See Me by K.C. Wells

See Me by K.C. Wells

 

Word count: 44.770

Date: January 29, 2016

Details: #3 Lightning Tales

            ARC received from Author

E-book

The blurb:

Adrian DeSoto spent most of his time in high school being bullied and beaten up, simply because he was perceived as gay. Always slight, effeminate, he was the perfect victim for guys like Martin Cavanaugh, one of the high school jocks. When it all got too much, Adrian was faced with two options, one more devastating than the other. Eleventh grade saw a new Adrian, one who hid his fears and pain behind a mask in a bid to survive.

Eleven years later, and Adrienne is one of the top drag acts in Orlando. She’s fierce, funny and exuberant. A face from the past gives her a shock, and after that there’s only one thing on her mind—revenge.

Marty Cavanaugh has a particular kink. He loves it when a drag queen goes down on him. But that’s as far as it goes. He won’t admit to himself what’s under that tight fitting dress. And then he meets Adrienne and his whole world goes into a tailspin….

Warning – Contains men in drag, honey! You Have Been Warned.

My thoughts:

See Me is the third title in the Lightning Tales series and follows Teach Me and Trust Me. I read Teach Me not too long ago but am ashamed to admit that I managed to somehow miss Trust Me. It is an oversight that will be remedied in the not too distant future because these are wonderful stories. What makes these books even better is that characters from one book reappear in supporting roles in the subsequent tales. And I always thoroughly enjoy reacquainting myself with protagonists I enjoyed reading about.

See Me starts with a glimpse of a deeply unhappy Adrian in high school. In fact, he’s so desperate that Ric, who finds him crying in the library, is afraid Adrian may harm himself…or worse. Adrian however does the exact opposite and embraces his ‘otherness’. Eleven years later, Adrian has landed on his feet and is in his element both as himself and as Adrienne, the stunning drag queen.

Former bully Marty on the other hand is deeply unhappy. Friendless, bullied by his father and so deep in the closet he doesn’t even realise he’s in there, his life is almost completely focussed on remaining invisible.

As Adrienne’s colleagues know only too well, Marty has a kink. He loves getting blow jobs from drag queens. When he approaches Adrienne for one, unaware of who she really is, she sees the perfect opportunity to get her own back on one of the boys who made her high school years a living nightmare. However, revenge is seldom as sweet as advertised and issues are rarely as black or white as they appear. Both Adrian and Marty are in for an eye-opening but ultimately rewarding journey.

K.C. Wells tells this wonderful story with her usual flair. Despite the subject matter, the story isn’t overly angsty, although bullying is by no means swept under the carpet or trivialised. As anybody who has ever been bullied knows, the effects linger long after the bullying itself has stopped. What those who were on the receiving end of this form of abuse often don’t realise is that it can also leave a lasting impression on those who did the bullying. In See Me K.C. Wells highlights both those aspects without rubbing our noses in it or even trying to make a point. She’s not playing a blame game. Instead she’s given us two men who struggle with the legacy of their high school years and find a way to overcome those issues.

Before I give you the impression this story is heavy going, let me reassure you. While there are thought provoking moments in this story, there are at least as many scenes which will have you either grinning or laughing out loud. But then, isn’t that what you’d expect when you put a group of drag queens together in a story? Of course the sexy times are as tasteful as they are hot, the dialogue sparkling and the glimpses into the world of drag fascinating.

In short, this was a wonderful read. Even now, hours after I finished reading the epilogue, I still have a grin on my face.

Buy links:

Amazon                 Amazon UK            ARe              Smashwords