| Title | : | Sins of Yesterday (Arizona #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 264 |
| Publication | : | First published January 5, 2022 |
Then Arizona's daddy loses his job, and things go from bad to worse. He baits Arizona into a fight, and their brawl results in him and his brothers and sister being split up by Social Services. Arizona is determined to make a better man of himself and take care of his siblings, but he's up against a world controlled by adults, small town prejudices, and unfathomable family secrets that will change everything he thought he knew about himself.
Sins of Yesterday (Arizona #1) Reviews
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Romeo Preminger always crafts a gripping story, but he’s outdone himself with Sins of Yesterday. These characters! The drama! This one is edge of your seat, mind blowing, can not put it down, superb.
And as thoroughly marvelous as the first part of Arizona's story is to read, Sins of Yesterday is even more epic in audio!
Gabriel Michael is a new narrator to me, and I’m blown away. His accents are spot on, and the variety of different voices he came up with for this extensive cast of characters, is nothing short of spectacular. I’m so impressed! Women, children, and old folks. Spoiled southern belles, rural hicks, and snooty New England prepsters. His range is amazing.
This is a fast moving, exciting story with clever twists and turns, and everything is set up perfectly for Daddy’s Boy. I literally Can Not Wait!
a copy of Sins of Yesterday was provided for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own -
Wow, at 17% I was already emotionally drained, no one should go through in a whole lifetime, what Arizona did at fifteen. I read somewhere this story ends with a cliff, every cliff I could imagine already happened. You understand my curiosity about the course of this story.
Life is impossible hard for Arizona, he’s just fifteen, the family is broke, living on the poorest side of town, his mother died two years ago, his father is an abusive jerk and mostly drunk, he got three younger siblings and take care of them when his father is on the road. His Gran helps where she can.
Arizona has one bright spot in his life, Preston.
After everything grew above Arizona’s head and he also got in a fight with his dad, the family is under Social Services care and split.
Arizona can’t shake off the feeling bad luck is following him. Is he cursed or blessed?
Then, after a few weeks, things are changing for Arizona. He ends up at Whittington Manor, a plantation estate. His life turns a full 360. That’s all I’m gonna say about it.
“There’s two things that’s plentiful in this world. Oxygen and ignorance.”
Arizona is lost, feels like he doesn’t fit with anyone or anywhere in this world.
We can follow him going through some heartbreaking moments. I was even reluctant to read further at the moments he was happy, so afraid of what was coming.
I followed him and saw him losing family and making new, meeting his grandad, Nicolas, and Jonathan, learning about his family, making love, making enemies and friends, standing up for his rights, standing out as the amazing person he is.
Arizona is the most strong, determined young guy, he’s kind, compassionate, caring, what life gives him in return is just devastating, heartbreaking, and has a huge emotional impact.
I got a nagging feeling there’s something really wrong, there are people around I don’t think they are who they say they are. I’m so curious if I got it right. (After finishing I had it right 🙂
About that cliff, my definition of a cliff is different, for me, this narrative certainly needs a continuation, because dang what a journey!
So here I am, finished with this story, numb, speechless, in tears, devastated, my heart is racing.
Throughout the whole story, I was sitting on the edge of my chair, it was immensely captivating, the author did an absolutely amazing job, sharing and making us part of Arizona’s life in such a way, I felt it all. What a stunningly written story, I’m a bit breathless and speechless.
All the stars for this journey that is part one of a trilogy. Man, when will book two be released, I’m anxious and can’t wait!
Read and reviewed for
LoveBytes - LGBTQ bookreviews -
This book begins a saga for Arizona, a gay teen as the book opens, faced with an abusive father, two younger siblings, an aging but supportive grandmother, and a secret boyfriend he's hiding in the religious Southern community he lives in. A series of crises including his grandmother's death end up with Arizona in trouble. He's found by the husband of his deceased mother's mother - a step-grandfather - who has money and status and who plucks Arizona out of the accumulated disaster to a new life.
But that new life comes with disdainful servants, a drunk and nasty birth-grandmother, a gay uncle living secluded in the woods, a boarding school that won't be a comfortable fit for an outspoken gay boy who grew up poor, and secrets beneath the surface. Worst of all, that new life doesn't come with any concern or care for his half-siblings. And Arizona has choices to make, but he's also limited to only what his grandfather is willing to indulge him in, the times when the busy businessman actually is home to pay attention.
Arizona has relationships with multiple men in this book, but it's definitely not a romance, more a coming of age saga. It's also book 1 of a series, and the end, while it leaves some threads resolved and is not a cliffhanger, is also far from a solid resting place for Arizona and those he cares about.
