BLURB: Tai wishes Master Lucas wasnât such an adamant Top, but heâs also crushing on the sweetly submissive Elliot. Could he have it both ways?
Tai has hit a wall in life. From all outward appearances, heâs the guy who has everythingâlooks, personality and money. But the modeling gigs are drying up and he still hasnât found that special someone to call his own. The part-time work at Kiss of Leather is quickly becoming full-time to prevent the drain on his dream-business savings.
Elliot fell for the stunning Tai from almost the moment he met him. If he wasnât so self-conscious about the weight heâs recently put on, maybe he could work up the nerve to make a move. However, not only is he a virgin whoâs never done a scene before working in a BDSM club, but heâs also sure that Tai has a thing for Master Lucas. Thereâs no way he could ever compete with the handsome silver fox.
When Master Lucas confesses to Tai that he doesnât only see him as a hookup and offers him a contract, there are a ton of considerations. They both realize that serious compromises would have to be made for them to have a relationship. But what if they found a third, a sub who could bottom for Tai and also do TPE with Master Lucas? Once the idea takes hold, Tai knows just the perfect boy for them both. Even better? Heâs right there at Kiss of Leather, and Tai canât wait for Elliot to turn them all into a throuple.
Reader Advisory: This book contains a scene of assault, and attempted sexual assault.
Tai is not a total Sub and I see how that wouldâve strained the relationship between him and Lucas who is a total Dom. Lucas was aware of this and I think that was one of the factors of him being agreeable to bringing Elliot into the fold. Elliot is a complete sub and is the perfect man for them. I truly feel that heâs the important link that holds them all together.
These characters, as the case with all of her characters are so well and clearly written; the contrasts between them is always a pleasure to read. I love that she makes the reader see more to Taiâs character than just him being a brainless, rich, pretty boy, part time submissive. Elliot is sweet and shy but he has a strength to him that he doesnât realize he has and Lucas is a Dom but heâs not hard or heartless or perfect. Thatâs also whatâs great about this series: she doesnât make her Doms these hard, heartless men who never makes mistakes. These men are Doms but they are loving and caring and far from perfect. What I also love about this author is that her characters are from all racial, ethnic, orientation, socioeconomic groups. Her books are wonderfully diverse and she writes them all respectfully pretty much dispelling the myth that itâs impossible to write diverse characters without stereotyping them.
Now, as with all of her characters, these men are themselves flawed and you see them deal with issues of physical, mental and sexual abuse. I like how she writes how these men get through those issues with help and with men who help them heal. And what I love about all of her books in general, this series, this books in particular, she doesnât make these men superheroes, meaning, she doesnât have the Doms heal their subs in one book. Itâs an ongoing and long process that she shows spanning several books with the timeline being years.
This book was wonderful and I look forward to reading more.
BLURB: Embracing destiny was never meant to be easy.
Morgan canât figure out where he belongs anymore now that a new world has emerged in the aftermath of the Alasharian invasion of Earth. Everything is too strange and frightening and all he wants to do is hide from it all. It doesnât help to ease his confusion when he finds himself being drawn to not one but two aliens. He thought his cousin Chris was insane to fall in love with the muscled warriors who bonded with him as his mates, but his own heart might be in danger when it comes to the warrior Rama, and Hallosh, an advisor to the Alasharianâs Supreme Commander, the Nall.
Chris experiences a terrifying vision from the Soul Healer and it becomes clear that both Alasharian and humans are running out of time to save the Earth from the insidious spread of the Void. A battle is imminent and it becomes imperative to protect those who are allied against the evil that has corrupted the Nall.
Everything on Earth is about to change once again and Morgan finds himself at the brink of discovering his own destinyâand how the two aliens he canât get out of his mind will be a part of it. A disturbing event triggers the beginning of the fight against the Void. Chris and Morgan must separate for the first time since the invasion, with each of them leaving with their own soul matches. For Morgan, he hopes the goodbye he says to Chris wonât be forever.
Reader Advisory: This book contains scenes of death and violence.
REVIEW: Just a small warning here, that this is the third book in this series and the first two books are vital to the story. This review may contain a few spoilers for anyone who has not read books 1&2.
