Bare Threads by @DPDenman #LGBT #Review #Giveaway

Dana reviews Bare Threads (A Saving Liam Story book 4) by DP Denman (Published by North Shore Press, February 1, 2015, 212 pages) Blog tour and giveaway! To read my review of Saving Liam (Book 1) click here.

 

Why I read this book: I reviewed Saving Liam, and have since read books 2 and 3. When we offered an ARC of Bare Threads in exchange for an honest review, I volunteered right away. It is a very engaging series.

 

Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Blurb: Liam is not a family man. He learned to avoid the entanglement and its mire of expectations. Expectations he is destined to crush. Unfortunately, Justin is pushing him into the arms of his new family and he’s fighting every step. 

When a person he never expected to see again reappears, Liam finds a reason to make a few concessions for the sake of real love and the only man he is willing to call family.

Book four of the Saving Liam Series

 

Buy Link: Amazon | B&N | ARe

 

 

He nodded along annoyed by the reasonable advice and the situation. He didn’t like admitting it, but they were right. There was no reason to rush. He had just imagined coming home from the trip, unpacking his suitcase, falling to one knee, and having Liam in his arms laughing and crying and accepting his proposal. Meeting the family was supposed to tip the balance in his favor. As tempting as it was to blame the ill-timed conversation for Liam’s continued refusal, it wasn’t his parents’ fault.

Liam had a way of clinging. Waiting for him to change his mind was tradition in their relationship. He didn’t jump into things, not even the easy ones. Every new opportunity represented a threat. He thought the step from living together to marriage would be easy, but apparently, it took the same patience and careful persistence as everything else.

He ended the video chat seconds before Liam walked through the front door.

“I’m home.”

“In here,” he called back.

He heard the dull thump of sock-covered feet on the floor before Liam appeared sweaty and wearing a timid smile.

“Hi.”

“How was the workout?” He tried to shrug off the annoyance still thrumming across his forehead, threatening to burst into a headache.

“Good.” Liam stepped further into the room.

The tension between them rippled across his stomach. He didn’t want things to feel strained just because they couldn’t agree on how it would look when they celebrated their twentieth anniversary. They both wanted one. It was a good start.

“Come here.” He held out his hand and pulled Liam into his lap. “I’m sorry for pushing this marriage thing so hard.” He wrapped arms around him. “I want it but not enough to tear us apart trying to get it.”

“It’s my fault, too. I’m being a pain in the ass.”

He twitched a smile. “Stubborn is nothing new for you.”

“It’s not because I don’t want to be with you.”

“I know that.” He kissed Liam’s shoulder. “If I thought you planned to leave this would be a totally different conversation.” He looked up into Liam’s face, studying what he had already memorized. “I want to be with you for the rest of my life. You want to be with me for the rest of yours. That’s enough for now.”

“For now?” Liam cocked a challenging eyebrow.

“I’m not giving up on this.”

“I figured.”

“One day you’ll understand what I’m talking about and we’ll have a honeymoon so hot we’ll melt the sheets.”

Liam smiled. “If this is a ploy for hotter sex we can skip the ceremony and find some new tricks online. There must be a blog somewhere with decent ideas.”

“I’m sure there are several.”

Liam didn’t need any help being hot in bed. He had a great imagination, little inhibition, and thousands of hours of experience in porn. The only way things between them could get any hotter would be the first night he made love to his new husband, gold bands gleaming in the sunlight, and knew Liam was his.

My Review: In the first book, Liam was an abused and used kid. His previous “boyfriend” was more of a pimp who sold him out to others and made him a porn star in exchange for a place to sleep at night. He received no other payment and the disgust he felt for himself almost led him to a drastic action. Luckily he was saved by Justin a neighbor and witness to his last humiliation.

Over time, Liam slowly and I do mean slowly (can’t blame him) moved forward from that event. Keeping a job was slightly difficult because he had a recognizable face to a few that watched his videos, not allowing him to completely escape his past. At first his relationship with Justin was a matter of respect and love, with no physical acts involved. Bit by bit he let himself discover what he would allow Justin to do to him and what he would allow himself to do to Justin.

He had many fears, bad memories of things that always held him back a little and in some cases he just couldn’t do certain things at all. I felt for him, the author created Liam in a way that he is very easy to sympathize and empathize with. I felt sad for his setbacks and inability to completely escape and cheered for him with each step he took forward.

At the time Bare Threads starts, Liam is a much better adjusted individual. His relationship with Justin is stronger than ever. Justin is an amazing character, with an unending amount of patience. He knows when to nudge, but never pushes Liam to places he doesn’t want to go. Liam even makes a real friend, something he had trouble doing because of trust issues. His job while not glamorous or as upstanding as he’d like is something he enjoys, but at the same time is worried about being judged for. It definitely creates tension in his relationship. Not because Justin sits in judgment, but because he wants Liam to be a part of his family and Liam thinks they will not accept him. If not for his past, then for what he does in the present.

I did have a little difficulty understanding his aversion to marriage, because I’ve always seen it as a partnership, and Justin has never made their relationship about his own wants, always putting Liam first. But because of his past, any commitment feels like someone taking ownership of him. Still, with a visit from someone he never thought he’d see again, Liam does get a different viewpoint on some things he has rejected.

I thought this was a very good ending to a series. The ending came a little bit too fast for my taste after all of his indecision in the past, Liam hops into making one quicker than I thought he would. Still it was a journey I was glad to have taken with both Liam and Justin. Their relationship was a beautiful thing to see grow. It was not without pitfalls, but the strength of their love for each other won out every time. I am sad to see it end, but excited that Liam’s friend in the series will be featured in a future book by this author.

9/10 pots of gold

Rafflecopter giveaway