It's been three years since Jesse Ross had to choose between his master and his girlfriend - three years he's spent living in a loving relationship with Will, his dom, and finally being open about his sexuality. To the outside eye, Jesse and Will's relationship is settled, solid, and romantic: people expect them to settle down, get married, and have a family. It takes a car crash to expose the papered-over cracks in their life together.
Traumatized by the crash, Will finds his confidence shattered. After unintentionally causing Jesse pain during the accident, Will finds it impossible to hurt him in the bedroom, and suddenly he has to reassess his ability to be Jesse's dom. The emotional and physical deadlock leaves Jesse struggling to hold the pieces of their tattered relationship together. The physical scars may heal with time, but the emotional trauma has left more damage than either man could have anticipated...
Narrator: Brad Langer
Listening Length: 7 hours and 42 minutes
I am rather embarrassed to admit that this was my first ever audio book, but friends have been encouraging me for some time now so I thought I would take the plunge. This book had me chuckling right from the start as narrator took on the role of Jesse Ross. He has a great voice but his characterization of Jesse's Dom Will was simply too sexy to be believable.
Anyhow apart from a huge grin that manifested for me whenever Will was voiced, I found the story entirely engaging as Jesse related his life with Will with both humour and poignancy. Three years since they moved in together, they are still clearly in love. However, in an attempt to spend quality time together, they are involved in a car accident. This throws Will into turmoil that he was unable to protect Jesse and cracks begin to show in their relationship. I listened to this as a standalone novel and was entirely enraptured, trying to listen at every possible moment and barely able to contain my curiosity since nothing was predictable.
Anna Martin crafts a clever story that depicts a relationship between two protagonists who are both engaging and flawed individuals, making them all the more human because of their foibles.
Meanwhile as they negotiate their D/s relationship, their close friend and lifestyle mentor Laura struggles with a change of dynamic within her own family dynamic. I think lesser writers may have been tempted to find an easy solution to the challenges faced. Instead, life is depicted in all its messy exchanges, sometimes funny, sometimes mundane and at other times breathtakingly painful or unexpectedly heart warming. Nothing is straightforward, but that makes life's triumphs all the sweeter.
I have seen some reviews expressing disappointment that this second installment does not quite live up to the caliber of the first novel, but for me it was totally engaging and became a certainty that I would be reading the first installment 'Another Way' to discover more about how Will and Jesse met. I loved this book, the discoveries made in dealing with uncertainty. Working through the unexpected, facing disappointment and disagreement and forging moments of self discovery whilst learning to prioritize the important things in life.
'Of Being Yours' was a joy to listen too, it brought laughter (and not just at Will's uber sexy and masterful voice) and tears. It is a celebration of love between two flawed individuals living in a complex world. They find the strength and compassion to strive to be better men for the sake of themselves and each other. I thought it was a beautiful exploration of passion and lust and the complexity of human nature.
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