Murphy Brothers: The Complete Series

Murphy Brothers #1-3

by Spencer Spears

Love in Summersea

Finally, the complete Murphy Brothers series! Fall in love with the Murphy brothers, Deacon, Emory, and Connor, as they find their happily ever afters on the balmy island of Summersea. First loves, second chances, and gay awakenings will make you swoon as the island nights get hot and steamy…

Wild Heart

Oldest brother. Single dad. No one knows I’m gay, and I’m okay with that. If staying in the closet is the price I pay to keep my daughter, I’ll pay it again and again. But then Mal Turner walks into my life. Skittish, vulnerable, and sweet, Mal steals my breath at first sight. I’ve never been with a man before, but Mal makes me want what I know I can’t have. Do I deny what my heart knows is right, or risk everything for the man I love?

Free Spirit

Youngest brother. Dreamer. Kind of a mess. Case in I lied to my brothers and told them I had a boyfriend. Now they want to meet him. So when gorgeous, straight Tate Alexander volunteers to be my fake boyfriend, I jump at the chance. Only Tate might not be as straight as either of us thought… Now I’m falling for him for real, but I have no idea if he feels the same. Do I hide my feelings, or take a chance on love?

Savage Grace

Middle brother. Black sheep. I left the island ten years ago, leaving behind Julian Jackson, my first love and first heartbreak. Julian saved me when I thought I was beyond saving, then turned his back when I tried to return the favor. But now work is taking me back to Summersea, and Julian is as gorgeous and impossible as ever. Do I keep my distance, or bet everything on a second chance at happiness?

Genres: Romance, M M Romance

1453 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2024

About the author

Spencer Spears writes LGBTQ+ stories that are snarky, sweet, and will break your heart in all the best ways. Spencer believes we all deserve to write our own happy endings. When not at the computer, Spencer can be found gardening, knitting, or curled up with a good book. Visit www.spencerspears.com for free books, updates, and more.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories of three brothers from an island off the southern coast and their romances had great story arcs and a nice ensemble of principal and supporting characters. I think it was a smart idea to issue them as a collection.

Wild Heart
🌊 A tiny island town and a friendly innkeeper: will they offer Mal the fresh start he needs?
4.5 🌟stars
This one has great heroes in hotelier Deacon and runaway chef Mal, Deacon's lovely young daughter visiting for the summer, lots of yearning, and tension through to the end thanks to a previous relationship that DID NOT END WELL and a real estate developer eager to transform their sleepy summer vacation town off the Georgia coast.

I loved the slow build-up of the romance and the complicating issues, like Deacon's dilemma of how to get more family time with his daughter Lily. Author Spencer Spears knows how to develop complex characters that draw you in to their imperfect lives. The story's well-written and has a smile-inducing conclusion. An emotional and sometimes steamy romance with a coastal, breezy, beach backdrop and tons of heart.

Free Spirit
🔗Break the chains, Tate, break those chains!🔗
4.5🌟stars
A really good read with drama, romance, passion and humor. This is a great series and another of three lovable brothers, this time Emory, born and bred in a Georgia coastal island Victorian inn, meets his match with a fun meet-cute in a bar in Savannah. Their relationship starts with a big lie that just snowballs and soon neither Tate not Emory even knows how (or if he wants ) to get out of it.

With a plethora of strict, unsympathetic parents and grandparents (Charlotte, Tate's grandmother the exception), some really out of order friends (mixed in with a few well-meaning ones), a long-time family mystery to solve and some crucial career decisions to make, the romance is nicely fleshed out with enough setbacks and complications to make the characters real and well-deserving of their HEA. This is a standalone story with no cliffhangers but it does bring back Emory's family and some of the island locals featured in the earlier part of the series, most notably partners Deacon and Mal, Deacon's cat-loving daughter Lily and irascible third brother Connor.

One of the highlights for me was the frenetic wedding scene near the end of the story. One of the grooms is SO comical in his desire to escape the spotlight, EVEN at his own big day! Does he have any chance of it? Get the book and find out!

Savage Grace
Save the turtles and rescue some hearts while you're at it🐢
4🌟 stars
With loads of angst, homophobes and a sleazy, corrupt politician, this had a good storyline, steam and repeated tear-jerker moments to keep me content. Here's two guys who have been pining for each other for ten years! and danger to the local beach from greedy, conscience-barren developers brings them back together working for a shared cause.

Of the two, I thought Julian was a bit whiny and undeserving of the praise heaped upon him. A lot of people, especially his third grade students and their parents, love him but they really don't know him: not even his younger sister Katie. His preacher father's an intolerant terror he's never been able to stand up to and he uses his sister as justification. Connor, the third of the three brothers key to this series, might be sullen and threatening to some but he's true to himself and a real pushover when it comes to Julian. I really liked how he softens toward his family, especially grandmother Eleanor, in the course of the story.

Though the writing in Savage Grace is good and included humor, some suspenseful moments and a satisfyingly complete ending, weighing in at over 500 pages, I thought the story was a bit too long.

