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Scarcity Sanctuary #2
Tommy's Story
It's going to be a real test of Tommy Marsh's strength for him to be able to let go of his past in order to have the relationship he wants with Daniel Anderson.
Tommy Marsh's life was good now. The last nine years had made up for the hell he'd gone through during his first twelve. After growing up at Scarcity Sanctuary, he'd become a counselor with extensive psychology training, working with abused children.
The thing that was missing from his life was a loving, passionate relationship with the man of his dreams, Daniel Anderson. Tommy was so afraid his past would interfere with the future he wanted.A traumatic event sets things in motion and he's forced to admit his feelings and face his fears. Will Tommy's new strength and Daniel's love be enough to get him through?
This was previously released but the story has been re-edited and expanded an additional 12k from the original.
Tommy Marsh's life was good now. The last nine years had made up for the hell he'd gone through during his first twelve. After growing up at Scarcity Sanctuary, he'd become a counselor with extensive psychology training, working with abused children.
The thing that was missing from his life was a loving, passionate relationship with the man of his dreams, Daniel Anderson. Tommy was so afraid his past would interfere with the future he wanted.A traumatic event sets things in motion and he's forced to admit his feelings and face his fears. Will Tommy's new strength and Daniel's love be enough to get him through?
This was previously released but the story has been re-edited and expanded an additional 12k from the original.
100 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 1, 2015
Holy shit, this is bad. The dialogue is crap, the character interactions are stilted and awkward, and everything is so far from reality as to make it laughable. I may be wrong, but I'm fairly certain Tommy wouldn't be allowed to counsel Gom. A counselor needs to be an unbiased party, so this aspect of the story really bugged me. Also, the scene where Tommy finds out who was behind Gom's assault? Laughingly bad. Tommy calls the cops and says he knows who did it, and they just show up and start arresting people? They're actually reading them their rights and shit. That's not how that shit works.
"'She was trying to hurt Soldier and Dillon and their program here. You have to know that they know that. They have to feel responsible in some way. That has to be hurting them a lot. Don't let what she did hurt them like that. You certainly didn't deserve what happened, but neither did they, you know? You have the love and support of everyone who knows you. Just heal, Gom, and don't feel like you have to prove anything to anyone, except that you're okay. You are okay, Gom. You really are. You getting better is the only thing that will help Soldier and Dillon.' Tommy didn't think it was unfair to put that on Gom. It was all true and Gom would do anything for his dads. If he thought they were hurting because of his pain, maybe he would be more willing to let some of it go."
Worst. Counselor. Ever.
"'She was trying to hurt Soldier and Dillon and their program here. You have to know that they know that. They have to feel responsible in some way. That has to be hurting them a lot. Don't let what she did hurt them like that. You certainly didn't deserve what happened, but neither did they, you know? You have the love and support of everyone who knows you. Just heal, Gom, and don't feel like you have to prove anything to anyone, except that you're okay. You are okay, Gom. You really are. You getting better is the only thing that will help Soldier and Dillon.' Tommy didn't think it was unfair to put that on Gom. It was all true and Gom would do anything for his dads. If he thought they were hurting because of his pain, maybe he would be more willing to let some of it go."
Worst. Counselor. Ever.
December 14, 2009
What a perfect, perfect sequel to Soldier. I loved Tommy's story just as much as I loved Dillon's and Soldier's.
Tommy, not surprisingly, has found his vocation in helping out other boys who need a home. He's been developing feelings for Daniel, the man who originally placed him with Dillon and Soldier. But he doesn't know what to do about them. Until one of the boys gets gay bashed and the emotional upheaval that follows makes both men realize they feel more for each other than just friendship.
The way they ease into the emotional and physical aspect of their new relationship is beautiful. I only wish it were possible to give a book more than 5 stars!
Tommy, not surprisingly, has found his vocation in helping out other boys who need a home. He's been developing feelings for Daniel, the man who originally placed him with Dillon and Soldier. But he doesn't know what to do about them. Until one of the boys gets gay bashed and the emotional upheaval that follows makes both men realize they feel more for each other than just friendship.
