I don't think that this review will be as long as the one I wrote for Aaron, but who knows! :D

Spencer takes place three years after the events of Aaron, but the book feels like it takes place directly after the first book. Spencer and Aaron are stuck in a holding pattern; although Aaron has made a lot of progress with intensive therapy, he still has anxiety going out in public or being in crowds, and he and Spencer still can't have a mutually fulfilling sex life. But now Spencer has an opportunity in Chicago, working on the software that he and Aaron developed in college, and having a great, well-paying job. Spencer's really excited about moving out on his own, but that means that he'll have to leave Aaron behind, and even though Aaron wants Spencer to live his life, he can't help but feel abandoned by Spencer. And to top it all off, the men who attacked Aaron have been caught, and Aaron will have to testify against them at trial.

In spite of the title, the book isn't really about Spencer. I mean, sure, he plays a prominent role in the book, but it's more about Aaron coping with feeling abandoned and trying to move past the trauma that still haunts him. I do like that there was some (okay, maybe more than "some") friction between the two of them; Spencer moves to Chicago and makes some friends there, gets his own apartment, and goes to a gay club for the first time , and he even kisses another guy. Which I actually thought was realistic, because he is incredibly frustrated with his lack of intimacy with Aaron, and Spencer is a young guy after all, out on his own for the first time, and discovering that other people find him attractive after all (he has a lot of issues with being deaf and isolated). Spencer starts to feel more "normal" and realizes how isolated he has become because of Aaron's PTSD. At this point, if these were two real guys, I would see them growing apart and eventually breaking up - Aaron can't leave his hometown because of his anxiety, and Spencer really, really wants to experience life, and those are two fairly incompatible lives. But this is fiction, and so there is a happy ending.

I liked that Aaron made a new friend through the PTSD forums. Jordan witnessed a school shooting in which his twin brother was killed in front of him, so he can relate to Aaron in ways that Spencer just can't, no matter how much Spencer might want to relate to him on that level. I did question Aaron's ability to hug on Jordan so easily and quickly, since the guy was basically a stranger to him, but whatever, it didn't bother me that much. I was glad to see Aaron branching out in his support system, because no matter what, it just isn't healthy to have one person be your everything, because if/when that person leaves, you're worse off than before. I speak from painful experience.

Also, I would love love LOVE to read more about Jordan. Not necessarily a romance, just...MOAR JORDAN PLEASE. I hate that he serves as a fill-in for Spencer for most of the book, and he kind of drops out of the story once Spencer returns and decides that he wants to give up his job to go back to school and be around Aaron more. Jordan has some serious issues, and I would love to see those explored in book format. HINT HINT. ;)

Is it wrong that part of me wanted Spencer and Aaron to break up, at least for a while? I just feel like, in the same situation, I would have told Spencer to take a very long walk off a very short pier, and I was surprised that Aaron didn't feel the same way, at least for a little bit.

Instead, Aaron clings and tries desperately to keep Spencer in his life. He ends up giving Spencer a blowjob and has an extreme reaction to it, which is expected. I dislike, however, that they didn't really address the fact - I mean, Aaron was sobbing on the bathroom floor afterwards and literally THREW UP because he was so disgusted by the act, and Spencer comforted him a little, but that was it. And then the next time we see them attempting sex, Aaron is perfectly capable of not only having sexual contact, but penetrative contact (he does the penetrating, with Spencer being penetrated). That felt like a pretty big leap there, but I think the author felt some pressure to show that "everything would be okay" in the end, since I guess Aaron and Spencer's story is ending here [except it doesn't - it continues in Sophie]. I just felt like it was too much, too soon.

Aaron also seemed to be sudden empowered by the imprisonment of his attackers and attending a trauma conference, which felt like too much, too soon as well to me. Sure, I get that he felt better once his attackers were off the streets and he didn't have to worry anymore about them randomly showing up at his doorstep to finish the job, but it just felt rushed to me. He's spent five years living in absolute fear about not only his attackers, but just dealing with people and intimacy in general. Having them in jail is nice, but it doesn't solve all of the problems instantly.

And what was the deal with the trial? It's strongly hinted by everyone in the book that if Aaron can't testify, these guys are going to walk free. The prosecutor even states to Aaron that there was a chain of custody problem, which might mean that the perpetrators might not be convicted (their convictions are a fifty-fifty shot, Aaron is told, if he doesn't testify). But then, after they are convicted, the prosecutor remarks, almost in an off-handed way, that they have stronger, better evidence against the three men at their most recent crime scene/murder, because they were CAUGHT there. What the fuck? And then the prosecutor is talking about how he's hoping that the men will deal down on those charges. I don't understand why the prosecutor would start with a much weaker case with shaky evidence, rather than the one where he is CERTAIN that he can obtain a conviction because the evidence is much stronger. Why not spare the ONLY living victim the trauma of having to face them again and testify against them, telling an open court about what was done to him, and only forcing him to face a trial if they aren't convicted at their first trial? It didn't make any sense at all. I would get it if the chain of custody of evidence had been fucked up at the most recent crime/murder, but it wasn't, and so it made no sense at all, and it actually pissed me off a great deal, if you can't tell already, haha.

Also, I would like to take a moment to say how much I hate seeing the word "spunk" in any book and in any sex scenes.

Finally, for those who have read Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell, Zach and David make a brief appearance at a trauma conference that Aaron and Spencer attend. Overlapping books for the win!

Altogether, I enjoyed this book, but I can't say that I loved it by any means. I felt like this book could have been stronger, and I feel like Aaron's recovery could have been more advanced than it was, to make the ending more believable for me. ( )

Is it possible for a young man with emotional and physical scars and his deaf boyfriend to conquer their fears and make a productive life for themselves? Only with a lot of hard work and strength of will, J.P. Barnaby assures readers.

In AARON, the author illustrated how a traumatized boy can come part way out of his reclusive shell with the help of a loving and loyal friend. Five years after Aaron's attack and three years after Spencer befriends him, this sequel to AARON follows the young men as their lives are changing, both as a couple and individually.

As Spencer graduates from junior college and sells the software program he and Aaron have worked on together, Spencer agrees to move an hour away to Chicago and head up a team to launch the software for public use. This is a huge step for a guy born deaf who never thought he'd be able to move away from his psychologist father and live alone.

But Aaron, who was homeschooled after the attack that killed his friend Juliette and left him nearly dead with a slit throat, still has a long way to go to graduate. He is devastated that Spencer would even think about leaving him, much less actually move.

Just as Aaron's trying to get his head around the fact that the rock on whom he depends is moving, he learns the men who had assaulted him and Juliet have been caught. Now Aaron has to find the courage to testify against them, which means he has to bare his physical and mental scars to a judge and jury.

Read the rest of my review at The Romance Reviews: http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=13545 ( )