I read a complimentary advance copy of each of the three books in this set when they were separately published in 2019 and 2020; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Susan Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murphy Brothers by Spencer Spears follows the paths the three brothers, Deacon, Connor, and Emory, on their roads to love. The brothers are quite different but with one thing in common, none of them feels worthy of love. This manifests itself in unique ways among the brothers. Deacon, oldest brother, is divorced and gives all his love to his daughter and brothers. He thinks coming out as bisexual will destroy his life. But life is full of surprises and poor, lost Mal is one of those. The author handled Mal’s backstory well and it made him the most sympathetic character in the trilogy. It was fun watching Deacon grow and change and Mal finding his place in the world. Connor’s story is the classic second chance at romance and this is entwined with a realistic threatened ecosystem plotline. Having grown up with a father who had a PhD in wildlife ecology, this element of the story was near and dear to my heart. And last but not least, is Em, the youngest brother, and his fake boyfriend, a trope that is used to good purpose here. I confess this was my favorite of the three books in the series. Em’s finding the perfect job in his hometown and that fitting with his fake boyfriend’s road to the future felt more believable than Deacon’s finding his perfect job with only a high-school diploma. But it was fun to binge all three books at once, which I rarely do since I like to buy and read the next book in a series when it comes out. I received a free copy of the book from the author and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jonny_Jinx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thus ends the Murphy Brothers Trilogy

As with the first two books in the Murphy Brothers Series, this story was a bit of a slow burn, with two steps forward and what seemed like one and a half back.
I enjoyed the mostly already set-up mise en scene and sat back to read this latest instalment with pleasure.
The MCs from the other story arcs were present, except for a much more muted inclusion of Em Murphy and his newly found lover, Tate.
As the Murphy brothers' (recently widowed) grandmother Eleanor Churchill became a larger part in both the plot and the brothers' lives, a sneaky little thought raised its head in my mind as we reached the crescendo of Connor and Julians' HEA.
The final scene included considerably more of the said Murphy grandmother, who also had been forced to choose between the identical, parentally hand-picked husband or her lesbian lover Charlotte DelaCroix (now Alexander) who might be Tate's grandmother, who had legally changed her surname and fled the island around the same date, causing a great hue and cry, with shoreline searches and the whole kit and caboodle.
This might all be tidied up and tied together, with Tate, the Murphy's, and the former young lovers, being Eleanor and Charlotte.
This would not have to be a particularly long book and could be written as an MM plus FF trope. That I would definitely pay to read...🍌🤪

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d read the Murphy brothers books when they were first published and wanted to re-read something by Spencer Spears, who is an amazing writer, when this set became offered as a bundle and there isn’t much I like more than a good bundle. Each book focuses on one of the Murphy brothers and is for the most part set on Summersea island where they grew up. Book one features Mal and Deacon, book two Tate and Em, book three Conner and Julian. There is an overarching plot so the books should be read in order which is why the bundle is so very perfect. For me Spears is able to capture real characters with real issues (TWs include domestic abuse not between MCs but while most is remembered some is on page, death of parents, internalized homophobia, family estrangement due to homophobia, and I’m sure I’m missing others). The realism and overarching plot keep me engaged but the focus remains on the developing relationships so for me this series still becomes a type of comfort read that calms my mind. Love Spears’ writing and this series.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild Heart
Deacon: Closeted, being the eldest of the Murphy Brothers & feeling like he was keeping his brothers safe, Deacon never revealed he was gay. Then comes Mal, running from an abusive relationship. Deacon tries but can't help the attraction.
Free Spirit
Emory: Youngest of the Murphy brothers & always felt like everyone took him as being flighty, tells his brothers he has a boyfriend but never tells them they broke up. He meets Tate who is in town to get away from his rich life & find himself. Tate agrees to be a fake boyfriend.
Savage Grace
Connor: Holds a grudge, Conner is the middle brother. Comes to Summersea only once in awhile because he hated the town. He always felt like people treated the brothers as outcast because their parents died & the brothers were all gay. Julian is the one he left behind. Now that Conner is back 10 years later to live, he's hoping Julian might still want him.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a trilogy set on what sounds like a delightfully complicated island off the coast of Georgia. Three brothers all turn out to be gay or bi and find or return to their true loves. More than that is hard to go into. You can read the blurbs. It is emotional and shows the results of loss and grief on these men long after they are supposed to be grown. It doesn't go away. There are homophobic families and a lot of emotional scenes. I kept wanting them to get therapy! I guess they don't believe in that down south. But these men help each other, and finally, each couple reaches their happy ending—lovely characters, beautiful setting, well written.

[Tanya Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about Summersea Island. Although Connor has left the island and rarely returns, he still has strong bonds with his brothers. Em returns when he can, but he doesn't drive, and the logistics are difficult. The islander's may be a little too interested in other people's private lives but come together in a crisis. Could have done without Lyles and Blackstone.

[Wendy Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same story

I can’t give more than a three for this series of books. By the third book I was really tired of the same baseline story. Each book one MC was in the closet and terrified of coming out too worried about the reaction of family and the town. It’s like this was the main theme and just the names changed each book.

[Simera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed being able to read all three of the Murphy Brothers in one place.
Deacon, Emory and Conner are the three brothers. Each story is a stand alone but interconnected. The stories are sweet, low/mid angst and a hard fought HEA for each.

[lovesbooks1986 · Rating 5 out of 5]

great re read

I think the Murphy brothers are my favorite series by Spencer.

Conner and Julian are my favorite characters it has second chance and finding your true self on a town who is not that accepting.

[devil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read these stories and loved them when they were first released. Having all 3 in a bundle was just too good to pass up. Highly recommended!!

[Jeni Mulwee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the series!

[nancy evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was well written and addressed many types of family problems

[Mary Dunlap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how I feel about this book

I read it skipped some of it ..the begin ing put me off. I hope that someone else enjoys it