The way they ease into the emotional and physical aspect of their new relationship is beautiful. I only wish it were possible to give a book more than 5 stars!
November 12, 2012
3.25*
A must read for fans of Scarcity!
It is sweet and touching and sad, and a lot like a fairy take, with OTT villain and understanding loving perfect family...great and understanding lover.
My only niggle was Tommy is 21 yet already a degree in psychology and sociology and been working for a year ?
A must read for fans of Scarcity!
It is sweet and touching and sad, and a lot like a fairy take, with OTT villain and understanding loving perfect family...great and understanding lover.
My only niggle was Tommy is 21 yet already a degree in psychology and sociology and been working for a year ?
November 12, 2010
Perfect antidote to my withdrawal symptoms from *Soldier*. Adored Tommy's story...only drawback - I wanted it to be longer!!
August 11, 2014
Sorry, but this one didn't do it for me. Everything was too rushed.
April 24, 2015
I only had one issue...not long enough ;)
I love the guys from scarcity and am happy Tommy got his HEA.
I love the guys from scarcity and am happy Tommy got his HEA.
March 8, 2021
An interesting if short continuation of Soldier. We pick-up the story some nine years later. Tommy has returned after college to work connecting needy children at social services with Scarcity Sanctuary where he knows that they'll find the love and support they need to heal. In the intervening years he was formally adopted by Soldier and now he wants what his fathers have, a loving relationship. He's now working with the one man he wants, Daniel, but will Daniel want him? When his brother is attacked in a gay bashing the two men are thrown into events that will bring them together, but with Tommy's history will they be able to make it together?
July 2, 2014
Reviewed for THC Reviews
Tommy's Story is a sweet and tender M/M romance novella that is the second story in AKM Miles's Scarcity Sanctuary series. It really tugs at the heartstrings with the story of two social workers who have known each other since the younger one was just a boy under the older one's care. They've both loved each other from afar for a while, and both are sweet, gentle beta heroes who I loved reading about. A traumatic event brings the pair closer together, giving them the courage to finally express their feelings for one another. Overall, this was another story in this series that I found to be very enjoyable.
Tommy appeared in Soldier, the first book of the series, as a broken and traumatized twelve-year-old child, who social worker Daniel placed with Dillon at what would later become known as Scarcity Sanctuary. Tommy had been through hell, abused in every way imaginable, at the hands of his mother and her boyfriends. In the nine years that have passed since, Tommy has managed to make an almost full recovery in the loving care of Soldier and Dillon. He's grown up to be a very caring, compassionate young man who wants to help other kids like himself find peace and love. To that end, he's training to be a social worker and has been working on various cases with Daniel. Over the last couple of years, Tommy has started to develop feelings for Daniel, but it takes a traumatic event that shakes both of them to the core for them to fess up about their feelings. Having read Soldier, I was privy to the things Tommy had been through, but I still would have liked to see the author delve a little more deeply into his background in this story to help build his character a little more fully.
The entire novella is told from Tommy's POV, so what little we learn about Daniel is only through Tommy's eyes. It seems Daniel has a somewhat sordid past of his own as a foster child, and like Tommy, it was his past experiences that also drew him into the field of social work. He's fourteen years older than Tommy, but if I recall correctly, there was a bit of an age difference between Soldier and Dillon too. The thing I loved about Daniel is his patience and tenderness. After everything he'd been through, Tommy wasn't sure he would ever be ready for a relationship with anyone. Daniel never pushes Tommy to do anything he's not comfortable with, and he's prepared to wait as long as it takes. Of course, some intimacies occur a bit faster than I would have liked, but having these two men know each other for so long made their quick relationship progression more believable. However, there never was a full consummation, which was a little disappointing.