So in this book we get Morganâs story. You may recall in my reviews of books 1&2 I found Morgan to be completely annoying. Well, in the beginning Moran is still very cautious about the Alasharians, but heâs beginning to thaw due to the kindness and bravery that his cousin Chrisâ alien mates have shown him. Heâs also still fearful and bewildered about how Chris was not just in a relationship with the aliens but in love with them. Morgan just needed some time to process everything going on including the uncomfortable feeling he got every time he and Hallosh, the alien that rescued him in book 2, were in the same place.
Then he meets Rama, Lasarâs best friend and fellow warrior. Now Morgan is in Ramaâs care where they get to know each other and a sort of friendship develops before the same uncomfortable spark develops between him and Rama. To his shock and surprise, Morgan begins to understand the spark between him and Rama which leads to him uncovering his other match. I will say that the insta-love between Rama, Hallosh and Morgan felt a bit rushed. Rama went from not being interested in anything between him and Morgan to being all in.
I did however thoroughly enjoy this book and the drama of the Void, the Nall, the Soul Healer, and Chris who has become the chosen human to lead this fight for both the Alasharians and the humans.
Successful lawyer Jeremy Speer has it allâa loving husband, a beautiful home, and a cherished dream thatâs about to become reality. Heâs learned not to take happiness for granted, meeting the challenges of life and love head-on with unwavering commitment and fierce devotion. A series of tragic events leave Jeremy shattered, adrift on a sea of unimaginable pain. Heâs able to piece his life back together, but instead of embracing it, he merely exists, using isolation and punishing physical exertion to keep the world at bay.
High school teacher Kai Daniels has a heart for at-risk kidsâhe was one himself, and a teenage brush with the law and some troubled years behind bars left him scarred inside and out. With courage, hard work, and the support of friends, heâs built a fulfilling life that leaves no time for a relationship.
An intense encounter with Kai at a gay club ignites a spark in Jeremy that he thought was extinguished forever, but heâs unwilling to destroy the fragile peace heâs managed to create, and he leaves Kai humiliated and disappointed. Things should have ended there, but a bizarre occurrence brings the two together in a way neither of them expected.
Review
The story starts out rough. No holds barred. Rough. Jeremy loses his husband and their unborn child first thing. He goes into a deep depression and loses himself for a year or more. Itâs only now, about 2 years later that heâs even beginning to re-surface and re-claim his life.
Kai is a former gang member turned teacher. He works with at-risk kids to give them the chance that he didnât have. He had some horrible experiences in his childhood that have shaped him, but with the help of his close friend, Loren and some others heâs come around to a full life.
Kai and Jeremy meet as a one time hook up at a club. Jeremy freaks after and makes an ass of himself. Luckily, when they meet again, Kaiâs heart is big enough to understand the reasons behind the freak out.
At first itâs a sex only, no-strings arrangement. Jeremy is clear on that. But over time, feelings grow and emotions get involved.
**
This is an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful story. It is so painful at the beginning but it has such a beautiful ending, the pain is worth it.
Melanie Hansenâs writing is perfection. She has improved even since book one (which was great) and there are no rough edges to this book. The story line is clean, thought provoking without being preachy, real and rugged but still very sentimental and romantic. You can see this actually happening but still feel the fairy-tale-ness of the story. (The blazing hot sex helps with that!)
Kai and Jeremy are HOT together. Their chemistry is off the charts. But itâs also really touching and romantic when it needs to be. I loved how they fit each other so well. Itâs never a big deal that Jeremy is rich â itâs just there. Kai is independent and always will be so itâs not a big deal. That was very refreshing.
I also loved how Loren and his impact on Kaiâs life was handled. Again, it felt really authentic and real. They are amazing friends and I am hoping we see Lorenâs story soon.
It was nice seeing the happy Jase and Carey bits, seeing them with more of their HEA.
I really, really loved this story. It will count among the years best for me and I highly recommend it. (Itâs absolutely fine as a stand alone, but book one was great, too. Â Reviewed here: Â http://kimichanexperience.com/everything-changes-melanie-hansen/)
Archer Hart is on the move before the man heâs just killed is found. When a bullet whizzes past his ear, he realizes hunter is now hunted. So much for his retirement plans. Someone wants him dead and all he can do is keep running.
