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A Slave to Clay
The feud between the Blackburns and the Whitestones began before Evrain Blackburn was ever born. Raised by a violent, abusive father, he and his brothers grew up like soldiers trained to fight in a war they never caused.
Only the youngest of the Blackburn boys escaped the horror show they were born into. Sent away when he was only a teenager, Daniel returns home again after twenty years to find his beloved brother, Evrain, a broken, beaten man living in a place that time forgot.
In a world where violence waits around every corner and Death clicks his jaws in the shadows, Evrain tries to learn how to live for the first time in his life. As the feud between the Blackburns and Whitestones gears up for its final showdown, he and Daniel fight with one foot in the past and the other in the grave. They can only hope that it is enough to see them through to the end, no matter how bitter that might be.
Only the youngest of the Blackburn boys escaped the horror show they were born into. Sent away when he was only a teenager, Daniel returns home again after twenty years to find his beloved brother, Evrain, a broken, beaten man living in a place that time forgot.
In a world where violence waits around every corner and Death clicks his jaws in the shadows, Evrain tries to learn how to live for the first time in his life. As the feud between the Blackburns and Whitestones gears up for its final showdown, he and Daniel fight with one foot in the past and the other in the grave. They can only hope that it is enough to see them through to the end, no matter how bitter that might be.
- GenresM M RomanceLGBTAbuse
125 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 17, 2015
7 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Justine Sebastian
9 books55 followersJustine Sebastian began writing at the age of four. It took her quite a few years longer to realize she might actually be able to make a living doing so. She was born and raised in the south and does indeed have an accent. She does NOT write romance novels.
Readers can contact her via email at: just_sebastian@outlook.com. She promises not to bite unless you ask her to.
Readers can contact her via email at: just_sebastian@outlook.com. She promises not to bite unless you ask her to.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 17, 2018
I hesitate to leave too long a review for this because I don't want to spoil it, but I'm surprised there aren't more reviews on it, so I'm going to give it a shot anyway.
Evrain is a sweet and sad character it's hard not to sympathize with and I can't even being to count the number of times I inwardly went "Awww!" while reading this. That said, this isn't a light hearted story. The author takes a taboo that I've seen faked entirely too often, much to my disappointment (Yes, I am that pervert who wants the real thing. Read it and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's a big spoiler though) and goes there. I can't praise her enough for that alone because so few writers go there, wherever "there" may be, anymore.
The feud is well represented and though we don't know what caused it, the things that happen are completely understandable. Not forgivable maybe, but relating to human nature, I can see how something like this could escalate until it became such a part of the local culture and family tradition that it doesn't matter. No punches are pulled there either. There's violence and it's brutal and sick. I want to high-five the author for her ability to bring a villain to life on the page who is dead to begin with. Joe was a son of a bitch and even though he was dead, that did not matter. The character was vivid and well-developed anyway. I wanted to give Evrain all the hugs, poor thing. I even felt bad for his older brothers, who are not even really characters in the story.
I liked Daniel, but I felt he wasn't as developed a character as Evrain was. I think this is because the story isn't really about him. He's in it and he's important, but it's about Evrain and Evrain hasn't seen Daniel in a long time, so he doesn't really know him, therefore it's hard to say, as a reader, that I ever got to know him as a character. This works for this story though in some ways because it conveys that feeling of distance and confusion about the character that Evrain feels. You feel his ambivalence about his brother more because the character remains unknown, but you get from Evrain all of his feelings and memories about him.
In short, I loved it.
Evrain is a sweet and sad character it's hard not to sympathize with and I can't even being to count the number of times I inwardly went "Awww!" while reading this. That said, this isn't a light hearted story. The author takes a taboo that I've seen faked entirely too often, much to my disappointment (Yes, I am that pervert who wants the real thing. Read it and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's a big spoiler though) and goes there. I can't praise her enough for that alone because so few writers go there, wherever "there" may be, anymore.
The feud is well represented and though we don't know what caused it, the things that happen are completely understandable. Not forgivable maybe, but relating to human nature, I can see how something like this could escalate until it became such a part of the local culture and family tradition that it doesn't matter. No punches are pulled there either. There's violence and it's brutal and sick. I want to high-five the author for her ability to bring a villain to life on the page who is dead to begin with. Joe was a son of a bitch and even though he was dead, that did not matter. The character was vivid and well-developed anyway. I wanted to give Evrain all the hugs, poor thing. I even felt bad for his older brothers, who are not even really characters in the story.
I liked Daniel, but I felt he wasn't as developed a character as Evrain was. I think this is because the story isn't really about him. He's in it and he's important, but it's about Evrain and Evrain hasn't seen Daniel in a long time, so he doesn't really know him, therefore it's hard to say, as a reader, that I ever got to know him as a character. This works for this story though in some ways because it conveys that feeling of distance and confusion about the character that Evrain feels. You feel his ambivalence about his brother more because the character remains unknown, but you get from Evrain all of his feelings and memories about him.
In short, I loved it.
October 20, 2018
This is an exceptionally difficult review to write, mostly because I am going to find it difficult to express exactly how I felt about this novel.
The story is unbelievably dark and complex and brutal but there is something 'real' about it - the characters come alive on the page and although the subject matter was more than difficult to read at times, I found myself drawn into the novel.
The author does not shirk from writing graphic brutality and although I knew this was going to be m/m before I started reading , the taboo aspect of the story caught me unawares.