While I did enjoy Tommy's Story, I felt like it could have been more fully developed in both characterization and plot. The villains are pretty one-dimensional and their comeuppance occurs very quickly. I'm a little disappointed to see that so far, only the female characters in these stories have been cast as absolutely horrible people and hope that this trend doesn't continue. It almost seems a little misogynistic, which is strange considering that the author herself is a woman. As I mentioned earlier, Ms. Miles could have gone even deeper with Tommy and Daniel's characters too. Like with the first book of the series, the writing itself is kind of on the simplistic side and would have benefited from a little more complexity and/or better editing. Sometimes there were a few too many words that could have been pared down for clarity and other times, the narrative could have used a little more description (eg. we don't even get a physical description of Daniel until the final chapter and there are no descriptions of Tommy). Overall though, like with Soldier, I can't deny that Ms. Miles made me feel very deeply while reading this story. She definitely has a talent for expressing emotions that are very effectively conveyed to the reader. I absolutely love sweet stories like this, and I loved visiting with Soldier, Dillon, and Gom again. I just hated what Gom went through, but I'll be looking forward to reading more about him and the work he'll be doing in his book, For Gom's Sake, which is the next in the series.
Note: This novella contains semi-explicit scenes of sensuality between two men, which may offend some readers.
Please note that this review is for the original version of Tommy's Story, which was published by Torquere Press. I see now that the story was re-edited and expanded by an additional 12K words before being reprinted by MLR Press. It's certainly conceivable that some of the issues I had with the story might have been addressed, which could have led to a higher rating. However, I didn't feel like shelling out an additional $5.99 (which IMHO is overpriced for a 32K word novella anyway) to get the extra 12K words in the new version. If Ms. Miles were to offer a deal like R.J. Scott has, where she is giving a free copy of the updated version of her stories to readers who purchased a previous edition, I'd be totally on board, but thus far I don't see anything on Ms. Miles's website to indicate she is doing anything like this. If at some point in the future, I'm able to get a copy of the new version, I will definitely update my review.
Tommy's Story is a sweet and tender M/M romance novella that is the second story in AKM Miles's Scarcity Sanctuary series. It really tugs at the heartstrings with the story of two social workers who have known each other since the younger one was just a boy under the older one's care. They've both loved each other from afar for a while, and both are sweet, gentle beta heroes who I loved reading about. A traumatic event brings the pair closer together, giving them the courage to finally express their feelings for one another. Overall, this was another story in this series that I found to be very enjoyable.
Tommy appeared in Soldier, the first book of the series, as a broken and traumatized twelve-year-old child, who social worker Daniel placed with Dillon at what would later become known as Scarcity Sanctuary. Tommy had been through hell, abused in every way imaginable, at the hands of his mother and her boyfriends. In the nine years that have passed since, Tommy has managed to make an almost full recovery in the loving care of Soldier and Dillon. He's grown up to be a very caring, compassionate young man who wants to help other kids like himself find peace and love. To that end, he's training to be a social worker and has been working on various cases with Daniel. Over the last couple of years, Tommy has started to develop feelings for Daniel, but it takes a traumatic event that shakes both of them to the core for them to fess up about their feelings. Having read Soldier, I was privy to the things Tommy had been through, but I still would have liked to see the author delve a little more deeply into his background in this story to help build his character a little more fully.
The entire novella is told from Tommy's POV, so what little we learn about Daniel is only through Tommy's eyes. It seems Daniel has a somewhat sordid past of his own as a foster child, and like Tommy, it was his past experiences that also drew him into the field of social work. He's fourteen years older than Tommy, but if I recall correctly, there was a bit of an age difference between Soldier and Dillon too. The thing I loved about Daniel is his patience and tenderness. After everything he'd been through, Tommy wasn't sure he would ever be ready for a relationship with anyone. Daniel never pushes Tommy to do anything he's not comfortable with, and he's prepared to wait as long as it takes. Of course, some intimacies occur a bit faster than I would have liked, but having these two men know each other for so long made their quick relationship progression more believable. However, there never was a full consummation, which was a little disappointing.