Downed by a hit and run driver, barrister Conrad Black is certain the âaccidentâ was deliberate but he has no proof or support. In recovery, struggling to work out of partial paralysis, he has plenty of time to wonder who regrets not striking him harder. At this point, running anywhere is a distant dream.
The confidence, determination and stamina of two alphas males will mean little if neither is willing to bendâseize the love offeredâand work together to understand why theyâre suddenly both marked men. Not easy for either when Archer has broken the law in the worst possible way and Conrad is the law.
Review
Wow! Another amazing, gripping, very HOT and tender love story from Barbara Elsborg.
We met Conrad in book one, he was Malachiâs ex, the controlling, self-centered, almost kinda evil guy, who redeems himself at the end. Heâs been struck down by a hit and run driver and was paralyzed from the accident â briefly. While heâs on the mend, he takes himself to a beach cottage and searches for the person heâs convinced tried to make the hit and run look like an accident.
On a walk one day he sees a surfer nearly drown and risks his own life to save him. That man is Archer, a murder-for hire who is trying to get out of the business. Archer also has someone after him â and he needs time to figure out who that is.
Together, these broken men â both uber alpha â struggle against their powerlessness, their attraction to one another and their pasts.
Of course â neither trusts the other â one being on the side of the law and the other being on the side of the highest bidder.
As the story unfolds it becomes clear that the men might have more of a connection than just the beach rescue.
(Iâm not going into that more here â youâll just have to read it to find out!)
**
As with book one, I thought this was an amazing story with really richly developed characters who organically grew and changed over the course of the story until they became the men who could accept the deep and abiding love that finally finds them.
I grew a bit tired at the secondary plot â it was certainly important â but I wanted to skim parts of the âintrigueâ and âactionâ scenes.
I absolutely loved how Conrad turned from villain to good guy. It felt very real and authentic and not at all forced.
The final scenes were a little confusing to me â I wasnât sure what Archerâs motivations were in keeping Conrad in the dark for so long â but⊠in the end it all worked out really beautifully and the epilogue was both hot and terribly sweet!
In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers– and their penchant for making good music when they weren’t getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friendsâespecially Grant Adams–made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind.
Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he’s hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn’t flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that’s not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav’s help–but Trav’s not sure he’s going to survive falling in love with Mackey.
Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn’t do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey’s past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.
Review
Mackey lives with his three brothers in small-town California. He forms a band with them, and some friends, including Grant, his older brotherâs friend. The band turns out to be amazing and they go from playing at the prom to getting a record deal. Meanwhile, Grant and Mackey are at once getting closer and closer and yet farther and farther away from one another.
Mackey is gay. So is Grant, but Grant canât admit it, so neither can Mackey. Grant continues to break Mackeyâs heart by dating Samantha because itâs expected of him by the community and his dad. When Grant graduates high school, he tells Mackey he stayed behind for his dad, but we also know the band and Mackey played a role in the decision.
In this episode we really start to see the beginning of the problems that follow in subsequent episodes (i.e. drug addiction, depression). I both loathe and love Grantâs character. He is so understandable, yet you just want to punch him in the face for the way he hurts Mackey. Itâs so disarming to see young Mackey shouldering all these heavy burdens and couple that with this shameful hiding of what appears to be true love.
Since the blurb in the story talks about another MC â Trav â it is reasonable to believe that Grant is not our main love interest, even here in Episode one with no mention of Trav. Therefore I feel completely vindicated in hoping Mackey can leave Grant behind, and soon.
Talk about prolonging the drama! This is such a unique (and shall I say painful? â I am an impatient, impatient soul) way to deliver a story. The pain will only exist for those of us who are reading this as a serial, and after October 2014 anyone else will simply have to read the full novel â but WOW â this packs a punch, delivered in segments, keeping us readers on tenterhooks while we await the next installment.
I love Mackey, I can tell he will rival some of Amyâs other MCs in my heart for favorite. So far, this story most closely resembles The Locker Room in the way we are introduced to the MCs as young kids and move through adulthood with them. And in how painful it seems to be. I am keeping Kleenex close at hand.
P.S. The Bonus scenes are great, and I think you only get them in the Deluxe or Serialized Versions.