This book was addictive in a soap opera way. I'm not sure if I'll read the rest, but boy, I do want to know how this turns out... -
Before I get started, you should know a few things - this is not technically a romance, as there is is a cliffhanger ending that is not even close to an HEA or even a HFN. I would classify it as queer fiction, maybe even literature, because it is about much more than a single relationship. Southern Gothic does is an apt description.
It does involve child abuse and neglect, and separate from that, there is a consensual sexual and emotional relationship between a 16-year-old and a 31-year-old man. In the families described, sexual relationships and marriages between teenage female and older male characters is commonplace, and this is not your typical teenager. I'm not saying that makes it legal, or right, but it is a mitigating factor. Your mileage may, of course, vary.
The sex scenes are not particularly detailed, more like fade-to-black, so if you're looking for taboo steam, this is not that book. There's plenty of taboo things mentioned, but it's not sensationalized.
Romeo Preminger got the feel and the rhythm of south Louisiana down pat, and while I'm less sure of the accuracy of the 1984 setting, the storytelling is good enough that I am not going to go digging around to pick it apart. There were no glaring anachronisms that I noticed, and it's entirely possible that the location had a lot to do with the feeling of being set in the 1970s instead of the 80s.
It was an emotional read, full of true angst, because even when things were going well and everyone was happy, or as happy as they could be, I was always on edge, knowing that something terrible was going to happen. I was correct.
This is my first book by this author, and I was fortunate enough to get an advance copy. I'm hoping to get advance copies of the next two books because I NEED to know what happens. -
Jeśli szukasz słodkiego romansu z dużą ilością seksu , to omiń tą książkę szerokim łukiem.
Pierwsze 20% książki, to piekło w jakim żyje Arizona. Bieda, przemoc, alkohol. Wszystkie plagi egipskie spadły na niego. Później , czy jest lepiej musicie ocenić sami...
Książka jest świetnie napisana i przybliża nam Południowe Stany, tą gorszą stronę i tą tzw. lepszą?? , czy aby lepszą.
Polecam , ale poczekajcie na całą serię. -
RTC and a rating too because wow. I have no clue how I feel about this book, it unsettled me, but in all the ways that it was meant to do. This book had the exact effect it was meant to have on me and i’m just no sure how I feel about it yet. But trust me, it was a lovely reading experience, just one hell of a gunt punching one!
I received a copy of this book, and this is my honest review. -
I’m a bit shell shocked from that ending.
I don’t want to spoil the book but there really should have been better trigger warnings YIKES. I guess 2 more books are planned in the life of Arizona saga.
He is only 15 going on 16 but has lived a pretty crazy life. His family situation was insane. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in book 2 and 3. Book 1 does end on a big cliffhanger. A shocking one to say the least.
I did enjoy the characters in the book. Arizona has a strong personality and you do fall in love with him through all his trials and tribulations. I’m excited for what book 2 and 3 bring. -
Wow, what a great read! I've never heard of Romeo Preminger and I didn't know much about the premise of this story (I ignored the blurb because I wanted to go in blind), but I was seriously engaged from page one.
The journey for Arizona is not easy on any level. It's a sad story, but also hopeful and truly engaging. This story includes tragedy, poverty, prejudice, angst, you name it, it seems like Arizona endures a liftime of struggle by the time he's only 16 years old. There is some romance, all of which the intimate moments are off-page. We do read about them, just not in great detail, but you still feel the love and connection between them. I don't usually care for that, but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything because the storytelling, characters and setting are so appealing.
The story ended with a few serious bombs. One didn't surprise me, the other broke my heart. I knew going into this story life wouldn't be all buttoned up for Arizona by the time we reached the end, yet it still stabbed me in the heart just the same. I'm so excited to see how Arizona grows in the next two books of this series. -
I was really enjoying this story until I found out it is a cliffhanger. There are more books that follow this one! This is as dysfunctional as families can get. Right now I’m not sure who the main characters all are. Arizona definitely is the character that is being focused on. His relationship with his “family” is up in the air. His relationship with the Bondurant group is totally unsettled. He has friends that give me nothing but questions. He is thrown in situations that I don’t expect. The family Thanksgiving startled me. I have to say I love this story so far. It really has twists and turns every time I feel I know where it is going. There are a number of triggers so I feel more should have been disclosed. I have no problem with them because I like dark stories. My main problem is there are two more books to get the whole story!! I would have rated it five star if the cliffhanger had been disclosed.
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🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/11/2022)! 🎁
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The “Sins of Yesterday” follows the life of Arizona Fanning, who was a caring young man and did his best to raise his brothers, Duke, little Douglas and sister Dolly.
