't soften any of his edges.

I was also fascinated by the premise of The Domination. It's such an intriguing concept and one I desperately wanted to learn more about. I'm hoping future books dive deeper into its history, structure, and influence because it feels like there's so much more to uncover.

My only real criticism was the writing style. The constant shifts between first and third person pulled me out of the story at times and left me feeling confused about whose perspective I was in. It's the sole reason this wasn't a five-star read for me.

Overall, Salvation delivers a gritty, intense story with a fantastic lead character, strong thriller vibes, and enough mystery to leave me eager for more. If you sign up to the authors website you get access to a spicy 3 chapter novella ahead of book 2!

[Dom Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever read an action thriller where a gay man gets to be front and center quite like this, and that was easily one of my favorite things about Salvation.

Jonah is a gay former SAS operative who returns to the States to settle his deceased parents’ estate. This is a future America where things have become increasingly bleak for queer people. Religious persecution has taken hold, and gay people are being brutalized and hunted by fanatics who believe killing them will somehow “save” their souls.

Yeah. Right.

There are still people in Jonah’s hometown who want absolutely nothing to do with what America has become, but unfortunately, there are plenty who do.

Eventually Jonah is drugged, taken into the wilderness, and hunted by a group of these fanatics.

There’s just one small problem:

They picked the wrong gay man.

From there, this basically played out like an action movie in my head. Jonah gets to be tough, capable, angry, vulnerable, and absolutely brutal when he needs to be. And I loved seeing a gay character occupy a role we so often see reserved for straight male action heroes. The queer representation isn’t tucked away somewhere in the background. Jonah IS the action hero.

And when the people responsible for this persecution start learning exactly who they’ve decided to mess with? I can’t say I was particularly upset about how swiftly some of those lessons were delivered.

This was also incredibly fast-paced. The chapters are fairly short, they constantly leave you on cliffhangers, and it creates that “okay, ONE more chapter” problem until suddenly you’ve blown through a huge chunk of the book.

Definitely check the trigger warnings beforehand, because this gets very dark. There is homophobia, religious persecution, sexual assault, torture, graphic violence, and other potentially upsetting material.

As a gay man, I really appreciated the representation here. There was something genuinely refreshing about reading a thriller where the queer character isn’t relegated to a supporting role or defined solely by what happens to him. Jonah gets to be the badass at the center of his own action thriller.

Frank Faustino gifted me a copy of Salvation, and I’m very glad he did. I’m absolutely looking forward to book two.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving my honest review in exchange for the ARC I was provided by NetGalley and the publisher.
4⭐

Firstly, this is a dystopian suspense book with a gay MC, who has, what I'd categorize it as, a degradation kink. Not sure if that's the exact right term, but I am pretty sure it is.

And can I say, I literally whistled and was like dayuuuuuuuuuum when I read the dedication in this book? Holy shit. This author has been through it, is all I gotta say. And if this was the inspiration? Dude, I'm so sorry for what you've been through. I cannot even imagine, if this is the story that came out of your rotten family. But kudos to you for being fucking awesome. And thank you for an awesome book.

I digress.

Jonah is our MC, left town in 2027 for Europe, to escape the religious persecution that has become law here in the States. God is law and there's no place for anyone queer in it. Hide, flee, be 'reformed', or die. 20 years have passed, his parents die, and he has to come and clear their estate up and complete and utter bullshit ensues when he's back in town.
He is out and proud where he lives in London, served in their special forces. Is a complete badass. And is viscerally hated for who he is back in his hometown, with the exception of a couple people.

The first part of the book is delving into who Jonah is, who he was and where he came from, the absolutely atrocious parents he had and his treatment in school. The amazing Uncle Billy who was also gay and took him under his wing and helped him become who he is today. It examines some of his struggles after serving in the military, but doesn't delve too deeply, just enough to know how much it messed him up and how he can make it through pretty much ANYTHING.

Then he's captured. And thrown into the Dominion of America's version of individualized Hunger Games, to redeem people from their sinful ways. This is part 2, and wow. Just wow. Throw this man in the mountainside wilderness and let the hunt begin. He truly is a bad ass extraordinaire. But there are a couple scenes.......damnnnnnnnn. I uh....yeah. I was cringing. And I still am just thinking about them. Definite TW here. For some stuff involving animals, sadistic sex, among other things. And there's a TW at the beginning of the book. So I was kind of prepared. But WOW.