Part two
Blurb
Trav Ford doesn’t like strings and he doesn’t like messes. Coming off a messy breakup, Trav is grimly determined to keep his life absolutely pristine. When Trav is asked to take over the management of Outbreak Monkey, his first order of business is to clean up their actâand that includes shipping the youngest, most troubled member off to detox and rehab before Mackey Sanders’s life choices kill him.
But Mackey didn’t become an addict overnight, and it’s going to take more than one trip to rehab to fix him up. When an act of violence destroys Mackey’s struggling equilibrium, Trav is going to find that messy isn’t so hard to escapeânot when it’s wrapping its mess around Trav’s heart.
Review
We start off with a bang â Grant has left, Mackey is on a downward spiral â though the band is selling millions, Mackey is a wreck. Along comes Trav to save the day and we get a glimpse for what -we hope-  a future where Mackey can be himself and be happy.
In Part two we start to see deeper into some of the other boysâ lives and realize there is more to them as well. Uh Sheila? WTF?
I am glad â so glad â Trav got introduced right away, my heart was breaking after Episode one. And he seems hot, sweet and tough â my favorite â just right for Mackey.
I love Mackeyâs one liners: âIâm only bi when Iâm highâ and âDonât bullshit me Babysitter!â He is going to be one of Amy Laneâs MCs that rivals for favorite in my heart, I just know it.
If I get to make a comparison this early, Iâd say this reminds me most closely of The Locker Room. Young guys, growing with them through a painful, painful early adulthood and hopefully the kind of happy ending that legends are made of. (Donât hate the dangling participle!)
Part three
Blurb
Mackey Sanders doesn’t do anything easyârehab is no exception. Never one to follow orders for the sake of being orderly, Mackey needs a reason, something real, to make him agree to Trav’s terms of getting clean. Trav knows he can’t be Mackey’s only reason to rehabilitate, but before he can convince Mackey of that, he needs to get to the heart of whatâs been eating Mackey alive from the moment the band left Tyson.
Can Mackeyâs familyâcan Mackeyâs bandâsurvive the fallout of Mackey telling the truth? More importantly, can Mackey?
Review
Mackey and Blake end up doing rehab together after Mackey gets roofied and attacked at a bar and almost dies.
Travis is struck by his feelings for Mackey and Mackey begins to realize the depth of his feelings for Travis.
The most important part of this segment is rehab itself. Dr. Cambridge (with the help of Travis as motivation) finally breaks through to Mackey and forces him to admit that heâs gay. Forces him to discuss Grant. Forces him to admit his fears. And finally forces him to talk about it with his family.
What weâre left with is a raw open wound. Mackey is bare and tender like new skin after a bad sunburn. The band and Mackeyâs mom are left ripped wide open, forced to face their individual roles in Mackeyâs collapse.
Travis will have his hands full in managing this bunch now that the truth is out, and everyoneâs on pins and needles wondering whatâs going to happen when Mackey returns.
**
WOW. This segment was gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, and another reason to be grateful for a Family-sized box of Kleenex. Damn.
Mackey canât get any deeper under your skin. Heâs so, so broken. He has such a simple set of expectations for life (love and music) and yet he cannot get those met. The only thing that works for him is his music and itâs his music that tears him from his love, which makes him self-medicate to the point of self-destruction. Fortunately, Travis frickinâ gets it and gets him and finally, with his help, Mackey can have love and music at the same time. I hope. Amy Lane â you hear me? He better get both!
I am nervous about Grant and what role heâs going to play in the upcoming segments⊠I have a feeling we havenât heard the last of him, and I have a feeling he isnât going to be âa good thingâ when he does return.
Of course this segment is as wonderful as parts one and two â maybe even the best so far, simply because I just love seeing the love between Travis and Mackey in its infant stages here. I also love seeing the personalities of the brothers blossom and become full, rich, and complex characters.
Part Four
Blurb
Mackey’s fragile recovery from his bout with self-destruction is complicated even further by his feelings for Travâand Trav’s feelings back. Trav is older, and he should know better, but now that Mackey is drug-free and conquering his demons, all he can see is the stunning, brilliant man who existed under the stain of pain and excess.
Trav and Mackey struggle to find a balance between Mackey’s recovery and their growing attraction. Trav decides to make a rare leap of faithâbut can Mackey find enough faith in himself to make it through life in the spotlight and a visit to the past that almost destroyed him?