Gus Fanning was just no good and never around. Arizona became responsible for his siblings with the help of Grandma Tilley. But there was nothing Arizona would not do for his family. He did well in school and knew at an early age that he was gay and even had a boyfriend, Preston Montclair.
When tragedy hit the Fanning family, Arizona felt the fear of Gus Fanning wanting to split up him and his siblings and it brought Arizona trouble. But with trouble it turned Arizona’s life around.
Arizona is taken in by his wealthy, step-Granddaddy, Gaston Polydore Bondurant. He liked his Granddaddy but even so there was still animosity lurking in Whittington Manor.
On the day of Arizona’s sixteenth birthday, he’s reunited with his half-siblings, but it turns into a hurtful situation. He approaches is Granddaddy about his half-siblings and
can’t comprehend why they couldn’t live at the Manor. In a storm of anger he’s saved by Nicolas Bondurant. Nicolas is Gaston’s younger brother and lives secluded on the Whittington property. Arizona finds a connection with Nicolas. With Arizona’s love of reading he shares with Nicolas books by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that he’s read. Nicolas in turns educates Arizona with his knowledge of Dostoyevsky and other gay authors. With all they have in common a strong bond grows between them.
Eventually with Arizona’s love of reading and hopes to be a teacher or writer, he’s far from Louisiana as he attends Middleton Academy in New England. It wasn’t easy attending the academy. The wealth and privilege were stifling for Arizona. He stayed to himself, but never failed in his studies. He has a run-in with one student but Arizona holds his own. He does make a new friend in Jonathan Gutierrez. Jonathan tells Arizona about Brown University and the Gay Student Alliance. They decide to take a day trip to Boston and it’s an eye opener for Arizona. He meets boys and girls, gay and lesbian and talked with those of different ethnicity.
As life goes on for Arizona it will still open new doors, but with that, there’s bound to be more devastation that cannot be ignored.
Romeo Preminger, brings 1984 to life, with the flavor of Le Moyne Parish, Louisiana, and the what’s know as the poor section, John’s Island. “Sins of Yesterday” is an epic story of twisted Family drama, suicide, forbidden love, tragedy, guilt, heartbreaking moments, psychological and dark times. It’s about the failure to reason what’s right before it causes destruction. There’s prejudice not only in the world of rich and poor, but students and faculty as well.
I wasn’t so much shocked with all the bizarre situations in this novel as I was angry. Especially with Gaston Polydore Bondurant he did the right thing by Arizona, but he was still very much a coward. Arizona saw that in Gaston but he had a good heart and tried to spare Gaston’s feelings. But Gaston’s still carried a secret that caused grave hurt and destruction in the family. And not just the Bondurants but the Fannings also. At times, I felt Arizona was more of an adult than the adults. But through it all Arizona finds a way to keep hope and persevere. Besides Arizona who is an outstanding character, I liked Nicolas. Nicolas and Arizona had such a dynamic connection.
With this first book in the “Arizona Series” Romeo Preminger educates the reader with: gay authors, literature, and activists, such as: Harvey Milk and Frank Kameny.
“Sins of Yesterday” was a page-turner for me. I couldn’t put it down and had to know what was going to happen to Arizona next. Romeo Preminger has two more “Arizona” novels lined up: “Daddy’s Boy” and “Ties that Bind”. Can’t wait to see what these future novels have in store for Arizona. -
I had no clue what I was getting into reading this story.
It sucks you in with it’s almost casual telling of events, events so horrific that there were a couple of times I had to go back and re-read what I had taken in. This poor boy goes through so much it’s just awful, and it seems like every single time he gets a break, things get worse.
When he finally found love, real love, my heart lifted. Even when it became apparent that Nicholas wouldn’t be able to follow Arizona out into the world, the fact that Nicholas was happy for him to fly and thrive, trusting that he would come back, made it all worthwhile.
School was just how I imagined it to be – perhaps because Arizona is only two years older than me I could imagine just the type of thing he faced. But to find that school wasn’t the worse thing that was going to happen to him – I didn’t expect that. And perhaps I should have been prepared, but I wasn’t.
It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, which I think people should be warned about, but I am heading into the second book once I’ve taken an emotional break.
The writing is engaging – almost slowly hypnotic in that you can ‘hear’ the accents and how people spoke. I haven’t read any Southern Gothic books before so didn’t know what to expect. Depending on how this trilogy ends, I may dip my toe further into the genre.
A very solid 4/5 for me and I am looking forward to reading more.
