Tag: gay domestic violence

A Mika Review: Beyond the Scars by Louise Lyons

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

Beyond the Scars coverAfter 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 | Buy It Here

Book Details:

eKindle Edition, 176 pages
Published July 24th 2015 by Wayward Ink Publishing
original titleBeyond the Scars
ASINB011H33IOS
edition languageEnglish

Review: A Beautiful Disaster by Willa Okati

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A beautiful Disaster coverSean is trying to start his life over after being abused and almost killed by  an ex lover, but he wears his past for all to see in the scars that crisscross his body and the limbs that no longer work as they once did.  Sean’s scars are internalized as well, revealing themselves in his inability to trust and move forward in his life.

Riorden is both a tattoo artist and nurse who also is familiar with scars and life’s unwelcome surprises.  Rio is drawn to the pain filled man he sees waiting for the bus near the hospital, one glimpse and he is hooked although he can’t say why.  An accidental meeting at a bar brings Sean and Rio together again, and while the sexual heat flares, trust remains elusive.

Sean too  wants the gentle inked nurse but can he overcome his painful past and issues of trust to move forward with his life and find the love he has always dreamed about?  Only time will tell if Rio can save the beautiful disaster that is Sean.

This is not a love story for the light or faint hearted but one that is dark, pain filled and shows only glimpses of hope towards the end. Willa Okati delivers two memorable men, carrying traumatic scars of their past.  One is a veritable canvas of scars from the event that cost him everything, his self image, his trust, and his greatest joy, the ability to draw.  The other man’s scars are more easily hidden but no less dramatic.  He too almost lost his life but in a far different fashion, one that left his self image and future intact.  But it is how each man has dealt with the trauma that both pulls them together as each recognizes something about the other, a similarity that exists under the surface.  Willa Okati brings these outwardly disparate yet inwardly compatible men to life in these story of pain, hardship and renewal.

Rio helps cover scars for his former patients with tattoos that help them recover.  An article this week at MSNBC told the same story of a woman who rejected breast reconstruction and had a gorgeous full chest tattoo inked in their place (see picture at breast-cancer-survivor.jpg). We get into his head and heart as Rio talks to and about his patients.  And once we enter the tattoo shop and meet his best friend Jae, we better understand why he is so driven to pursue both careers at the same time.  Sean’s mind is a tough one to connect with, dark, depressed, and in stasis, unable to move forward or back.  All 136 pages chart his faltering progress to jumpstart his life, connect again with his art, and find his ability to love and trust once more.

For most of the book this is a bleak picture.  But each time the story gets caught up in its depths, Okati offers the reader glimmers of light ahead.  That glimpse of hope,plus the compelling characters of Sean and Rio, will serve to pull along those readers in search of a passionate love story.  The rest of us will not hesitate to go where Willa Okati leads  which is to an ending both realistic and heartening. One that leaves the reader optimistic for Sean and Rio’s future and the healing they have found with each other.

Cover Artist: Ginny Glass. I am not sold on this cover.  There was so much within this story for a cover artist to draw from that I am at a loss to say what might have prompted the design on the cover. It doesn’t really speak to anything within the book, not even the tattoos described within that carry so much meaning.  A complete misstep in design in my opinion.

Willa Okati and Loose id LLC post some very important links in the afterword about domestic abuse and organizations that deal with domestic violence.  These are wonderful resources for those in need.

For more information about domestic abuse, please check out the following: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence http:// http://www.ncadv.org/ Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project http:// gmdvp.org/ about-us/ Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence (via The Advocate)   http:// http://www.theadvocates-aplacetogo.org/ Additional-Resources.php