Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Thick as Thieves
SERIES: Aster Valley, Book 4
AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox
NARRATOR: Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 8 hours and 41 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2022
BLURB:
Julian:
I’ve been in love with my best friend since forever. Okay, fine. Like, kindergarten. It started out platonic, obviously, but then became…. Nope. Still platonic. The problem is that Parker Ellis has been straight since forever. And that makes it difficult to convince him that the two of us are meant to be together.
And now, there’s no point. All is lost. He’s gone and gotten engaged to his high-school sweetheart – which means I have to grin and bear it, while pretending to be the happy, supportive best man, while he prepares to commit his life to a woman I can’t even fault. She’s great. We’ve all been friends forever. I know he’ll be happy with Erin, just not…. Just not as happy as he could be with me.
Parker:
I’ll admit. Sometimes I press the easy button. Like when Julian Thick had offered me half his sandwich, back in grade school, after noticing I didn’t have any food. Or when I’d needed a date to homecoming in 10th grade, and Erin told me she was it. Or when I’d used the one thing that came easy to me, skiing, to get my college tuition paid for. Or when Erin had showed back up in my life, six months ago, and me told it was time to marry, and start a family….
But, for the first time in my life, I’m facing something that’s not at all easy. It’s my wedding weekend, and I’ve just been left at the altar. Not only that, but when my best friend whisks me away, to drown my sorrows in a snowy cabin in Aster Valley, I accidentally discover Julian’s been keeping secrets. Big secrets.
The kind of secrets that lead to hot, experimental kisses in front of a blazing fire, tentative physical exploration in a way I’d never imagined before, and the kind of intimate, true confessions I’d never even dreamed of – between me and the one person who’s always been my true home.
But after 20-plus years of thinking of Jules as my friend without benefits, is it truly possible to change who we are to each other? There’s no easy button this time, but I’m willing to do the work. I only wonder if Julian is ready to trust I really mean it.
REVIEW:
Thick as Thieves, the fourth book in Lucy Lennox’s Aster Valley series, is a scrumptious, feel-good, comfort romance. Rooted in Ms. Lennox’s fictional Aster Valley, Colorado, this love story highlights everything beautiful about the small, snow-covered valley town and its residents. Tiller and Mikey from Right as Raine are rehabilitating the Aster Valley ski resort. Sam Rigby from Sweet as Honey works for them full time. Tiller and Sam are two of the six members of a childhood best friend group that includes Julian and Parker, and also Julian’s sister and her best friend, Erin. The connection between these six friends is long and strong. But Julian and Parker have a bond that is beyond any other.
Since they were six years old, Parker has been crawling into Julian’s bed for comforting cuddles and the security of knowing someone loves and cares about him. That bond has only deepened over the twenty years of their friendship. Now Julian is the due north on Parker’s life compass and vice versa. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the night before Parker and Erin’s wedding, Parker invites Julian to come on their honeymoon. We quickly realize Parker’s not joking either. He thinks it would be great to have Julian along, mainly because he doesn’t ever want to be without his “buttoned-up bestie”. The inappropriate/bizarre invitation certainly speaks volumes about the status of Parker’s relationship with his fiancé Erin and the depth of his feelings for Julian.
Ms. Lennox is a master at character development and Julian and Parker are two of her best. I loved everything about them and together … gah! What a fantastic couple. #goals They are sweet, sexy, adorable, and so in love with each other. Prepare yourself for lots of swooning. Ms. Lennox also gives us found family throughout the book. We get the Julian/Parker/Tiller/Sam longtime bromance and visits with all of our other Aster Valley couples like Declan and Finn from Hot as Heller and Darius and Miller from Forever Wilde in Aster Valley – and we see how their circle of friends has grown and solidified.
Michael Dean narrates the Thick as Thieves audiobook and does a terrific job capturing the essence of Julian and Parker. He gives Julian a deep, weightier voice which captures his strong personality, while also highlighting the burden of his longtime secret crush on Parker and his despondency over Parker’s impending marriage. Mr. Dean gives Parker a brighter voice, infusing it with tremulousness when he’s feeling particularly unsure or upset. Mr. Dean also effectively uses pauses and pacing to convey Parker’s confusion and anxiety about his relationship with Erin, his reliance on Julian, and his life choices. You hear kindness and generosity – someone who you’d want to be friends with. But you also hear vulnerability and his deep-seated need for Julian’s wisdom, comfort, support, and love.
Together, Mr. Dean’s voices for Julian and Parker create the aural equivalent of yin and yang. What I heard in one voice was balanced by the other. That experience is exactly what Julian and Parker’s life-long relationship is about – they are two halves of a whole.
Thick as Thieves is best friends to lovers perfection with a lovely demisexual awakening included. This is one of my favorite books from Ms. Lennox so far. I can see this as my go-to comfort read. As told through Mr. Dean’s invested vocal performance, the Thick as Thieves audiobook is a thoroughly immersive experience I highly recommend.
RATING: 
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