Title:
Author: Scotty Cade & Z.B. Marshall
Cover Artist: Anne Cain
Publisher:
Genre: Contemporary M/M, interracial
Length: Novel/220 PDF pages
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Review Summary: A wonderful romance in a beautiful setting, with an intelligent plot and characters who were so real I felt as if I knew them.
THE BLURB
Years ago, Wes Stanhope fled his hometown of Charleston to escape the constraints of society and his controlling father, Colonel Robert Lee Stanhope IV. After completing medical school and building a successful practice in pediatric oncology in Seattle, Wes is called home for his mother’s funeral and presented with an opportunity to build and run a children’s hospital—his mother’s legacy—a choice he ultimately makes despite his misgivings about his father’s role as chairman of the hospital’s board of directors.
When Wes begins to build his team, he is introduced to a young, handsome black architect named Tyler Williams. Sparks begin to fly between the two men, and although Wes doesn’t identify as gay, denying his attraction to Ty becomes impossible. But Ty won’t be a dirty secret: if Wes wants to build a relationship, he’ll have to come out, brave his father’s racism and homophobia, and risk his chance to continue as the hospital’s CEO and realize his mother’s dream.
THE REVIEW
I wanted to read this book because the blurb interested me on a number of levels, not the least of which was a plot that was not a throwaway and an excuse for lots of sex, not that there’s anything wrong with lots of sex 
but I much prefer a story with atmosphere and complexity and wonderfully crafted characters. There aren’t that many interracial M/M love stories with a real plot, and the degree of difficulty in Foundation of Love was pretty high (old money; a controlling, homophobic parent; a society that was mired in the past; two MCs who were polar opposites; AND a challenging and important project.) The authors had a major task to navigate around the many issues and come up with a believable conclusion.
Wes grew up as a member of a very privileged family that had lived in Charleston for generations in a home that had been built shortly after the Revolutionary War, but he couldn’t wait to leave because he found the lifestyle stifling and his father too controlling. After he graduated from the Citadel military academy he went to medical school in Chicago and settled in Seattle where he was appointed to the prestigious position of head of pediatric oncology at the Seattle Medical Center. When his mother died his father informed him that her legacy was to fund a new children’s hospital to be built in Charleston and he offered Wes the position of CEO of the project. There was a catch — the colonel was the Chairman of the Board which consisted of his old cronies. Because he loved his mother he wanted to honour her memory so Wes accepted the job despite his misgivings.
He found out soon enough that, as he suspected, the colonel couldn’t resist meddling as he tried to manipulate him into changing his staffing plan. Wes ignored him and assembled his team which included a former colleague from Seattle Medical Center, Dr. Bradley Mitchell, his partner Mac Cleary, a pilot who ran a successful air charter business in Hiline Lake, Alaska and Tyler Williams, one of the most sought after architects in Seattle. Brad had recommended Ty and before he left for Charleston Wes met him to discuss the children’s hospital. Even though their backgrounds and financial circumstances were dissimilar their ideas were so in sync that Wes offered Ty a consulting assignment to prepare a preliminary plan for the Stanhope Children’s Center.
When Ty arrived in Charleston he stayed with Wes on beautiful Sullivan’s Island. Initially their relationship was strictly professional but eventually the attraction that had been simmering beneath the surface emerged. However Ty was very skeptical of Wes’s feelings for him because he was supposedly straight, although he did have one brief encounter in university with another man. Having been burned once Ty was not prepared to go back in the closet for anyone. Also, there was a major hurdle to any romance between them in the person of Alicia Lawford, a childhood friend of Wes’s who had always been in love with him and saw his return to Charleston as the ideal opportunity to convince him to marry her. Unfortunately Wes was not in love with her and had failed to find a love connection with any of the women he had dated over the years which made him wonder if he was incapable of love, but when he met Ty he realized why he had not felt that emotional connection with a woman.
The characters were all wonderfully crafted. Wes was somewhat of a contradiction – tied to the old ways of privilege (he didn’t see anything wrong with having servants, but to give him credit he regarded John and Glenna, his father’s servants, as family) however he was also a product of his life over the past 15 years, so his character was a great blend of both aspects of his personality. Ty was very New Age, a convert to Buddhism, and he practiced yoga and meditation while Wes used running as his source of exercise and inspiration. Ty’s roots were blue collar Detroit. He left his hometown when he came out as most of his family didn’t accept his sexual orientation. He had an unfortunate experience with his first lover who was in the closet and he was determined to live his life openly and not hide his sexual orientation, which initially created a problem for Wes. How would a biracial, gay relationship play in Charleston high society that was steeped in the past where gays were regarded as being “light in the loafers” and blacks had no place at the dinner table?
There was a host of secondary characters including Brad and Mac who have their own book Wings of Love which I’ll be reading soon. Their love for each other showed Wes who envied their commitment to each other, what his life with Ty could be like if he had the courage to go with his heart. As for Alicia, what a delightful character. An atypical Southern belle whose career was different from most of the women in Charleston society because she chose not to live a life of pampered luxury, to a point, and graduated law school. She pursued Wes using all of her charm, wiles and family connections, and she was crushed and angry when she walked in on him and Ty because she felt used even though he never encouraged her, but when the chips were down she was Wes’s biggest advocate. There were many others of note, Glenna and John who worked for the colonel as domestic servants just like in the old plantation days and loved Wes as their son. Riley and his partner David, owners of a small gallery who rented office space to Wes and became his friends, and of course I can’t forget the Miss Louella Penny, who knew everyone and everything that went on in Charleston society. What a great character!
