Spencer by J.P. Barnaby (Survivor Stories #3)
M/M Romance
March 21, 2014
Dreamspinner

Reviewed by Helyce

I remember thinking at the end of the first book, Aaron, that the author left things so open-ended that a sequel must be planned so when I happened upon Spencer I had to read it.  In the first book, the focus is on Aaron and the aftermath of the brutal attack on him and his friend Juliette, where they were kidnapped, tortured and raped and left for dead.  Juliette dies, but Aaron survives, though he often wishes he was dead.  Suffering from PTSD of the most severe form, Aaron is prone to panic attacks, he cannot be in large groups of people, he doesn’t like to be touched and while he has suffered greatly, he hates how the attack on him has affected his family, most especially his two younger brothers.  When he agrees to take a class at the local college, he meets Spencer and their friendship begins.

Spencer is the sequel to Barnaby’s 2012 release, Aaron, and picks up a few years into their relationship.  Aaron has come a long way, but is still susceptible to panic attacks when in large groups of people.  While he and Spencer’s personal relationship has also changed, Aaron still struggles with intimacy on even the most basic level and this is beginning to weigh heavily on Spencer.  Though Aaron has continued to attend the local college-he’s had to take things slower and while Spencer is nearing graduation, Aaron still has a ways to go. This has not stopped them from working together to develop a computer program, Sparon,  that has been noticed by a company in Chicago who wants to buy the rights to the software and hire them to take lead in interfacing it in-house.  Spencer is beyond excited at this chance to move forward in his life; move out, get a place of his own and live like a grown-up.  Unfortunately, there is no way Aaron could handle moving out and leaving his support system. With Aaron’s encouragement, however, Spencer takes the job and their relationship, such that it is, goes long distance.

I enjoyed this sequel.  It was great to revisit this couple and see how things had progressed, especially for Aaron.  Though he still struggled every day, through therapy he seemed to be moving forward, albeit very slowly.  The author does a great job of showing us the true meaning of the word sacrifice where it pertains to this relationship.  Spencer, so in love with Aaron, put so much of his life on hold to be with him.  They don’t go out, cause Aaron can’t handle it.  And they don’t have sex, because Aaron can barely handle heavy petting without throwing himself into a full blown panic attack. It is not lost on Aaron what Spencer has given up to be with him, though, and he fears  the day that Spencer will get tired of waiting at some point and leave him.

Aaron’s fears are realized when Spencer accepts the job in Chicago and moves there, promising to come home on weekends. Away from Aaron, we see Spencer in a different light.  Though deaf, he easily adapts to having an apartment, his new job and enjoying the people he is working with.  We see him makes friends and enjoy a bit of a social life-something that has been sorely lacking in the time he’s been with Aaron.  There is always this underlying feeling of guilt, though-like he shouldn’t be enjoying himself.  I liked where the author was going with this part of the story and I would have liked to have seen it explored in a bit more detail.  Realistically, there was nothing wrong with Spencer having friends and a social life outside of his relationship with Aaron-but their situation and their relationship are far from normal with all of Aaron’s issues. While it is touched upon briefly in a scene where Spencer’s guilt gets the best of him and he drives all the way home to come clean with Aaron-I felt we really only saw how Spencer’s actions affected Aaron.  It seemed a bit one sided. What about Spencer?

Aaron misses Spencer a lot and begins to visit PTSD blogs as suggested by his psychologist. He meets a man named Jordan who lost his twin brother in a school shooting.  These two form a sort of bond and when Aaron realizes that Jordan lives only one town over, they meet and a friendship begins. Predictably, Aaron’s friendship with Jordan is misinterpreted by Spencer and the author uses this to bring a small bit of conflict to their relationship. Jealousy is understandable, however difficult to buy as we already know that Aaron has intimacy issues.

In the midst of all this, Aaron is dealt another blow when the men who attacked him and Juliette are caught.  Having to testify to put these men in jail takes Aaron over and while he wants to do it to get justice for Juliette, he doesn’t think he can get upon on the stand and tell the court every single disgusting detail of that night.  In the end, Aaron does find the strength to do just that, and in doing so he is able to take back a semblance of the power that was taken away from him that night five years ago. We then begin to see a different Aaron-not the Aaron he was before the attack as that boy is gone forever-but a new Aaron who has taken back his control and can move forward in his life.

I enjoyed this follow up and especially liked that we got closure for the horrific crimes done to Aaron and his friend.  It was great to see Aaron’s character grow and change and move forward in a positive way.  With the introduction of Jordan, we are given a new character that I hope Barnaby plans to explore further while at the same time revisiting Aaron’s family, namely his siblings, Allen and Anthony.

Rating: B

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