{"product_id":"beloved-disciples-mario-elias-paperback","title":"Beloved Disciples -- Mario Elías, Paperback","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA dazzling gay love story where devotion sparkles in memory, obsession dances on the edge of reality, and a young man discovers the power of first love.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimón fell in love the first night he stepped into the only gay club in his unnamed coastal hometown. Albi fell too, despite Simón's quirks--the way he blinks to capture a memory, the way his hands fly when he talks, his inescapable toomuchness. Their first kiss comes on the beach, beneath mango trees. \u003ci\u003eBlink.\u003c\/i\u003e A season on their secret shore. \u003ci\u003eBlink.\u003c\/i\u003e The hidden garden Albi tends behind the rectory. \u003ci\u003eBlink. \u003c\/i\u003eCandles on a coconut cake for his twenty-sixth birthday. \u003ci\u003eBlink. Blink. Blink.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut when Albi dies unexpectedly, Simón is left wandering in memories that feel more alive than the present. Friends and family--his Tía Cachita, best friend Lenita, and estranged mother--come to pull him back. He must choose: remain faithful to a love that haunts him, or rebuild a world without Albi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith prose \"that reverberates with heartfelt intensity, blurring the line between the erotic and the tender, the dreamlike and the real\" (Saleem Haddad, \u003ci\u003eGuapa\u003c\/i\u003e), Elías' debut novel celebrates the intensity of first love, the endurance of devotion, and the search for found family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mario Elías\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bywater Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 5\/12\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.77 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8.5\" H x 5.5\" L x 0.67\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781612943374\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kotton Kandy Skies","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53538296004907,"sku":"9781612943374","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0962\/2978\/5899\/files\/9781612943374.jpg?v=1779134795","url":"https:\/\/2trc11-eq.myshopify.com\/products\/beloved-disciples-mario-elias-paperback","provider":"Kotton Kandy Skies","version":"1.0","type":"link"}