A bit of enemies to lovers, a touch of coming out, a dash of revenge for high school bullying…and a WHOLE lot of drag queens. Did that get your attention? Good, because See Me is a great story that made me smile, laugh, shake my head and hit me in the feels with Adrian and Marty. There’s some great supporting characters with Adrian’s friends from high school as well as a whole cast of drag queens with some distinctive personalities.
I can’t express enough how much I adored Adrian/Adrienne. I was so upset for him as a teenager, and later so proud of him for turning everything around. He becomes a sassy, funny guy—no matter whether he’s Adrian or Adrienne—and I was glad to see him stick up for himself. Marty fell into the trap that a lot of high schoolers fall into—peer pressure to conform—and as a result winds up treating someone he actually cares about pretty crappy, all because he doesn’t want to admit who he really is. I get the whole conformity thing when you’re that age; almost no one wants to stick out, even if that means doing the wrong thing. This story is a great example of just how hurtful—and dangerous—that attitude can potentially become.
As adults, things are much different, and the tables get turned. It doesn’t make what Adrian does right, even if it does make him feel better…at least for a little bit. Both he and Marty get to experience bullying from both sides, making it easier for them to understand each other. Once he and Marty can see past it all, and come to terms with the past (both long ago and recent), things finally change between them and their relationship slowly evolves. I like that it’s not rushed, and everything flows naturally with their relationship. The drag aspect gives the story a whole lot of uniqueness, and made this an intriguing read.
Though this story is part of The Lightning Tales series, it can definitely be read as a standalone. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, See Me will surely pique your interest for the other books like it did for me. See Me was a solid 4-star read for me, and I would recommend it for any fan of M/M romance. It is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content.
The narration: Once again Joel Leslie does a terrific job. Separate, distinct voices for all of the characters that remain consistent throughout the story made it easy to follow along. He did an amazing job demonstrating the emotions of the characters through their voices, and I was easily pulled into this story right from the start. 5 stars for the narration, this was a great way to spend those five plus hours 😉