Title: Blue
Author: D.P. Denman
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Published: September 25, 2015
Long before he was a successful songwriter and black-belt badass, Blue was a survivor.
He escaped a program designed to cure him. One that left him near death with nothing to rely on but the kindness of a stranger. Hostile and headstrong, he needed a calmer influence to balance his fury. Someone to save him from himself.
Brady’s life was quiet and orderly until fate sent him a blue-eyed hurricane. Bursts of temper and flashes of despair battered his efforts to quiet the storm in a man he doubted he could tame. One drowning in the wreckage of his past.
With a head full of lies and a body full of scars, Blue worked to rebuild his life with the help of a man who showed him sometimes trust is worth the risk.
Blue features one of the most popular characters from the Saving Liam saga! Destined for greatness, he reveals the past that made him the scarred bad boy readers love.
So, to start off let me say that I have not read the Saving Liam saga (this is my first DP Denman book), so this was my first introduction to Blue's character. Blue is the type of character with whom you immediately sympathize, and as his story unfolds it will pull at your heart. He's withdrawn and wary after enduring unspeakable atrocities and nearly dying at the hands of those meant to "cure" him.
Fate throws him into the path of Brady, a man nearly two decades his senior, who helps Blue and is continually drawn to help him. At first, Brady is merely helping a young man who has gone through hell, hoping to set him to rights again. As time goes on, even with Blue's aversion to other men touching him and getting close, things develop between them.
Blue's journey from a violently scarred teen to a young man who works to overcome so many cruelties, mental and emotional issues is touching but also disturbing. Touching on the topics of abuse in the name of religious "healing" of Blue's "condition" (that he is gay) instigated by his narrow-minded parents, cutting and suicide, there are several things in this story that might be triggers for readers. These topics are handled well by the author, and serve to give Blue's character astounding depth and will have you caring greatly about him.
For me, the relationship between Blue and Brady felt a bit awkward, mostly due to the large age difference. That normally wouldn't be a big deal for me, except that Blue is extremely young when this story takes place so for me it just felt weird to have such a large gap in age between them. This didn't stop me from adoring Brady's character though. He is filled with compassion, is level-headed and intelligent, and makes for a good complement to Blue's character.
The writing was very good, though at times the story did go a bit slow for me, but this story has spurred me to add the books in the Saving Liam saga to my TBR list. 3.5 stars for Blue, and I'd recommend it for 18+ due to the adult M/M sexual scenes.
Award winning author DP Denman writes character-driven contemporary romance about gay men. Her stories are real and intense, but resolve in endings that make people want to read the book all over again. She lives among the moss and trees of the Pacific Northwest with a rambunctious pair of fur babies.
In her spare time, she is a dedicated LGBTQIA rights activist with a special focus on the thousands of rejected and abandoned kids who end up on the street every year. To support the cause, 25% of the royalties from every book go to LGBT charities.
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