Review
Mackey comes back from rehab and he and Trav agree that though it isnât exactly by the â12 stepâ book, they need each other. Trav doesnât want to just jump in bed â ok he does â but he wants this thing between him and Mackey to be REAL not just a way to make this part of Mackeyâs recovery âfeel betterâ.
Mackey just wants Trav. He just WANTS him.
So they agree to date and itâs f*ckinâ hilarious and sweet and gut wrenching⊠pure romance.
There is some more confrontation with Mackeyâs past â really painful stuff but some healing, too.
Finally thereâs the hot, sweaty, skin on skin⊠well, youâll see J
**
What I really appreciate about this section is that, yet again, Amy has given us this perfectly imperfect set of heroes and anti-heroes. Trav isnât perfect. He craves, desires, wants, needs â even though itâs probably in no way the right thing for either of them right now.
Mackey is so much more than the right-brained, needy, creative, messed-up musician â he also loves, and loves deeply, and sees things in people others canât or wonât â and heâs not afraid to say what he thinks. Time and again he just cuts you off at the knees then gives you a hand up.
Each section keeps getting better and this is (of course) my favorite so far â but Iâll tell you â after I read this my first thought was âOh no â whatâs going to happen next? When is the next shoe gonna fall?â followed by âHow is Grant gonna screw this up?â and finally âOh, poor Blake. **pets** I hope someone loves him soon!â
Part Five
Blurb
Mackey is great at taking a leap of faith into a crowdâbut taking one into a relationship and a future is a totally different animal. When he and Trav decide to take a risk that Mackey’s healing can hold up to them together, they know it’s going to be a long, difficult road. Mackey proves he can handle the stress of performing on his own, but when it comes to the demons that broke him in the first place, that’s a whole other song.
The first time Mackey tries to go home, it sends him into a palm-sweating, stomach-heaving anxiety attack, and Trav has to concede that Mackey is still on loan from the things that almost wrecked him when he was still a kid. When news arrives that affects the entire band, Mackey can either go home and face his demons or let them haunt them forever.
Review
Mackey and Trav are together and it is hot. H.O.T. Mackey is still a train wreck. He barely makes it when Trav has to go to England for 4 days, but manages to stay sober by getting a sexy stomach tattoo and hanging on by a wing and a prayer.
The band is forced to get its own act together for a show in Oakland and they get a new member to the tribe: Briony. Briony kicks ass and takes names as the bands new tech guru.
Trav and Mackey have the hottest rock star sex ever when Trav makes it back in time to see the show, and the first post-rehab show is a huge success.
Trouble is on the horizon though. Mackey doesnât want to see Travâs parents for Christmas when he sees himself as still such a work in progress. Trav feels he has to go so the boys are set to head up to Tyson on their own and Mackey freaks out in the airport â the idea of going home too much for his recently sober state to withstand.
Luckily Trav is there to catch him before he falls and the band ends up staying in LA together for Christmas where they get the terrible news about Grant.
Really terrible news. Now Mackey has to face not only going home, but going home to say good-bye for good.
Amy knows how to kill us so very sweetlyâŠ
Part Six
Blurb
For as long as Trav Ford has known the Sanders boys, one name has haunted the entire band. Their first lead guitarist and Mackeyâs first lover has left a stamp on the kids heâs known as family, an now Grant has one last chance to hurt the people Trav cares for the most.
Except Grant isnât the monster Trav made him out to be and coming home is harder on the band â and Trav â than he ever could have anticipated. When Trav is confronted with the reality of what Mackey and his brothers left behind â and with what theyâre about to lose â he has to seriously reconsider if heâs strong enough to deal with everything that Mackey and Outbreak Monkey have come to represent. Fortunately for Trav, Mackeyâs learned a lot in the past year, and one of his best lessons is how to hold on to the people he loves.
Review
Oooo, this oneâs a tough one. First off, let me yell CLIFF HANGER!!! Here we sit on the precipice of the end and we are left absolutely biting our fingernails!
The band makes it up to Tyson where Grant meets them looking beat to sh*t and barely hanging on. If that wasnât enough, when they play in their old bar, the locals FINALLY catch on that Mackey is gay and that one of their own might be too. This, of course, causes a bar fight in which the entire band ends up in jail.
