Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
After years of physical and mental abuse, Tommy Chadwick finally finds the strength to leave Colin, his tormentor. But Tommy soon finds that escaping his violent boyfriend was only the first step on his path to recovery.
Now he must overcome feelings of worthlessness in order to rebuild his battered self-esteem. Tommy’s lack of self-confidence prevents him from going out… at first, but then has him ricocheting from one man to another, desperately trying to please them in his search for love and acceptance.
After being rejected on New Year’s Eve, and then beaten after leaving the gay bar, he agrees to accompany his best friend, Sarah, to a martial arts club. There Tommy meets Marcus, a strong older man, who at first becomes his friend, introducing Tommy to new interests, and later, tentatively asks him on a date.
Will Marcus be the man to help Tommy put his past behind him and fall in love for real?
I really like Louise Lyon’s writing style. I’m happy that one of the elements was domestic violence, it’s not something we see a lot of in m/m writing. Most guys who are victims of D.V are ashamed to come forward and get help, at least it seems that way to me.
At first I was certain that Beyond the Scars was going to be a DNF for me because I did not feel like Tommy was acting like a victim. Then I had to stop and think as I’ve never been in this situation. I can’t judge him for how he decided to deal with himself after getting away from his abuser. I can only speculate on what I would do, but then again unless you are living with this then you really can’t speak on it. Tommy is a young guy, barely 23 and the last two years of his life has been hell. Being in an emotional and physically abusive relationship took a toll on him. He described his abuse in ways, and early on we got to see it. I’m happy he took his life back, and I’m glad that he was able to overcome his abuser when so many people can not. I really enjoyed Marcus. I thought he was a good guy, and I liked how the author described his emotionally abusive past as well. We can’t judge people based off their looks. Marcus was a man’s man and no one would have ever thought he’ll be a victim of domestic violence.
The story itself was okay to me. I wanted this story to pull more emotions from me, and that’s something the story wasn’t able to do. In fact, I feel like it did the complete opposite, and left me feeling contempt instead of compassion. I wanted Tommy to fight more, I wanted tears and anguish. I wanted emotional turmoil. I didn’t get that, and okay I’m happy that they were able to find themselves together. I just wish it took more of a toll on the heartstrings.
Cover Art by: Jay Aheer, I really like this cover. First the model looks like the guy who plays Jimmy Durmondy from Boardwalk Empire. It’s very beautiful and eye catching. I like the natural light as well it’s the shifts of shapes as Tommy is reclaiming his life back.
Sales Links: Wayward Ink Publishing | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | 
Book Details:
eKindle Edition, 176 pages
Published July 24th 2015 by Wayward Ink Publishing
original titleBeyond the Scars
ASINB011H33IOS
edition languageEnglish
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 