The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech

The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 350

Publisher - Orenda

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Long ago Andrew made a childhood wish. One he has always kept in a silver box with a too-big lid that falls off. When it finally comes true, he wishes it hadn't...

Long ago Ben dreamed of going to Africa to volunteer at a lion reserve. When he finally goes there, it isn't for the reasons he imagined...

Ben and Andrew keep meeting where they least expect. Some collisions are by design, but are they for a reason? Ben's father would disown him for his relationship with Andrew, so they must hide their love. Andrew is determined to make it work, but secrets from his past threaten to ruin everything.

Ben escapes to Zimbabwe to finally fulfil his lifelong ambition. But will he ever return to England? To Andrew? To the truth?

A dark and poignant drama, The Lion Tamer Who Lost is also a mesmerisingly beautiful love story, with a tragic heart.


My Review

We open with Ben in Zimbabwe, in a lion reserve doing what most of us would love to, being close to and helping save lions from the mess humans have created. Whilst Ben is over there, his heart and thoughts are in England with another. As the chapters roll on we get to not only experience the privileged of being so close to such magnificent beasts and travel via book location to a country I likely will never see.

We know Ben has ran from something or rather left something behind but it isn't until the book opens up do we get to know its secrets. The location and book goes between Ben and Andrew, their relationship, how they met and how they impacted on each other. Andrew is older, a writer struggling to get published and both he and Ben share their love of lions and it isn't until you get deeper into the story you get a bit more understanding of it all.

The Lion Tamer Who Lost is a love story that covers so much, families, relationships, homosexuality, love, secrets, a lion sanctuary, duo location. The scenes set in Zimbabwe are so vivid you can almost taste the air. The personal struggles Ben faces you can't help but get drawn into and it evokes emotion. A wee book with a big roar (see what I did there!), emotive, moving and it just makes me want to snap up all of Beech's other offerings. I think this is my first dance with this author, it won't be my last. I need to check my TBRM and bump up any others of hers I have on it and buy up those that I don't. 4.5/5 for me this time, I kept hearing about this book from other book worms, now I have read it I know why, grab a copy guys you won't regret it.

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