But I gotta say, Jonah is amazing. Just shuts himself down, as a soldier would, and does his damn job giving absolutely zero fucks. And I am here for it. I was smiling for his violence, because it was completely warranted. Brutal and wicked and amazing, but warranted. I'm so here to watch him be hunted.
And the scene where he's 'high' I would say, it's epic. It was brutal and funny all at the same time.

Third part? Hoo boy. Again, I want Jonah's skills. That man is epic. Also here for it. Always here for it. We get some things revealed and I honestly did not see it until right before it was revealed. And there is some serious torture happening in this part. And that's all I can say without giving anything away. Just know it's worth it.

I'm so here for more to happen in this series. Ready to watch Jonah burn the damn world to the ground. Add me to the Resistance!

[Nick Artrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested and received an eARC of Salvation by Frank Faustino via NetGalley. Jonah Grady, a gay former SAS operative, escaped rural Kentucky and the religious bigotry that sought to erase him. He vowed never to return to the Dominion of America, where "deviants" are disappeared and hatred is paraded as virtue. When his estranged parents die, however, Jonah returns to settle their estate and bury what's left. He walks right into a trap. Jonah finds himself as the sacrificial lamb in a "Redemption Hunt," a game in which fanatics who believe their sins will be forgiven by spilling deviant blood. Selecting Jonah was a fatal mistake.

Salvation is the sort of book that pulls you into the action immediately and makes the stakes unmistakably high. The opening chapters crackle with tension, and Faustino does an excellent job of showing what life in the Dominion of America actually looks and feels like. Jonah Grady is an anti-hero in the tradition of Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne, but he is deliciously queer, which is exactly what drew me to the story in the first place. The politics of the Dominion are eerily resonant and unfortunately all too believable, and that makes Jonah an especially compelling character to root for.

The setting is beautifully rendered. As someone who grew up in Appalachia, it was really nice to see the names of familiar cities and the way that Faustino excels at capturing the spirit of the hollers and hills in his prose. I thought the pacing was wonderful! There are plenty of chapter breaks, making Salvation any easy book to pick back up (if you’re able to put it down in the first place!) The first half of the story does a great job of setting up the premise and building up the tension. The second half brilliantly delivers on this tension with non-stop action. I frequently found myself grimacing and panicking as Jonah fought his way through the hunt! Great read, I look forward to reading more books in this series!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Twisted Jezebel Press, and Frank Faustino for the digital ARC of this book!

Dark fiction with teeth indeed. This book is like a dark, twisted version of Reacher crossed with Hunger Games...and I loved every moment of it!!!! Trigger warnings for just about every thing, so please read at your discretion.

I loved the fact that Faustino makes the main character, Jonah, perfectly imperfect. He has his flaws (boy, does he ever) but he doesn't apologize for them. In fact, he turns them into deadly weapons. The flaws are not glossed over, not skimmed, not avoided. They are front and center, being analyzed in graphic detail. And then sharpened to a fine point, which the main character uses to sadistically kill his enemies.

Also, the way the author gives the reader an inside view of the mindset to the sado/masochism world is mind blowing. It leaves you, at times appalled, aroused, shamed, and intrigued. The graphic violence, sex, and torture shocks to the core, but seems utterly needed for the story.

Finally, finally, FINALLY, we have a gay main character who isn't sidelined, camped out, or any other overused trope. He's ruthless, deadly, capable. And not ashamed of it. I have never been a fan of the thriller/mystery/military type books, but this easily has become a new favorite! I will be getting copy of this for my personal shelf!

[M H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review of an advance copy from NetGalley. No incentive was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.

Let's start with the biggie - the trigger warnings need a serious update. The MC is raped, and is a rapist by the end of the book. There are also references to a wide array of BDSM activities. "Graphic violence" and "torture", while accurate, just don't cover it.

Now for the story itself... meh. The pacing was all over the place for me. I think a lot of it was geared towards world-building, but just had me pushing through to the next scene.

The premise is of the Dominion is both fascinating and terrifying. With a near-future sense of reality that made my skin crawl. As I'm absolutely certain was the author's intention.

Jonah is an inherently flawed character, and I applaud the author for giving us that. The links between homophobia, trauma, and self-medicating are laid bare in visceral terms. He's nobody's knight in shining armour. But his life story helps you understand just how many layers of soul-wrenching horror he has endured.

I will also say the HEA felt very Deus Ex Machina in the last chapter.

Scoring this was a hard one - the wonky warnings had me reaching for an auto 1*. Which felt unfair overall. I think this may appeal to a very specific audience, but reader beware.