While I did enjoy Tommy's Story, I felt like it could have been more fully developed in both characterization and plot. The villains are pretty one-dimensional and their comeuppance occurs very quickly. I'm a little disappointed to see that so far, only the female characters in these stories have been cast as absolutely horrible people and hope that this trend doesn't continue. It almost seems a little misogynistic, which is strange considering that the author herself is a woman. As I mentioned earlier, Ms. Miles could have gone even deeper with Tommy and Daniel's characters too. Like with the first book of the series, the writing itself is kind of on the simplistic side and would have benefited from a little more complexity and/or better editing. Sometimes there were a few too many words that could have been pared down for clarity and other times, the narrative could have used a little more description (eg. we don't even get a physical description of Daniel until the final chapter and there are no descriptions of Tommy). Overall though, like with Soldier, I can't deny that Ms. Miles made me feel very deeply while reading this story. She definitely has a talent for expressing emotions that are very effectively conveyed to the reader. I absolutely love sweet stories like this, and I loved visiting with Soldier, Dillon, and Gom again. I just hated what Gom went through, but I'll be looking forward to reading more about him and the work he'll be doing in his book, For Gom's Sake, which is the next in the series.
Note: This novella contains semi-explicit scenes of sensuality between two men, which may offend some readers.
Please note that this review is for the original version of Tommy's Story, which was published by Torquere Press. I see now that the story was re-edited and expanded by an additional 12K words before being reprinted by MLR Press. It's certainly conceivable that some of the issues I had with the story might have been addressed, which could have led to a higher rating. However, I didn't feel like shelling out an additional $5.99 (which IMHO is overpriced for a 32K word novella anyway) to get the extra 12K words in the new version. If Ms. Miles were to offer a deal like R.J. Scott has, where she is giving a free copy of the updated version of her stories to readers who purchased a previous edition, I'd be totally on board, but thus far I don't see anything on Ms. Miles's website to indicate she is doing anything like this. If at some point in the future, I'm able to get a copy of the new version, I will definitely update my review.
November 12, 2013
Tommy, one of the two orphans adopted by Dillon and Soldier, has grown up, gone to college, and become a counselor. He's doing everything he can to help kids who have been abused and to make both Dillon and Soldier proud. Tommy has developed feelings for Daniel, but he hasn't acted on them. Part of the reason for that is based on his past. Tommy is uncertain. He's never had a relationship, and he doesn't even know if the older man is gay. When something horrible happens to someone they all love, Tommy and Daniel have to deal with their feelings about the incident and for each other.
This was a lovely follow-up to Soldier, which is one of my favorite books. Soldier and Dillon are still deeply in love with each other and doing their best to help the unfortunate boys who come into their lives. Miles lets us see Gommy again. Even though he is seventeen now, we still see that sweet little boy who captured Soldier's heart in the first book.
I loved the tender scenes between Daniel and Tommy. Daniel is just what Tommy needs and probably the only person who can help him experience intimacy that he never really thought would happen for him.
Even though the book is only 42 pages long, the story is spectacular. Miles creates wonderful characters, and her stories never fail to make me cry. She has said that she's been thinking about Gom's story. I really hope she does write it. I know it will be magnificent. I also hope that she might consider adding another story for Tommy and Daniel. I know that they are meant for each other, but I'd love to see the evolution of their relationship as they move toward forever.
This was a lovely follow-up to Soldier, which is one of my favorite books. Soldier and Dillon are still deeply in love with each other and doing their best to help the unfortunate boys who come into their lives. Miles lets us see Gommy again. Even though he is seventeen now, we still see that sweet little boy who captured Soldier's heart in the first book.
I loved the tender scenes between Daniel and Tommy. Daniel is just what Tommy needs and probably the only person who can help him experience intimacy that he never really thought would happen for him.
Even though the book is only 42 pages long, the story is spectacular. Miles creates wonderful characters, and her stories never fail to make me cry. She has said that she's been thinking about Gom's story. I really hope she does write it. I know it will be magnificent. I also hope that she might consider adding another story for Tommy and Daniel. I know that they are meant for each other, but I'd love to see the evolution of their relationship as they move toward forever.
