By Ash Penn
This book was provided to me for free by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Wow… Just wow.
I have to admit that when I read the plot the first time I wasn’t quite sure if it was the right book for me. I actually don’t like reading about abuse or other serious topics in entertaining literature. So I was kind of afraid that there would be some romanticism of real serious problems. But this wasn’t the case.
This book is just awesome. I loved both Martin and Liam much.
Martin is a cynical character who can’t or better won’t show any feelings because he thinks that he isn’t worth being loved. He is blaming himself for an accident that actually wasn’t his fault. But he thinks it was and wants to make up for it. So he needs money. A lot of money, more than 1,000 dollars per month. And selling his own body – or better Button’s Body, not his, because Martin is never there when he is doing this – is the easiest way of getting all the money he needs. But he can’t tell anybody what he needs the money for because this would mean revealing the big secret and he can’t do that because everybody who got to know it would hate him. And most of all he can’t tell Liam about this one thing, because then Liam would hate him, wouldn’t he? And he mustn’t hate him. So Martin keeps pushing Liam away constantly, because not being liked from the beginning is better than for being hated for what he did…
I think that Martin’s (Button’s) character is really well developed and convincing. Martin became a cynical young man who tries to hide all his fears and uncertainty behind a wall of cynical und humorous statements. And this runs through the whole story. Whatever happens to Martin, he doesn’t show any feelings. Some may state now that this isn’t likeable, but it is what Martin became through his abusive past, that is why he created Button who adores every man who he is with and it is what makes Liam special. Because he looks through the mask and therefore doesn’t give up on Martin.
Spoiler alert: And although Martin, yeah Martin, not Button even dumps Liam for a rich pervert who wants Button exclusively Liam doesn’t give up and finally breaks through this hard skin and gets to know Martin’s story and the truth of his past. And guess what… he doesn’t dump him. *lol*
The character of Martin (Button) was so well described that I really felt with him. It’s hard to describe but whenever the story was told out of Martin’s view it was like the world around me had lost its color… I mean I didn’t feel hopeless because there was Liam and as long as Liam didn’t give up, there was hope… but I felt this heavy weight on my heart. There were several parts where I really had difficulties fighting back my tears.
A shame that the book had to end… I would have loved reading about Martin and Liam in their new life with a HEA. ?