Joyfully Jay
The Bound series is a continuing story of intertwined characters. The books are not meant to stand alone and this review will refer back to incidents from previous books. George arrives back home and all Jesse can see are the small red spots of blood covering him. It’s one more secret that George has to shoulder and he’s about reached his limit. He’s been trying to block out the past for so long, but even the strongest of men have their limits. George wants Jesse in a way he hasn’t wanted anyone, but in order to keep him, George will have to open up in ways George doesn’t think he’s ready for. Jesse doesn’t want this to be the end, but he’ll sacrifice his own happiness if he thinks he can’t give George what he needs. Zac is spiraling down. He did what he needed to do, but now he doesn’t want to feel anything and the drugs and the sex are a welcome relief. Until, it’s not enough anymore because all he can see is Elliott. But, Zac isn’t a boyfriend and has no idea how to give Elliott what he needs while still balancing what he needs himself. But together, they just might make sense. However, there are still those that want to take them down and they won’t rest until they get what they want. Along with Rafael and Daniel, all the men will have to face down their demons before they lose each other for good. It’s been two years since the previous book in the Bound series was released and I thought it might be more difficult to get back in to the flow with the storyline, but that was not at all the case. Gray immerses us right back into this world immediately and I’ll say that this is the best book I have read from this author. There isn’t a lot I can say regarding this book without divulging major plot points, but this was a great addition to this series. While the series started with Daniel and Rafael, they have migrated to secondary characters with Jesse, George, Zac, and Elliot becoming more central figures. George has kept everything locked down for so long that it’s all he knows how to do anymore and even though he knows he has to open up to Jesse, he can’t seem to figure out how. Elliott is dealing with the fallout from his father’s abuse all these years and Zac wants to be the one to put him back together. But Zac and relationships, and Zac and monogamy, don’t mix well and he has no idea what he’s doing or even if it’s possible to be with Elliott, but he knows he wants to. He knows he also has unresolved feelings for Kennedy as well. And leave it to Gray to make Zac and Elliott’s relationship the most interesting one of the series. There is so much going on there that he could write an entire book simply dedicated to the two of them and all the things they want to experience together. I did feel like we didn’t get enough of them as they were just settling into it and there is definitely so much more to see with them. The first line of the blurb for this book states, “All good things must come to an end,” and I took that to mean that this was the last book in the series. But, it didn’t wrap up that way and I’m not sure at this point if there are plans for another book. Zac’s personal story was still not gone into after all this time and when we finally get more of George’s story, it was just the opener. Jesse, who has always been described as a sharp lawyer, kept missing legal components and that wasn’t in keeping with his character. And, many pieces that we have been waiting for throughout the entire series were introduced only at the end making the ending seem rushed for me and not nearly enough after so many previous books leading up to this. The chapters are split between all the characters and Gray balances the scenes and blends them all incredibly well and the flow and the high stakes drama were all well done. This was a great way to add to this series and I would hope there is still more to come to fully pull it all together in a grand finale.