December 22, 2009
This is a little follow-up to the one above focusing on Tommy but with everyone making an appearance. It’s 10 years later and Tommy is now a social worker who is back home working for his parents in an expanded shelter. He’s been crushing on Daniel who ran the homeless shelter which funneled kids their way but he’s older and Tommy was so badly sexually abused he doesn’t know if he could deal with a relationship. There is the subplot of Gom who is attacked and badly hurt and trying to find out who is behind it. One night Daniel reveals to Tommy that he loves him and wants a relationship so it’s partly Gom’s story and Tommy helping to find the culprit and Tommy and Daniel dealing with Tommy’s fears of intimacy and getting past it. A bit pat in the solving of Gom’s crime but it was less than 50 pages so they couldn’t drag it out and it was nice to see how someone who was sexually abused deals with being in an adult sexual relationship. So a nice little follow-up but obviously not as in depth as the first one.
October 8, 2013
Again, another story that just didn't make sense. I liked Daniel and Tommy. That was the plus. But it was another insta-cure for PTSD. They kept talking about moving things along slowly, I just didn't buy it.
This one was probably the one I liked the most of the first three in the series. The back story was decent, though circumstances were a bit lucky/far-fetched, but overall I liked the idea behind it, I just wish it had been executed better.
This one was probably the one I liked the most of the first three in the series. The back story was decent, though circumstances were a bit lucky/far-fetched, but overall I liked the idea behind it, I just wish it had been executed better.
December 30, 2010
This is a great follow-up to Soldier. You get to see how everyone is doing years later. This focus's on Tommy and how his life has unfolded and his ability to step up and ask for what he wants.
March 30, 2011
I loved how Tommy chose a profession that enabled him to help other kids with the same issues he faced, and the fact that Daniel was there for him from the beginning and knew Tommy's history just makes them more perfect together. It was great to see Soldier and Dillon still deeply in love too. But poor Gommy! Can't wait for his story next.
November 19, 2011
*whine*
I want more...Tommy deserves more! I really love these characters and really wish this were even just a little bit longer. It was all too rushed especially since there are actually two plots - one for Tommy & Daniel and one for Gom - and neither was as developed as I would have liked. :(
I want more...Tommy deserves more! I really love these characters and really wish this were even just a little bit longer. It was all too rushed especially since there are actually two plots - one for Tommy & Daniel and one for Gom - and neither was as developed as I would have liked. :(
July 13, 2011
A short story about Tommy finding love and excepting and dealing with the fact he's gay.
I enjoyed Tommy's story but felt it was to short to properly deal with both Tommy and Daniel getting together as a couple, as well as the attack on Gom.
I enjoyed Tommy's story but felt it was to short to properly deal with both Tommy and Daniel getting together as a couple, as well as the attack on Gom.
April 3, 2012
That is short little story where we get to know more about one of Soldier and Dillon's boys. Tommy now has degrees in psychology and sociology and works in Scarcity Sanctuary. He gets together with Daniel. I like the story.
May 19, 2012
Novella. Love scenes really padded out the story...
Has anyone else had trouble with this cover? I keep thinking the fellow is kissing a bandage-wrapped mannequin/dummy. It took me ages to figure out that he was hugging a shoulder... LOL.
Has anyone else had trouble with this cover? I keep thinking the fellow is kissing a bandage-wrapped mannequin/dummy. It took me ages to figure out that he was hugging a shoulder... LOL.
September 25, 2010
very short and sweet follow up to Soldier.
August 30, 2011
I liked it, but felt like it was Gom's story at least as much as Tommy's. Maybe if it had been longer there would have been more room to actually develop Tommy's story.
February 18, 2013
so sweet yet too small
March 17, 2012
I really adore this series. I was so excited that this wonderful story had been extended. The addition to the end is just perfect.
January 31, 2013
2.5 stars
January 12, 2013
3.5 stars
November 10, 2013
I was a little disappointed with Tommy's story I thought it was to short compared to others in the series. It was still a good story but I thought it could have been more.
January 22, 2015
To much talk or not enough in depth.
April 7, 2011
I love this series. LOVE IT.
February 26, 2012
Need to do a re read, before I review
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