[Zoey M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the trigger warnings at the beginning, and there were still some sections where this went significantly darker than I expected. The note at the beginning does make it clear that this book will be dark, but I don't think it was quite enough considering some of the contents of the book. That being said, the book did pull me in at the beginning. I was invested in Jonah's story and his survival, and I thought the pacing worked really well for about the first 20-30% of the book. After that, the pacing shifted a little as the tone and the events shifted, and I think it was a bit rocky for me from then on. There are some sections where the shifts from first t0 third person were hard for me to follow and I would have preferred just having one or the other. Jonah makes a lot of vague references to past events in his life without going into much detail for the most part, and while I am sure that was partly to leave some backstory for future books of the series, I got a little tired of seeing the same veiled references to some of the events. Some of them were explored more by the end of the book, but some were left unanswered. It felt like everything happened very quickly at the end of the book, and I would have liked a little more time spent on wrapping the book up at the end.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

[NicSilks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Having recently signed up to NetGalley, I wasn't sure what my first book should be, but having seen snippets on TikTok, Salvation piqued my interest, and I wasn't disappointed!

From the very first page I was transported to Jonah's world, feeling I was right beside him in every scene, rooting for him. As far as main characters go, Jonah is relatable - like most of us, he is a flawed individual. His upbringing and the world around him has shaped him into the tough, driven individual he has become. That said, he displays moments of vulnerability and sensitivity that really struck a chord with me.

Faustino's world-building is visceral. In a truly terrifying, dystopian era (and one that feels very possible in current times) the author paints a vivid picture through tight prose and snappy pacing; each chapter ending had me wanting to read on.

This book comes with trigger warnings and it certainly won't be to everybody's taste. Some scenes are graphic and possibly difficult to read depending on personal preference. As long as there is no child abuse or animal cruelty (which there isn't), I'll read anything.

This is a strong, well-written debut. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Twisted Jezebel Press, and Frank Faustino for the digital ARC of this book.

[ech0reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

Whew. I absolutely loved this book. Calling it Gay Reacher doesn't even begin to scratch the surface on how good it is. It will rip out your heart and stamp all over it, whilst the next page will have you cheering for the disgusting bigots that Jonah kills. It was an absolute wild ride and I genuinely loved every second.

I think what this book does the best is the effortless blending of real-world, contemporary rights violations, like ICE, Purity culture in Western religion, and rampant homophobia, with a dystopian-esque future where the Dominion is in control, reminiscent of 1930s Germany where people can be reported by neighbours for being queer. It shows how much of a slippery slope the current rollback on Queer Rights can be and delivers it in an unwavering and unapologetic fashion.

Jonah is an ex-Military gay man, who is flawed, but I couldn't help but love him. I was rooting for him the whole time. I loved that he was able to get revenge on the people who harmed him and his uncle, highlighting the hypocrisy of the system and the men who run it. This felt like Queer rage in its truest form.

This definitely isn't for the faint of heart but I loved every violent and bloody second.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a high action thriller with a gritty gay protagonist. Definitely a page turner. Once you think you understand what is going on, the script is flipped. There are so many times, where the protagonist sees light at the end of the tunnel only to find a unexpected challenge. He meets everything head on. At one point, all you can do is cheer him on hoping those that caused him pain and suffering get their just deserts and does he deliver. If your expecting sugar coated action this is not the book for you, this is gritty and brutal and worth the read.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Novels and Nummies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Special thanks to Booksprout and Frank Faustino for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an interesting concept and clearly a lot of thought was put into Jonah as a character. His background and actions were clearly built out of pure survival in a world that is determined to hate and punish everything about him.

Despite the interesting character, I struggled to get through this book. I found the pacing to be quite slow and the writing style to be disjointed which held me at arms length as a reader.

[Deb Overton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read an ARC, just to be up front about it. Started a bit rough for me, my first thought being why would you ever go back, and therefore end up in the mess you did? I am NOT a risk taker. But once I got past that bit, I really enjoyed this book! It is graphic, it is gross, people doing things I never have and never will, but the story sucked me in, anyway! So well written that I could picture the world, the characters and the location with no effort.

I cannot wait for the next one in the series!

[Rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow… just wow. Start this book with plenty of time to finish it in case you get sucked in like I did and can't put it down. This is dark, gritty and violent. Jonah is totally ruthless in his revenge. Looking forward to seeing what he does next.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cynthia Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonah had to leave the United States because of who he loved. Now he's back to bury his parents, but he finds out it was a lie he was brought back because someone wants him dead. I really enjoyed this book.

[Tony Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very hard to put down. I said, “just one more chapter” until I was too invested to stop. A little edgier than I typically read, the relatability of the protagonist was very engaging.