The Prodigal Son by Sara Cate is the much-anticipated finale to The Good Brothers series. This series has been an emotional rollercoaster, with steamy moments balanced with spiritual exploration and trauma. I’ve loved every book in the series leading up to this one, and Sara Cate has been teasing Isaac’s story since the very beginning. When the pre-order hit the Kindle, I was ready. Or at least, I thought I was.
Isaac Goode ran away from home at seventeen after he came out to his family as gay. His father, Truett Goode, a preacher and absolute monster, wouldn’t accept a gay son. In the eleven years since he’s built himself a new life as a country music star under the name Theo Virgil. No one knows that Theo and Isaac are one in the same, or that Theo is gay. It’s a lonely life, but he’s making it work.
Jensen Miles is a preacher who took over Truett Goode’s congregation after his dramatic fall from grace. He’s great at his job and wants to bring the congregation back together and heal the ragged wound that Truett left behind. But he also has a secret. The conversion “therapy” program he attended as a teenager didn’t work, as much as he publicly pretends otherwise.
When a family friend invites Jensen to a Theo Virgil concert, he leaps on the opportunity. He’s a huge fan and the chance to meet Theo backstage is too good to pass up. The sparks fly between them immediately, but shame and secrets threaten to tear them down.
These characters were so fun to root for because as complex as they are, even with their traumatic pasts, Isaac and Jensen are such pure souls. These are two genuinely good men and I love them.
Be warned, this book has heavy themes. It is fraught with grief and trauma, which is true of the whole series, but this is by far the most emotionally painful of the lot.
The Prodigal Son tugged on the heart strings from the very beginning. Issac and Jensen have been so broken down by hate, shame, and a cruel world where bigotry is accepted as faith. It’s heartbreaking, but so important to read and take in.
For every moment of pain and struggle in this book, there is a smoking hot spice scene to even things out. The spice in this book is something truly special. Readers can feel the love Isaac and Jensen have for each other in every interaction.
Despite all the spicy fun, I cried full body sobs reading this book. I have not ever needed a set of characters to get their happily ever so badly. I knew we would get there eventually, because this is a romance novel, but they just so deeply deserved it. This book had the power to utterly wreck me, and it did, but it was so worth it in the end. I don’t know if I have ever read a more deeply moving and powerful romance novel.
To anyone reading this who might need to hear it, you can’t pray the gay away. And you don’t have to. God loves you just exactly as you are. You deserve to live in your truth, with love.
Resources:
The Trevor Project: crisis services for LGTBQ+ youth, and an excellent organization to donate to if you are able.
988 Lifeline for suicide prevention resources.
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