This freaks Trav, Mr. Control, right the hell out and he bails, leaving Mackey to deal with his feelings and his family by HIMSELF… for one night⊠we hope.
Meanwhile Cheever acts like a total ass-hat and sets Mackey off on another rant about how Cheever canât bite the hand that feeds him all the time.
On a happy side note, our good friend and techie Briony seems to be finding some warmth with dear sweet Kell and things are looking pretty favorable in that direction. âYou are âŠ. Radius!â One of the best lines!
**
While I was really expecting this segment to kick my ass, I think the shoe is really gonna drop in the last. Grant is just too dang likable. Thatâs Travâs problem too. He WANTS to hate him, but how can you hate a guy who was just young and dumb and trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons?
I was so glad Cheever got his head bit off â I was really getting tired of hearing him bad mouth the brothers, even if it is understandable in a backward teen-agery sort of way.
Of course Iâve been rooting for Briony and Kell since she was introduced so I am ever so pleased they seem to be hooking up â man do they seem well matched. And wow! â who would have thunk it â Kell has some pretty deep feelings after all!
I really like how Amy managed to demonstrate in a few short pages just how far Mackey has come, emotionally, and how ready he is to settle in to an âadultâ relationship with Trav, at last.
I also really appreciated that Mackey was real with his mom in this part too. Forcing them both to look at her âmothering skillsâ with a critical eye and acknowledge that no matter what she did she had a rough road to travel with Cheever, maybe even more than with the others.
Part Seven
Blurb
The one lesson that Trav’s learned with the band’s return to Tyson is that it should be hard to say good-bye.
Mackey, Kell, Jefferson, and Stevie have to say good-bye to the person who helped make them and break them. They have to say good-bye to their bitterness and anger, and they have to say good-bye to lingering hope that one of the best parts of their childhood can be with them always.
But in the last two years they’ve grown a lotâand maybe they’ve grown enough to say good-bye to the past without forgetting it, and to embrace a future that they won’t regret.
Review
So we left off with Trav in a hotel leaving Mackey BY HIMSELF to face the house full of crazinessâŠ
When we return, Mackey and Trav âmake upâ⊠yeah, thatâs a description for it (aka have super hot monkey sex) and admit how important they are to each other.
Then the real hard part begins â saying Goodbye to Grant. He is providing closure, taking care of his daughter, telling anyone and everyone the truth â and it hurts. But it is also so beautiful.
Grant has made plans for his funeral and though they are tough, the boys agree and when the time comes, it can be said that no one will ever, EVER forget that funeral. Things get said that should have been said years ago and all of it is âshockingâ, and the song that gets sung (âItâs my lifeâ by the Animals) is ever so appropriate.
Finally, itâs time to go home. Their goodbyes have been said publicly, now they have to be said privately, and though not necessarily easier, certainly there is the acknowledgement of the happy part of Grant that only Mackey and the boys got to see. Here the boys sing their version of Wish You Were Here, the Pink Floyd song written for their own lost band member Syd Barrett, and it too is ever, ever so appropriate.
Trav and Mackey are together and happy and willing to keep falling in love with each other every single day.
Hopefully you have bought the series and get to see the bonus material because part 7 is absolutely the BEST bonus material â in it we see Mackey on his way to see Travâs family as he gets some of the most amazing news from Briony and Kell.
**
This was a very hard segment to read. We went through times where we just wanted to strangle Grant, but itâs hard to forget how much love he had for Mackey and in this segment we see there was so much more there that we didnât see ⊠and such a potential for more that could never be âŠ
Of course his dying was amazingly sad and the funeral scene is so touching and gutting but Amy finds a way to make us laugh through our tears. To me however, the hardest part to read was the barn scene (youâll know it when you read it) because it was so symbolically full circle. Here are Grant and Mackey, together, the tables are turned though and itâs Mackey giving to Grant and itâs so beautiful, tender, loving but absent that passion from before because Mackey is Travâs now, and that is undisputed.
I canât recommend this series/book enough, it is funny, heartbreaking, enlightening, sweet, tender, passionate, sexy, loving⊠well⊠just amazing.
I give it 6 of 5 stars and youâre missing out if you donât read this book!
