Love Comes Silently

I loved this story, the best Answer Grey novel that I've read in a while actually and his are normally books I enjoy. This story tugs on your heartstrings and while one of the characters may be mute you have NO trouble understanding through what he DOES Exactly how he feels. There are some parts which will have you tearing up, but it's a beautiful book which I will probably read again.

Review posted on Books on Silver Wings blog.
4.5 stars rounded to 4
Ken is taking care of Hanna, his 6 year old adopted daughter who has pediatric leukemia. Because of this, his relationship with his boyfriend, Mark, is strained and they eventually breaks up. Hanna's cancer treatments caused hair lost and prompt the appearance of cute pink hats from Ken's neighbor, Patrick. Patrick is mute and puts himself down for losing his voice. But as Ken and Patrick grow closer, Hanna seems to grow weaker and weaker from her treatments. The small family tries to cherish their time together but everyone is afraid that Hanna will not make it till the end of the year.
I love that this book shows children as perspective little beings and emotionally stronger than what their parents think. Hanna is such a cutie and understanding of what struggles Ken is going through. The comical moments in the story and the saddest moments are caused by Hanna. Her questions about sex and gay marriage makes Ken so awkward that it is funny. Her sweetness makes it sadder to see her suffer through the cancer treatments and turns this into a tearjerker novel.
The way Ken and Patrick progressed from friends to lovers is also well done. They are both lovable characters. Ken is a great father and his worry and love for Hanna really comes through. Patrick is mute but he's thoughtful and resourceful. He gives Hanna gifts without telling her it was from him. He plans early Halloween and Christmas parties for Hanna and includes the whole community to show their support for Hanna. He stops being a singer when he lost his voice due to an accident, but he uses other talents to make a living. Meeting Ken and Hanna helps Patrick to let go of his past, learn sign language, and integrate back into society.
I also love how art is incorporated into the story and it is something meaningful and unique to the characters. Ken is an artist and little Hanna is taking after her dad to have amazing drawing skills. Hanna's drawings leaves lasting impressions on the doctors and nurses at the hospital and Ken's drawing of Patrick helped Patrick to overcome his past as a singer. Their artwork heals some people and gives them a little happiness back.
I just have a tiny lingering question about the ex boyfriend, Mark. He doesn't seem like a bad person and he has a good relationship with Hanna. It would have been better for Mark and Ken to remain friends than try to get back together. I wanted him to keep contact with the family and be a support for them rather than cause problems. The last communication they had where Mark tries to win Ken back seems out of character when they broke up so amiably in the beginning. I was looking for a happy ending for him too, but the story stopped for him when he and Ken broke up.
Overall, this is a heart-wrenching novel about falling in love with someone disabled and coping with disability and cancer. It's a really hopeful story that would resonate with many people.
*review copy received in exchange for an honest review*

Very touching story about the struggles of a single father Ken with his daughter Hanna illness. Ken is a famous painter and needs to time to take care of Hanna. They meet a neighbor Patrick , who lost his ability to speak due to an accident. The love Patrick shows for Hanna is beautiful and subsequent to Ken. The story will make you feel that sometimes no words are needed.

This is a really sweet romance with fabulous characters and an interesting story line. What makes this story special is it's \"realness\". The love story and drama are not over-the-top, rather it is real men, facing real issues and real heartbreak and coming out the end in one piece. It is not easy, as the story has elements of tragedy, illness, heartbreak and sadness. But it is how Ken and Patrick face the world that is inspirational (little Hanna should also get a mention here!)
Ken is facing the toughest period of his life as he and his daughter face the threat of cancer. Ken's partner has left him and he is dealing with Hanna's illness all alone. I have been fortunate enough to never have experienced such an illness in a child but the author really seemed to capture the emotion of both father and child perfectly. I could feel the fear and the pain and the worry and the myriad of other emotions they were going through.
Patrick has had is own fair share of tragedy, losing his voice in traumatic circumstances. His pain was obvious particularly in how he saw himself. \"Oh, he could grunt and make sounds like an animal, but not the sounds of a human being, not like he used to.\" Just the thought of anyone, let alone an opera singer, losing such a precious gift as voice is heartbreaking. I had so much sympathy for Patrick and how isolated he felt in his life.
Both men are presented as wonderful and caring men, putting others before themselves which made them such a fabulous couple. Patrick observes Ken selflessly caring for his daughter and Patrick silently provides so much support without seeking any type of gratitude.
I loved the way the story unfolded and the love between Patrick and Ken. I loved the sensitive way the childhood cancer was managed. I shed a few tears and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!
One last thing....I have had this book on the Kindle for a while and started reading without re-reading the blurb. I therefore made an assumption that this story was about deafness. Finding out it was about loss of the ability to communicate verbally was a surprise and it was nice to see a bit of a unique story line. I thought Andrew Grey did a wonderful job of making the relationship and love development between Patrick and Ken seem real, given the situation of limited dialogue. At first I wondered how Ken could fall in love with Patrick given they couldn't have much conversation - how was he to get to know Patrick? But this wasn't an issue at all. Ken falling for Patrick was totally believable!

As with all of Andrew Grey's books, this is a beautiful story. I believe that if stories like this could become required reading in mainstream society, there would be a lot less hate and more understanding. True love is beautiful regardless of the participants.