A.E. Via has asked me to review her new book You Can See Me, which will be released on February 7, 2014. She was kind enough to provide me with an e-copy of the book. Please note, I am not paid for this review in any way.
Here is the Synopsis of the book:
“World renowned chef Prescott Vaughan is to leave for Paris to work alongside his idol, however, a horrific car accident leaves him completely blind.
His female fiancé leaves him in a state of desperation and depression. He pines for love, companionship, and so happens to find it in the form of his very sexy neighbor. Sexy male neighbor, Dr. Rickson ‘Ric’ Edwards.
Prescott’s not gay – at least he never considered himself gay – until Ric saves him from a date, gone terribly wrong. The two neighbors hit it off quickly and waste no time exploring and learning each other. Things are great until Ric begins to have his doubts about meeting Prescott’s many wants.
When Ric insists he and Prescott take a breather, Pres finds himself lonely and lacking again. Enter, male escort and aspiring chef, Blair McKenzie to fill the void.
In the meantime, Ric works on his issues that prohibits him from displaying the love he knows he has for Prescott. When Ric is finally ready and returns to claim Prescott he’s not sure that Pres can let go of the sexy, southern, hotness that is Blair McKenzie. After Ric has his own personal encounter with the sinfully sexy man, he can’t help but become entranced and crave more as well.
Pres soon realizes that there’s no need to choose between his two men, because when all three of them finally come together – grab a cold drink – the heat is going to go all the way up!
This is not your typical gay ménage romance. Everyone is not happy, skipping along, and loving life. These men are at each other’s throats. They live completely separate lives; fuss, cuss, and fight until they all realize exactly what the problem is…too damn much sexual tension.”
WARNING: This is a 4 hankie story.
Pres is a man on top of the world. A job he loves and is good at it. A woman he loves, and parents he adores. One fateful day that is taken away…..along with his sight. He loses his job and his woman. Luckily, his parents won’t let him give up on himself and he learns how do use his skills in a brand new way.
Ric is a doctor who has been persecuted for being gay, finds himself in a new city working in a new hospital and living on the same floor with a really hot guy. For Ric, it Is love at first sight and he is determined to make Pres his.
Pres says he isn’t gay, however, he did have a “friends with benefits” thing with a frat brother when he was in college. But Pres was not ready for anything more than that. When Pres smells Ric one day, his body reacts and after much prompting from Ric, decides to go for it.
Communication, or the lack thereof, again plays a huge part of the story. When Ric walks away from Pres after he promised he never would, Pres becomes depressed beyond belief. Finally giving up hope that Ric will come around, Pres is desparate for any kind of affection and human interaction and decides to call an escort service.
Blair is a knock out Texan who is in awe that he is with the great Prescott Vaughn. He already knew he thought Pres was hot, but when he finally gets to know him, Blair falls in love with him. He and Pres become best friends and gives Pres a reason to get on with life. Blair is very much aware that anything romantic with Pres will not happen until things with Ric are resolved. When events throw the three together, passion and love explode.
This book had me hooked from the beginning. Each character is endearing and special in their own ways. It is hard to say who is my favorite, because I love Ric, Pres and Blair for different reasons. Blair is the glue of this relationship and they all know it. The chemistry between Ric and Pres is explosive as it is, but when you add Blair to it….it is nuclear!
There is a quote from the book that is something to live by:
“But our Blair knew exactly what to do. He told us that we belonged together. Regardless of what society says, we shouldn’t have to deny who we love….or limit it to only one.” –Pres
Love is love. This book kept me engaged and emotionally invested in the characters. I laughed and gosh knows I cried both happy and sad tears. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who believes in true love. You Can See Me was truly an enjoyable read that deserves:
I am looking to Ms. Via’s next book, Nothing Special, which is Leon’s story. Who is Leon? Remember the frat brother “friends with Benefits” ? Yup that is he. I can’t wait to read his story.
Here is an excerpt from You Can See Me:
“Ric leaned his head back against the elevator paneling and watched the numbers light up all the way to floor ten before his eyes drifted shut for the rest of the way. When the doors opened, he came face-to-face with Prescott’s Texan. Fuck me.
Instead of the gorgeous prick getting on the elevator and leaving, the cocky bastard took a couple steps back and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway and stared openly at him as if he hadn’t a care in the world. His hazel eyes scanned Ric up and down, taking in his disheveled, stressed-out appearance.
