Title: The Darker Side of Trey Grey
Author: Tara Spears
Genre: Suspense
Length: Novel (444pages)
Publisher: T.O.S.O.L Books (June 11th, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Cat
Blurb:No one told Trey Grey that life could be dark and unpredictable. With the death of his father when he was eight, his mother’s departure from Earth on a syringe full of heroin, and the brutal abuse of his stepfather, Trey learned these lessons all too well on his own.
Now at twenty years of age, he is nearing the completion of his accounting degree and can finally glimpse the end of his life as a prostitute. The only profession he has ever known.
Wracked by nightmares of Willie’s years of abuse, and controlled by severe obsessive-compulsive disorders as a result, he seems to have a tentative handle on his own life. That is, as long as he keeps a death-grip and no one touches his Camaro, kitten.
But even the best-laid plans can be torn to gory bits.
His savior comes in the unlikely form of a spiky-haired blond named Justin, after a night of drunken debauchery that neither of them seems able to forget. Justin might just need Trey as much as Trey needs him.
Trey travels through his fearscapes and begins to find his own forgiveness, but at what cost to the manic-depressive Justin? Will they be able to live through the trauma of each other’s lives and find their own version of normal?
This is a gritty and raw story about escapism, and how one’s life can alter course when you least expect it. Trey looks at his own life with an irony that is sometimes amusing and often shocking, yet quickly draws the reader to his corner. Public Press Review
Review: Awesome cover. Warning this book does have child abuse and rape.
You have to give the author a round of applause for dealing with such a touchy subject. Well done!
I really liked this book. I like stories that deal with difficult situations and these deals with child abuse and rape in a very direct, compelling and heart-gripping story of a young man, Trey Grey.
Trey is a prostitute that has lots of street knowledge, since he has been on the street since he was a young boy. He is free from his stepfather, but this is the only way he has to make money and get through college.
Trey has secrets, so he doesn’t have any friends or steady boyfriends. With his past abuse, he has lots of issues with sex and accepting it as pleasure. And he can’t have anyone stay the night, since he has night terrors and sometimes loses it for days at a time.
He meets Justin at a restaurant, one day, and goes with him to a sex party at Justin’s. He has unique feelings and finds that Justin may be the one man who can deal with him, since he seems to have Demons of his own to deal with.
I really loved how this story unfolded with Trey’s past coming to us in vivid dreams that lead to him waking up in tragedy. I did find, at times, the transitions threw me a bit, until I realized we were back in a dream or just woke up.
Trey’s story is sadly beautiful, yet tragic. Beautiful in the sense that the poor man is dealing with such issues alone, trying to overcome his dark past, and surviving. The romance between Justin is a bit fast, yet they do take it slow and don’t have over expectations. I cannot wait for the next book to see how Trey manages his life.
If you like a story with lots of angst, dealing with tragedy, overcoming the past, and some hot sex, give this a try. I guarantee you will look at child-abuse in a different light.