**
Lyrics to Itâs my Life by the Animals
It’s a hard world to get a break in
All the good things long gone been taken
But girl there are ways to make certain things pay
Dressed in these rags I’ll wear sable some day
Hear what I say, I’m gonna ride that serpent
No more time spent sweatin’ rent
Hear my command, I’m breakin’ loose, ’cause I ain’t no use
Holdin’ me down, girl stick around
And baby, remember
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
Show me I’m wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
I’ll treat you so fine, dear, you’re so real
There’ll be women and their fortunes
Who just want to mother little orphans
Are you gonna cry while I’m squeezin’ them dry?
Takin’ all I can get, no regrets, when I openly lie
And live on their money, believe me honey
You can have so much fun with that money
Can you believe, I ain’t no saint?
I ain’t got no complaints, so girl throw out, yeah any doubt
And baby, remember
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
You show me I’m wrong, it’ll hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
It’s my life and I’ll do what I want
It’s my mind and I’ll think like I want
Show me I’m wrong, hurt me sometime
But some day I’ll treat you real fine
I’ll treat you so fine, babe
I’ll give you everything, everything you want
Lyrics to Wish you Were Here
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
Two years after a terrifying night of pain destroyed his normal teenage existence, Aaron Downing still clings to the hope that one day, he will be a fully functional human being. But his life remains a constant string of nightmares, flashbacks, and fear. When, in his very first semester of college, heâs assigned Spencer Thomas as a partner for his programming project, Aaron decides that maybe ânormalâ is overrated. If he could just learn to control his fear, that could be enough for him to find his footing again.
Review
The Story
WOW.
Just. WOW.
This is an absolutely amazing book. Amazing.
JP Barnaby manages to take an absolutely horrific event and funnel it through the mind of a teenager. Can you imagine? Being a teenager is hard enough as it is. Then add being a gay teenager, just coming into your own sexuality. Then add in a brutal, horrible attack that leaves you physically and emotionally scarred and your best friend, dead. It is incredible that Aaron had the will to live, and JP even explains HOW he manages to avoid suicide.
It is completely believable, and touching, and so, so painful, but sweet and hopeful at the same time. I couldnât read/listen to it all at once. I had to take breaks, read lighter books in between. But when I got to the end, I said âI MUST read Spencer!â and started it immediately.
One of the things I absolutely found so powerful, was JPs ability to show us (without telling us) the areas where Aaronâs family â despite ALL their best intentions â were NOT helping him. She also showed us where the fact that he was a teenager (and thus prone to illogical thinking and hormone driven decision making) impacted his event even more so than it would have on an adult. Aaron lived through this event at such a pivotal time in his life and JP does an amazing job of showing us just how pivotal it was.
Then you have Spencer. (Sigh) I LOVE Spencer. I wish I KNEW Spencer, I would hug and love him up. Such a fantastic soul and such a huge heart. He takes on Aaron and sees through to the boy he is/could be and simply loves him. He has his own demons, and this makes him empathetic and vulnerable and wonderful It is a testament to the power of love in the act of healing. So very touching. I canât say enough about how wonderful Spencer is.
JP also paints a detailed, if flawed, picture of Dr Thomas, Aaronâs parents/siblings, and all the other people in Aaronâs life. She is accurate down to her coding and tech-speak, but not didactic or pedantic.
It was a hard book to read/listen to, but so worth it.
I had not read any JP Barnaby books before this, but you can bet I am a fan for life now.
5 out of 5 hearts
Review
The audio
Tyler Stevens can read any book to me any day. He did such an amazing job with the language, the tonal qualities of Spencerâs speech. (Spencer was born deaf, but can and does speak throughout the story.) Tyler subtly changes the voice for all the characters in a way that is helpful to the story and not distracting in its âover actingâ.
His reading pace is good, his voice quality clear, his emphasis on the dialog perfection.
I would specifically look for him as a narrator, he is that good. I really hope he reads Spencer when the audible version comes out.
I liked the audible version even better than the book (shocked gasp!). It was that good. Tyler just made me feel the characters in a way that when I went back to read the book, his intonations were what I heard.
I highly recommend this audio version, the book, the series, the author, the narrator.
Ok, I sound a little fan-girl, but really. Go now and buy them.