This story put me through so many emotions. I listened to the audiobook and had not read or listened to any of the stories in the series. It works as a standalone, but there are many family members and friends in the story that are talked about. By the end of the book, I think I had the connections straight. This story is about Luke McCullough and Tristan Hughes,
The story and characters had so much depth that you couldn’t help but feel for what they had gone through. Luke had always been attracted to females. He meets Tristan and tries to fight what he is feeling, but then eventually gives into the inevitable. Luke is so torn about his feelings towards Tristan that he doesn’t want anyone to know that they are together, including his family. He feels ashamed and will only be with Tristan in private.
Tristan has always been gay. Just for being gay, Tristan was horrendously beaten by his own father while his mother looked the other way from this abuse. Tristan is understandably upset that Luke wants to hide their relationship, but would rather have a private relationship with Tristan rather than no relationship with him.
The story spans several years. It was so sad and frustrating that Luke continued to deny the relationship with Tristan and continued to hurt him because of that denial. It takes a drastic wake up call where Luke almost loses him completely for Luke to finally acknowledge him in public. There was an absolutely brutal scene in the book that is forever etched in my mind. It was gut wrenching. It takes a lot for the two to finally have an HEA. Even through all those ups and downs with the story, I did not want to quit until they had their happy ending. They definitely deserved one.
The narrator David Allen Vargo did a good job with the narration. He used a kind of echo feature when the character had an inner monologue. I did not really like his interpretation of Tristan’s voice, but that is a personal preference. Each character had it’s own different voice, which was appreciated.
Overall, I am glad I listened to this book. It was a story that will stay with me for a long time.