Colonel Robert Stanhope IV was just as rigid and unbending and controlling as I expected and ran true to form under every circumstance that required judgment. What a pity.
Foundation of Love exceeded my expectations on many levels and I thought that the conclusion was intelligent and satisfying. The prose was smooth and at times enticing and I felt as if I were indeed in Charleston living with all the characters. I was also impressed that the black character, Ty, was not a caricature but just as intelligent and three dimensional as Wes and that his race was not made into an issue. In addition, one or both authors had some in-depth knowledge of the health care industry and hospital design, or they did a lot of research, because it showed and made the story authentic. I should mention that the tone of the book was serious at times with the illness of one of the secondary characters who was hospitalized, and this went on too long and was distracting. Also I didn’t care much for Alicia’s POV. My last criticism is that the prose tended to be too wordy, which some readers might find tedious, but overall the story was well done and the plot was great.
One of the standouts in the book was the city of Charleston and the surrounding area, as the authors painted a canvas showing the contrast between the historical and contemporary. American history at one’s fingertips – the glory days and the grace and charm of a society that most of us would never experience — money, influence, beauty, culture (maybe culture shock for some of us), from the museums, many preserved eighteenth century manor homes, Fort Sumter on Charlotte Harbor where the Civil War began, to the beautiful and relaxed beaches of Sullivan’s Island. On the flip side was Mount Pleasant a community of condominiums, housing developments and shopping centers – a huge contrast to the old plantations and farms.
If you’re looking for a story that’s different, with an appealing ambiance and wonderfully crafted characters, a credible plot and terrific writing, I highly recommend Foundation of Love.
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liked the premise and tension – but i gotta say, “best ghetto voice”? what the hell? african americans – like many multicontext people – have multiple voices and use them depending upon the context and desired outcomes. grrrr!
-kkm
kkm
Sorry, I don’t understand the context of “best ghetto voice” in your comment. I’m black myself and strongly object to being stereotyped. I felt that Ty’s character was different from many other black men in M/M and general fiction, but that’s just my opinion.
Hi Wave,
Not a problem, I totally understand. I don’t think any of them have been reviewed by Jessewave, but it’s possible I could have missed one. I totally understand and certainly don’t expect you to review them all. If you like I can have Dreamspinner send you a review copy of Bounty of Love. Just let me know and thanks again for the kind words.
Scotty
Actually both Wings and Final Encore were reviewed on the site sometime ago by Tj and Buda.
I’ll request Bounty from Ariel.
Hi Wave,
OMG, what an incredible surprise. Thank you so much for the great review. ZB and I spent last winter in Charleston with our husbands and fell so in love with the city, we just had to write a story about it. FYI – Foundation of Love is the fourth in the “Love’ series, but they are all independent novels with recurring characters. Wings of Love is the first, Treasure of Love and Bounty of Love are the second and third. Bounty of Love is actually the prequel to Wings of Love, so if you do plan on reading the series, I would suggest you start with Bounty of Love. Again, we can’t thank you enough for your kind words. Reviews like this make all the time we spend doing research and writing so worth it. We are thrilled that you enjoyed our story.
Scotty Cade
Hi Scotty
I also loved the background of Charleston which I visited some years ago and it was nice to see it come to life.
As you can tell, I really loved this book.
I have all the books in the series except for Bounty of Love however I’m not sure when I’ll be able to review them — some of the books may have already been reviewed on the site.
Thanks for a wonderful read.
Not a book that would usually catch my eye (I’m trying to minimize the new authors on Mt. TBR).
But great review, I so wanna read this book now. Should I start at the beginning of the series?
Can’t resist a good story & characterizations with my smut!
Hi Denni
There are serious aspects to this story especially with one character’s illness (not an MC) that I thought ran a little long and I didn’t like Alicia’s POV, but apart from those niggles I loved the book,
because it was well written and different
Foundation is a standalone — I haven’t read Wings of Love and I didn’t need to do so. This is the first book I have read by either of these authors.
Tempting reviews like this are part of the reason I have so many books yet to be read. This one sounds very good and I’ll probably be buying very soon.
You can always buy later Mikou. The authors’ backlists are always available.:)
Woot, I completely was not interested when I have read the blurb. Thank you so much Wave, will definitely try it.
Sirius
KNowing your tastes, I’m not sure that this is the kind of book that you might like. There are many characters and the topic is not something that you have shown interest in in the past. However I loved the book because it was so different from others I have read lately.
This sounds like a wonderful book, Wave. Thanks for the review! I will check it out.
LadyM
It’s a pretty serious book and I’m not sure about your tolerance for hospitals and illness. However I loved it.
Ooh gosh, amazing review – must add this to my list, thank you! And that cover is hot too
Anne
xxx
It’s a wonderful story Anne. You’re right about the cover – very hot.
Great review, Wave. I like a contemporary title with interracial characters. On my way to purchasing it. I think I’ll wait for your review of Wings of Love before I pick that one up though.
Hi Tom
I loved this book and I hope you do too. Let me know what you think after you read it.
I’d also be interested in your opinion of the other books in Cade’s Love series (I think there’s four so far).
Oh no — another series?? Just what I need. 😆
Great review will add the book to my TBB file 😎
Hi shirley Ann
I really hope you like this book. I found the characters charming and the plot rocked. 😀