Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Beyond the Curtain

SERIES: Social Sinners #4

AUTHOR: T. L. Travis

PUBLISHER: Encompass Ink

LENGTH: 142 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2019

BLURB:

For Social Sinners’ drummer, Ethan “Diamond” Taylor, everything that went wrong seemed to roll off him and life was about having fun and getting off. What others never saw was what simmered beneath the surface.

Holding on by a string, things have reached their breaking point, taking a turn for the worse, and he’s forced to make some tough decisions. Is living in the limelight all that it’s cracked up to be? Or is it time to cut the cord and move on?

Is it in the cards for him to have the whole marriage, white picket fence, a desk job and…kids?

Diamond’s story is one of strength, love, loss and hope.

Book 1 – Behind the lights (MM) Joey’s POV

Book 2 – In the shadows (MM) Stoli’s POV

Book 3 – A heart divided (MMM) Mickey’s POV

Book 4 – Beyond the curtain (MM) Diamond’s POV

Book 5 – After the final curtain (MM/MMM) All

REVIEW:

I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating…this series just keeps getting better and better!

We finally get Diamond’s story and I didn’t see all this coming at all. Diamond is the token “straight guy” of the hugely successful Social Sinners Rock Band. He’s the buff and a tad bit scary drummer. But when it comes down to it and he has to come clean or loss the best thing in his life he jumps straight of of the closet and into the frying pan. It’s either do that or lose Easton, who just happens to be the band’s manager! It turns out that Ethan (Diamond’s real name) is pansexual but he just says he’s bi to make it easier to understand. But can their relationship survive after being hidden from everyone for a year now that it’s out in the open?

Ethan and Easton’s story was hard to read at times. First that they felt that they had to stay hidden from their band mates, family and friends. I get that Easton was worried how everyone who take his being in a relationship with one of the members of the band. That he worried that others would think he was giving preferential treatment to Diamond over the others. But they should have trusted the guys to be there for them.

It was hard to reread about the horrific bus accident that almost cost them Joey and they lost their driver and friend Rob. I knew that Easton was affected by the crash but I didn’t realize how traumatized he was. His head keeps replaying that night and the horrors he saw. PTSD is a brutal thing to live with and, if left untreated, can be life altering. Easton was literally falling apart at the seams but somehow holding on to the thread that was keeping him somewhat together. The ways he chose to deal with the traumatic aftereffects completely wrong and unhealthy.

One of the best parts of the book for me was their vacation getaway to Hawaii. The island of Kauai is a treasure and the perfect place to get lost out of the limelight for some quiet alone decompression time. The part that surprised me was Easton being allowed to drink that soon. Usually doctors don’t like addicts changing to another form of self medication and alcohol can be that crutch that can get away from you quickly.

Ethan’s past life with his family is finally brought to light and it’s a disturbing story. His father and his religious zealot followers are scary and disturbing. Hearing his mother and little brother’s stories was so depressing and sad that they had to endure that life that Ethan escaped. I was thankful for the way that part was resolved for both.

I think that Ethan’s story of struggle and over coming odds was one of the hardest to read but gave the most hope. Hope for kids in his situation. Hope for recovery from a trauma that could easily have gone from bad to worse. Hope for love to persevere through difficult and painful odds. And hope for finding the perfect one even though it wasn’t what you ever dreamed you thought you wanted.

I loved this story but I really recommend that you read this series in order. You won’t be sorry that you started it! Huge thumbs up for the this book in the series. I know we have one more book left and, even though I can’t wait to get my hands on the book, I know I am going to be heartbroken that it’s over! But at least we get one more!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon