Beautiful Trauma
Queen City
Rogues Series, Book 3
Aimee
Nicole Walker
M/M Romance
Release
Date: 07.18.19
Cover model: Joel Leslie
Photographer:
Christopher John
Cover
artist: Jay Aheer
Blurb
Does trauma
define or motivate a person?
Homeless
and rejected, Henry Sullivan arrived on the doorstep of Ryan’s Place with
nothing but the clothes on his back. Life as he knew it was over. Within those
walls, Henry found the encouragement and love needed to turn hopeless into
hopeful. Enrolling for summer classes at his community college was the first
step toward achieving the dreams he thought were lost to him. There was just
one little snag: the professor standing in the front of the room taught Henry the
true meaning of human sexuality.
After a
crushing breakup, Professor Ezra Meyer moved to the Queen City for a fresh
start where everything was new—job, home, and friends. His first challenge:
prove the benefits of his biology of human sexuality course outweighed the
controversy. Ezra agreed to teach the class during the summer semester at a
community college associated with his university to gauge interest. There was
just one little problem: Ezra had personally demonstrated the unit on Sexual
Technique and Behaviors with one of his students.
Random or
Fate?
It was
supposed to be a harmless hookup on a night when Henry was celebrating his
birthday and Ezra was trying to ease his loneliness. Fast forward six months
later, the attraction blazed hotter than ever, but acting on it could have dire
consequences neither man was willing to risk. Or were they? Could true love be
Henry and Ezra’s ultimate reward, or were they destined to become just another
sad lesson learned?
Beautiful
Trauma is a story about triumph over tragedy, embracing the unexpected, and a
reminder that family is more than biology. Are you looking for a feel-good
romance with witty banter, toe-curling passion, and a story that stays with you
long after the final page? Look no further. Beautiful Trauma is the third book
in the Queen City Rogues series but reads as a standalone book. It contains
sexually explicit material and colorful language and is intended for adults 18
and over.
Excerpt
Ezra lifted
his head and smiled down at me. “I like the way you think.”He started to lower
his head to kiss me but jerked back. “Fuck!”
“What is
it? A muscle spasm?”
“Hey
now,”Ezra said, sounding offended. “I’m not that old.”
“There’s no
age requirement for a muscle spasm. Remember my limp earlier tonight?”
Ezra nodded
to acknowledge my point. “It wasn’t a spasm; a mosquito bit me on the ass.”
He looked
so outraged that a mosquito would dare take a bite of his ass. I couldn’t stop
the laughter building inside me. “I-I’m sorry,”I managed to say before the dam
broke and it burst from my chest. “I’d bite your ass too if I were her.”
Ezra tried
not to laugh, but he joined me until he got bit a second time. “That’s it,”he
said firmly, leaping to his feet. “It’s time for a bath, then you need to get
some sleep.”He blew out the candles and crooked his fingers for me to follow.
On our way
to the bathroom, I watched in puzzlement as Ezra stopped by his bedside table
and picked up his phone.
“Checking
your messages?”I asked.
“Adding
citronella candles to my shopping list before I forget,” he quipped. He looked
at me with a raised brow. “Not a single smartass joke out of you about faulty
memories at my age.”I
held up my
hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”My lips quivered and threatened to
give way to laughter yet again.
“Get in the
bathroom,”Ezra said, pointing to the doorway.
“Yes, sir,”
I said cheekily then gasped when Ezra’s hand landed soundly against my bare
ass. I spun around to face him. “Spanking wasn’t in the lesson tonight.”
“Keep it
up, and you’re going to get a firsthand lesson in spankings, Henry.”
The idea
thrilled me to the core, and I suddenly wanted to be naughty—very, very naughty.
Review
Henry’s last memory of his mother is her final words to him
before she threw him out of the house: abomination, disgusting, filthy.
Homeless, penniless and devastated, Henry turns to his friend Geoff who helps
him find somewhere to stay at Ryan’s Place. There his HIV status doesn’t define
him—there he is loved and taken care of and given a chance to start over. Now
on his 21st birthday, a celebration leads to a one night stand with
the most incredible older man Henry has ever met. The memory of their time together
is burned into Henry’s heart and mind so imagine his shock when the very man he
could never forget turns out to be his college professor six months later.
Ezra is nothing if not a professional. He has had his fill
of being burned by men who claimed to love him and who abused the collegiate
system to get ahead. But when he spies the young man who left him with such
incredible memories after just one night together sitting in one of the seats
at the night course he is teaching, Ezra is not only surprised, he discovers
he’s still attracted. But Ezra cannot risk his reputation or his job for some
young college student no matter how appealing he is. Henry must remain
off-limits—now if only someone would tell Ezra’s heart that.
What a gorgeous romance this novel turned out to be.
Beautiful Trauma by Aimee Nicole Walker is a lovely second chance, age-gap love
affair that will thrill romance lovers. Henry, whose life has been turned
upside down by a positive HIV diagnosis, a viciously mean mother who values her
religion over her son, and the incredible loneliness of finding no one wants
him or loves him, is given the chance for a new life with a man who, despite
his best attempts, falls head over heels in love with him. Throughout the novel
we watch as Ezra confronts the demons from his past that have kept him from
taking on a serious relationship for the last few years. We stand in awe of
Henry as he learns to cope with the fact that his mother may never speak to him
again and that her last words left him feeling lower than dirt and unloved. And
we get to see how two men grow to cherish each other and heal each other in
doing so.
Yes, I will admit that, at times, the flowery language was a
bit over the top and that at the beginning of this novel I wanted to throttle
Ezra for the insensitive way he kept coming on to and then rapidly shutting
poor Henry down. I will even concede that the sudden appearance of the visiting
professor near the end of the novel seemed a bit contrived for me and felt like
drama just for drama’s sake rather than something to further the story along.
However, despite these few bumps in the story I really loved Henry and Ezra
together. They were both so incredibly loving and kindhearted and that more
than made up for any glitches in the story line.
Beautiful Trauma is a wonderful romance and one I would
recommend to anyone looking for a sweet love story to read.
Ever since she was a little girl, Aimee Nicole
Walker entertained herself with stories that popped into her head. Now she gets
paid to tell those stories to other people. She wears many titles—wife, mom,
and animal lover are just a few of them. Her absolute favorite title is
champion of the happily ever after. Love inspires everything she does, music
keeps her sane, and coffee is the magic elixir that fuels her day. I’d love to
hear from you
GIVEAWAY
I read both I like standalones better. If I read a series I like them to follow a different couple in each book.
ReplyDeleteI do love to sit down and know a book's story will be completed at the end of the book. But ALL my favourite books are series books. If I love one, I'm almost guaranteed to love the rest. And I'll buy them in paperback for future re-reads.
ReplyDelete