Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Doctor’s Orders

SERIES: Paint #3.5

AUTHOR: Emma Jaye

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 48 pages

RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2019

BLURB:

Cutting, coke, calling Nate.

All three would help the clawing anxiety caused by the upcoming trial of Alex’s father. All three would cause Dr. Cooper to rush home from his life-saving job to deal with his neurotic boyfriend.

Adding watching kink to his list of coping techniques, particularly his secret medical fetish, helps until a little voice in his head persuades Alex to try one of his fantasies.

Who knew that adult stars lie about their innocence and that acting out scenes can have horribly awkward painful consequences?

It can also lead to your dreams coming true.

Previously published in the anthology ‘Come Play’. 

REVIEW:

When I got this book, I didn’t realize it was part of a series. I didn’t really realize it until it was time to read it. You definitely need to read the others before this one. While this one tells you things, you still are missing the bigger picture of how we get to this point. But I have to say, after reading this little short story, I definitely want to go back and read the rest of the series to see what brought everything about.

There are some triggers. It speaks of cutting, addictions, the abuse he suffered as he was younger. The neglect of his parents and people around him. He’s recovering but it does talk about things. There is an upcoming trial for Alex’s father, for all the violence he inflicted on Alex and stuff. And Alex is falling down in his rabbit hole. He’s not sleeping, not talking and showing the signs of wanting to cut again or go find a fix. His boyfriend, a doctor, Nate, was his doctor at first when he was trying to get him better. Now Nate is trying to help him again, but in Alex’s mind, they can’t cross that doctor/ boyfriend line. It makes things weird. But Alex is getting worse from the stress and Nate needs to do something to get him out of his headspace before he does something dangerous. Between the porn he found Alex watching, and Alex’s friends, they come up with an idea and Nate hope it’s what Alex needs.

Being an addict is a hard enough hole not to climb back in. But add cutting and pain into the mix and you come up with some pretty bad stuff. So I can just imagine what the start of this story was about. Knowing he dealt with the abuse he did and the past he has, I definitely want to be reading it, but I know it’s going to make me sob. Just this little story did. Imagining the hell he went through. What I love about Nate, though, is even though he is a doctor and yes, some of the blame falls on his shoulders from having to work so much and not being where Alex needs him to be, but it’s that Nate is so patient with Alex. Nate knows that he’s going to have to deal with Alex’s demons the rest of their lives. It’s not something that just magically poofs and goes away. But he’s committed regardless, and wants what’s best for Alex. He wants to give Alex the love he so much deserves and continue to show Alex that there is a better life out there for him, if he can just keep it together, one day at a time.

It’s a short story but it packs a punch. It doesn’t hold back on how addicts and stuff deal with stresses of things they’re going through. It shows the good, bad and ugly. I’m happy to have gotten to read this part because I fell in love with Alex right off the bat and I want to see his story. As hard as it may be.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

amazon