“Do you have a fucking problem?” Ric growled, refusing to pretend to be cordial to the man even though he was a complete stranger and had done absolutely nothing to him.
The man had the nerve to smirk at him and shake his head as if pitying Ric, or perhaps throwing it in Ric’s face that he’d definitely had a better night than he had. Ric did try to hide his anger at knowing the man had slept with his Pres. Why the hell else would he be leaving at five in the damn morning? Unless he delivered newspapers or milk, he had absolutely no reason to be on this floor this time of morning. Bastard.
“No, I don’t have a problem,” he drawled slowly, making sure to put extra enunciation on the “I” part of his sentence. “But, obviously, you do. Or else you wouldn’t be scowling at me for no reason.”
“Fuck you,” Ric snarled, stepping just a little closer. He wanted to tear the man’s lips off for talking with that accent. Then he wanted to rip his hands off for daring to touch his Prescott. The man’s probably a male gold digger.
“Did you enjoy taking advantage of Prescott? Did you get what you came for?” Ric growled like a rabid animal three inches away from the man’s face, but he’d be damned if the asshole didn’t even flinch at his showcase of fury. No reaction whatsoever.
The Texan had one hand casually tucked in his jeans pocket, kicking back one side of his stylish blazer, while he lazily rubbed his other hand over his taut chest and washboard abs that showed through the thin material of his untucked dress shirt. Ric hated to admit it, but the man looked well fucked, and he wore it well.
“How could you do that to someone like him?” Ric fumed, and it took everything in him to control his rage. If I hit him, no one would know. There’s no one around, no witnesses. It’d be his word against mine.
“I knew I’d peg you in less than five minutes.” The man spoke with one dark brown eyebrow cocked up. He ran his fingers through his bed-tousled dark brown hair and let out an exasperated breath.
“Excuse me?” Ric blinked.
“Now I know why you were too stupid to hold on to Prescott Vaughan. You were too busy feeling sorry for him. Instead of you seeing a brilliant man, a world-renowned, accomplished chef who happens to be one of the most talented men to ever set foot in a kitchen, you see a needy, helpless man. Ahhh. Now it makes perfect sense.”
“Don’t try to act like you know me because you don’t,” Ric growled, still trying to be mindful they were in the hallway of the floor that he lived on.
The Texan pushed off the wall and closed the few inches between them. His six feet, two inches of height had him eye to eye with Ric, and the man showed no fear. His handsome face was now a mask of furious anger.
“I saw you treat him like shit on the bottom of your shoes last night. I watched him beg you for five fuckin’ minutes of your time, and you spat in his face. Now, you have the audacity to say I’m mistreating him? Fuck you,” he snarled right back at Ric.
Just as fast as the man’s anger came, it disappeared, and he composed himself to reveal that smirk that Ric selfishly rejoiced Pres couldn’t see, because it was sexy as fuck…and the man knew it.
Ric watched his competition push the elevator button as he rubbed his hand over his morning stubble before speaking again. “You know what they say, don’t you, Doc? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and Prescott Vaughan is definitely a rare, precious treasure.”
The Texan inched in even closer, which surprised the hell out of Ric since they were practically nose to nose. Ric was smacked in the face with a faint soap-and-water fragrance that made his eyelids flutter and his own dick jerk to life. Ric’s half-lidded eyes were riveted to the Texan’s plush lips as he leaned in and whispered directly into Ric’s open mouth.
“If you don’t pull your head out of your ass and claim Prescott Vaughan like he wants, I won’t stop until I’ve fucked the sexy strawberry ten ways to Sunday and there’s not a single trace of your existence left in his mind, because with or without you, he needs love, and I was the one there last night to lick his sweet tears when you walked away.”
The elevator doors opened at his final words, and the smooth Texan took a few graceful steps backward into the elevator and gave Ric a sexy wink right before the doors closed.
Fucking asshole, Ric thought.”
A.E. Via is the new best-selling author in the beautiful gay erotic genre. Her writing embodies everything from spicy to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths. When she’s not clicking away at her laptop, A.E. runs a very successful paralegal-for-hire business and in her spare time, she devotes herself to her family – a husband and four children – her two pets, a Maltese dog and her white Siamese cat, ELynn, named after the late great gay romance author ELynn Harris. While this is only her second novel, she has plenty more to come…so sit back and grab a cool drink, because the male on male action is just heating up!
Go to A.E. Via’s official website for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on up-coming work, free reads, and where she’ll appear next.
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