I received an ARC from GRR in return for an honest review. -
This is dramatic, emotional, heartbreaking and intense. There are twists and turns throughout the whole story, some good, some not so good. Arizona has had a tough 16 years, his mother died, his father was absent or abusive, and he was responsible for 3 younger siblings. The only help he got was his grandmother, and when she stepped in to get the kids in a better situation, it all went wrong. He had his best friend, who was also his secret boyfriend, Preston to decompress with, until Arizona's imploded. Arizona is a smart, responsible, determined and confused young man. And the plot twist at the end of this book is so unexpected and shocking, and also a cliffhanger. It's an intriguing story will touch every emotion.
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This book was a roller coaster of emotions. It was dramatic, heartbreaking and emotional. Arizona has been through the ringer. He had such a tough life. This book went through twists and turns and ends on an EXTREME cliffhanger! I can’t wait to see what books 2 and 3 hold. I need to know what happens next in Arizona’s life. It was a great story and the first one I’ve read by this author. It for sure won’t be my last one!
I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.
POV: 1st person single POV (Arizona)
Standalone or series: Book 1 of The Arizona Series
Would I recommend it: 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ highly recommend!! 🤩
Would I read it again: Most definitely! -
ᖇᗴTᖇO ՏOᑌTᕼᗴᖇᑎ ᘜOTᕼᎥᑕ ᗩT ᎥT'Տ ᗩᗷՏOᒪᑌTᗴ ᖴᎥᑎᗴՏT
ωσω.
Just …. ummm …. and also, 𝘄𝗼𝗮𝗵.
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 is so very beautifully written, with the reader completely transported back to the early 80’s. A true Southern Gothic, with an under layer {almost an underbelly} of sunshine. The entire book rings so true to every book, movie, and television series, from my youth.
𝙷𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚢, 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎.
While grateful to have received a 𝐭𝐰 regarding the ending, I warn; 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝.
I’m utterly shook. As stated by many reviewers, 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘴 is intense, dramatic, emotional, traumatic, and heartbreaking.
And yet, I am totally and completely anticipating the next release in this series. -
Arizona is a character with layers, and while some of those layers seem to be part of who he is as a person, many of the others are clearly the product of his circumstances, which are intense, emotional, dramatic, and constantly in upheaval. The journey this story goes on wasn’t one I was expecting to take, but Arizona is interesting, and resilient, enough to keep a reader hooked through every twist and turn (note to readers: expect twists and turns). This is clearly the start of a longer saga, and it’s interesting and powerful enough to make me excited (and a little terrified) to see what happens in the next book.
*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. -
MM, Dark Themes, Historical (1980's), YA, Suspense, Romance. An easy to read page-turner with so many twists and turns and action throughout. Arizona is 15 at the beginning of the story and deserves a better life the the one he's living. Every time things seem to improve something terrible seems to happen, so many family secrets that are the root cause of so much pain. A fantastic first book in the series, a powerful story that is full of emotion..a real tear jerker. Needs to be read in series order due to the story following on to the next book.
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I was really looking forward to reading this book after reading the synopsis.I am more than happy to say that I absolutely loved it!
Beautifully written,emotional story that had me hooked straight from the first words written. I wanted to wrap Arizona up in cotton wool to protect him.
There is so much more that I want to say about this story but,I won't,as I don't want to spoil this gorgeous story for anyone.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest review. -
The story of this part of Arizona's life has almost a gothic feel to it. The Louisiana setting with all the family drama and secrets will keep you reading and trying to guess what is going to happen and be revealed next. Arizona is a wonderful, three dimensional character and while I know he has more trials to face in the next two books, I can't wait to see him grow and hopefully get the life he deserves.
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I did not know what I was walking into with this story. And Oh. My. God!!! It is amazing! It is a throwback to the kinds of Southern sagas that ended up being made into miniseries. Arizona is a sweet young man. He is born into a terrible situation and does his best for his family. This story took off and didn't let me go! By the end, Arizona shows a lot of growth and I am excited to see where he will go from here,
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Wow!! 5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book is incredible!! I'm going to be vague with my review, to spoil any part of this journey would be tragic... I use the term journey because holy hell... that's what it was. Arizona's tale is tragic, it is gut wrenching, it is emotional (yes, I cried like a baby) and it is equally heartfelt. You know a book is great when your left reeling and wanting more, I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this series on pins and needles, it's just that good. This book has just cemented Romeo Preminger as one of the top m/m romance writers IMO. I highly recommend this read...you will not be disappointed.
* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review * -
Interesting start to a series. It's very well written and gives plenty of insight into Arizona. I'm looking forward to Book2 and hoping there's some more "happy" coming his way.
