Keegan MacLamore is not very well liked in his home town, written off by the townspeople as a long haired, motorcycle riding thug capable of anything. So it comes as no shock when he is accused of murder. The eighteen-year old is sentenced to thirty years to life for a crime he insists he didn't commit.

Twenty-five years have passed and a forty-three-year old Keegan has returned to Rattlesnake Ranch, the only thing left of his grandfather, the only person who had always stood up for Keegan.

Jaxon Lesley grew up in foster care and escaped Thayne as soon as he could. He became a pro baseball player and had it made. He should be happy but he can't be, for Jaxon has harbored a terrible secret for the last twenty-five years. A secret that has him making a dying man a promise. He will take care of the Rattlesnake Ranch during the off season so that it will be ready for Keegan when he is released.

But this year something is different. When Jaxon arrives at the ranch he runs into a baseball bat wielding man defending the house. Keegan is home and Jaxon's heart goes out to the sad-eyed man he sees before him. Their attraction is instantaneous and quickly deepens into what might be love. But the secrets that Jaxon is hiding may destroy the love that has built between them, but they may also redeem him. Can their hearts survive if he brings them into the light of day?

While I found the idea of the story to be interesting I had a hard time maintaining enough interest to finish this one. The writing was okay but the execution of the plot just wasn't strong enough. Despite having likable characters their actions were very unbelievable. Keegan just didn't feel real to me. He's supposedly spent the last twenty-five years in prison. A sentence that began when he was eighteen, a very impressionable age, and he has come through all his time in the penal system relatively unscathed. Sure he has trust and space issues but one would think he would be more damaged. Jaxon, on the other hand, has stuck close because he has a secret that could have saved Keegan all those years ago. He's spent time with Keegan's grandfather and become close to him before his death and he's loved Keegan from afar. Yet, in spite of all his professions of love, he has done nothing for twenty-five years to help absolve Keegan of his crime. I have enjoyed many works from this author but Redemption has to go to the bottom of my list of works by Remmy Duchene. I'll chalk this one up to just not being my taste.

Reviewed by: Hayley