Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

Title: Poughkeepsie
Author: Debra Anastasia
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Published Date: November 18, 2011
Format: Paperback & Kindle

Buy on Amazon: Paperback or Kindle
Author Website: http://www.debraanastasia.com/#!poughkeepsie

Synopsis from Back Cover:

He counts her smiles every day and night at the train station. And morning and evening, the beautiful commuter acknowledges him-just like she does everyone else on the platform. But Blake Hartt is not like the others . . . he's homeless. Memories of a broken childhood have robbed him of peace and twisted delusions into his soul. He stays secluded from the sun, sure the world would run from him in the harsh light of day. 

Each day, Livia McHugh smiles politely and acknowledges her fellow commuters as she waits for the train to the city. She dismisses this kindness as nothing special, just like her. She's the same as a million other girls-certainly no one to be cherished. But special or not, she smiles every day, never imagining that someone would rely on the simple gesture as if it were air to breathe. 

When the moment comes that Livia must do more than smile, without hesitation she steps into the fray to defend the homeless man. And she's surprised to discover an inexplicable connection with her new friend. After danger subsides, their smiles become conversation. Their words usher in a friendship, which awakens something in each of them. But it's not long before their bond must prove its strength. Entanglements from the past challenge both their love and their lives. 

Blake's heart beats for Livia's, even if her hands have to keep its rhythm. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love never fails. Love never fails, right? 

In an interwoven tale of unlikely loves and relationships forged by fire, Debra Anastasia takes readers into the darkest corners of human existence, only to show them the radiant power of pure adoration and true sacrifice. Complicated families and confused souls find their way to light in this novel, which manages to be racy, profane, funny, and reverent all at once.

My Thoughts:

I need to be honest, Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie is a book that I started to read with great hesitation.  I had read fantastic things about Poughkeepsie on numerous GoodReads message boards.  I had also seen that it was recommended to read if you enjoyed the Fifty Shades trilogy.  This wasn't where my reluctance was coming from.  My problem was that I had read a synopsis of Poughkeepsie which basically said the book centered around a homeless man who fell in love with an educated woman.  The lady cured said homeless man of his issues, he got a job, and they all lived happily ever after.

WRONG WRONG WRONG!  My perception couldn't have been more flawed.  I would really be kicking myself had I not read Poughkeepsie.  Debra Anastasia has written an excellent novel that grabbed me in the beginning and never let me go.  She was able to create a world with extremely flawed, yet realistic, characters that I came to love. The plot was very solid, with many surprising twists and turns.  Poughkeepsie really is a great novel, and I am already looking forward to rereading it.

In Anastasia's novel, Grad student Livia goes to the Poughkeepsie Train Station every morning to get to school.  There she observes Blake, a quiet, homeless man who is always there.  She is the one person who doesn't look right through Blake; instead she always has a genuine smile for him.  One morning, Livia stands up to a group of teenagers that were harassing and roughing Blake up.  Things were never the same as Livia realizes there is more to Blake than meets the eye.  What starts as a friendship quickly develops into something much more that they expected.

Blake's two brothers are Cole, an aspiring Priest, and Beckett, a man who wears many hats (mainly the hats of drug distributor/pimp/arms dealer.)  While these three men are not biological brothers, they became foster brothers at an impressionable age.  When the world turned its back on these three abuse survivors, they came together and created their own family.  After aging out of the Foster Care system, Beckett, Blake, and Cole remained brothers.  Even though each brother chose a very different life path they remained incredibly devoted to one another.

While Blake and Livia are the main characters in Poughkeepsie, I really fell in love with the supporting characters.  Cole, Kyle, Beckett, and Eve were all great 3 dimensional characters.  Kyle had me laughing out loud at pretty much every word that came out of her mouth.  My absolute favorite characters in Poughkeepsie were Beckett and Eve.  Beckett and Eve are the most violent characters, and start chaos without blinking an eye.  However, these are two beautifully flawed characters that I really bonded with.  Beckett and Eve are who they are because of their painful pasts. Life is definitely not fair, but these two characters took the reins and made their own destiny.

Please be aware that this book is NOT for minors.  Debra Anastasia's book is filled with profanity and graphic scenes.  If you do not like cursing or violence in the novels you read, Poughkeepsie is probably not for you.  Nevertheless, I think the language accurately reflects the people and circumstances in the novel.  

I really hope there will be a sequel to Poughkeepsie.  I would love to see more of all of the characters, but especially Beckett and Eve.  I felt that their romance was left open ended, and I would really like Anastasia to revisit these two for some closure.

Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie is a fantastic book.  I loved reading it and became attached to the characters she wrote about.  Poughkeepsie is definitely a book that I recommend.  This is one that deserves to be on everyone's TBR list!

Debra Anastasia and Omnific Publishing has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book, Poughkeepsie, for the purpose of review.