Brian and Jamie have been to hell and back so many times on their journey, and all they ever wanted was just to be together.
In Determination, Brian has finally managed to get Jamie away from Steven and the two are tucked away in an apartment struggling to find a balance and live a somewhat normal life. Brian is still working in the porn industry, but has plans to buy into the business and move behind the camera. Jamie faces the daily battle of an addict, living in fear that Steven will find him or worse, find his friends and possibly hurt them to get to him. In a moment of weakness Jamie breaks and goes in search of a fix, inadvertently leading the devil straight to their doorstep.
When the dust settles Jamie is reunited with his father, but has he lost the person he loves more than anything in the process? Jamie faces a long, hard road in the aftermath of his addiction and the damage the drugs have done to his body. He does the best he can to pick himself up and works hard to become the man that he needs to be, not just for Brian, but for himself.
As difficult as these books were to read at times, I couldn’t put them down. By the end of the first chapter of the first book, I was fully invested in the characters. To say they are flawed would be an understatement, but their flaws gave them a level of depth and realism that I haven’t read in many books. The shit they had to deal with along the way will blow your mind. The books read like a journal written by these two young men. A chronicle of two lives that were woven together when they were children, two lives bound together regardless of the obstacles they had to face to have their happy ending.
As I said, there are parts of these books that were difficult to read, but I wouldn’t have missed this series for the world! I highly recommend this series. Brian and Jamie face some volatile and dangerous situations, half the time from people they love and trust! Over the years they survive ‘straight camp’, gay bashing, an abusive lover, drug addiction, a mother that should be burned at the stake and being separated among other things. But they’ve also grown into strong and loving young men. They learn the definition of trust and friendship. They fight through insurmountable odds, hatred and bigotry to come out the other side right where they were meant to be, together!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*