I'm giving this 5 stars, though I would have preferred to give it 4.5. I'm not sure that I will re-read this book - it's too brutal and, in some places, devastating, to be a comfortable 're-read' but I'm glad I read it and I think I learned a lot from reading it.
The story is unbelievably dark and complex and brutal but there is something 'real' about it - the characters come alive on the page and although the subject matter was more than difficult to read at times, I found myself drawn into the novel.
The author does not shirk from writing graphic brutality and although I knew this was going to be m/m before I started reading , the taboo aspect of the story caught me unawares.
I'm giving this 5 stars, though I would have preferred to give it 4.5. I'm not sure that I will re-read this book - it's too brutal and, in some places, devastating, to be a comfortable 're-read' but I'm glad I read it and I think I learned a lot from reading it.
March 1, 2016
Evrain Blackburn is a good man living in hell because of his abusive father and a never-ending feud with their neighbours, the Whitestones. The only good thing in Evrain’s life is his epistolary relationship with his brother Daniel, who managed to escape their miserable childhood home. Loosing Daniel may be the very thing that makes Evrain finally snap…
Justine Sebastian never fails to shatter me. Her books are an emotional roller-coaster, not suitable for the faint of heart. In A Slave to Clay, Evrain broke my heart… so many times. His story, his relationship with his violent father, the real monster in this story, and his love towards his brother… There is no good way to review this book without spoiling it, let’s just say it deals with things most people would consider unsettling, there is graphic and implicit violence, and a love story not everybody would approve of… It is a story about bad people doing bad things, but also about good people doing bad things because sometimes that’s just the way it is, and the only thing you can do is fulfil a fate which has been waiting for you since before you were born… But is also a story about redemption, with hope at the end
I do not understand why Justine’s books aren’t more popular. Her prose is amazing, her novels tell the sort of stories which remain with you forever, because there is no way you can forget her characters once you open her books and welcome them into your life (thinking about Duessa in Bitter Sweets still makes me shiver… I’m sure Joe Blackburn will join her in my list of unforgivable villains…). I’ve read all the books she’s published so far and loved every single one of them. I can’t recommend her enough. Give her stories a try. Maybe you do not like them, but I’m sure they will not leave you indifferent. They really are that good.
Justine Sebastian never fails to shatter me. Her books are an emotional roller-coaster, not suitable for the faint of heart. In A Slave to Clay, Evrain broke my heart… so many times. His story, his relationship with his violent father, the real monster in this story, and his love towards his brother… There is no good way to review this book without spoiling it, let’s just say it deals with things most people would consider unsettling, there is graphic and implicit violence, and a love story not everybody would approve of… It is a story about bad people doing bad things, but also about good people doing bad things because sometimes that’s just the way it is, and the only thing you can do is fulfil a fate which has been waiting for you since before you were born… But is also a story about redemption, with hope at the end
I do not understand why Justine’s books aren’t more popular. Her prose is amazing, her novels tell the sort of stories which remain with you forever, because there is no way you can forget her characters once you open her books and welcome them into your life (thinking about Duessa in Bitter Sweets still makes me shiver… I’m sure Joe Blackburn will join her in my list of unforgivable villains…). I’ve read all the books she’s published so far and loved every single one of them. I can’t recommend her enough. Give her stories a try. Maybe you do not like them, but I’m sure they will not leave you indifferent. They really are that good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2015
I really like her writing. Disturbing though.
July 3, 2023
I have read a lot of LGBTIQ fiction and I must say that this novel strikes me as quite original. The story is set in a backwoods location: a place where time seems to have stood still since the 1890s. The plot and characters, and even the prose style has an old-time feeling. Evrain, the main character, is an uneducated man. He has been soundly beaten by life and his thoughts struggle in a mire. Daniel, Evrain's brother, escaped from the family home long ago. Evrain misses his brother, but will they ever see each other again?
The book is fairly short, and the plot moves along at a nice pace. There are no dull spots. There is some highly charged action, but this is mainly a novel about people and relationships, and even more about psychological harm and healing. There is one graphic sex scene, so beware if you are of a conservative frame of mind. This book's themes may shock, but not if you are broad minded.
I cannot say that I have ever met anyone like Evrain but I must say that the author made me care about this man, stretching me out of my normal limits, and even my prejudices.
I really enjoyed this novel for its originality and interesting prose style. I am happy to award the book 5 stars.
The book is fairly short, and the plot moves along at a nice pace. There are no dull spots. There is some highly charged action, but this is mainly a novel about people and relationships, and even more about psychological harm and healing. There is one graphic sex scene, so beware if you are of a conservative frame of mind. This book's themes may shock, but not if you are broad minded.
I cannot say that I have ever met anyone like Evrain but I must say that the author made me care about this man, stretching me out of my normal limits, and even my prejudices.
I really enjoyed this novel for its originality and interesting prose style. I am happy to award the book 5 stars.
February 4, 2019
My new favorite author!! Such a unique imagination and exactly what I look for when it comes to damaged characters, amazing story lines with constant action and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You can't help but feel bad for poor Evraine but oh my his true colors are just...oh god its perfect I love it. I am officially reading every single book from this author
November 25, 2018
This is a dark story and it got me sad and teary-eyed from the first chapter until the end. And though it was quite predictable, I didn't mind it in the least because it still got me hooked and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I really loved it.
December 10, 2018
I really like Justine’s writing style. Unique and disturbing characters whom you love and emphasize with but dislike at the same time. The story is heart wrenching -long term severe domestic violence and a back woods mountain blood feud between 2 families. Not a light story but interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews