Spencer Thomas’s world turns upside down when his beloved Nell dies and leaves custody of her three-year-old daughter to him. Her “Spenna” comes when Sophie needs him most, but his boyfriend, Aaron, can’t be a parent. He just can’t. Neither of them expected a baby to fall into the lives they’d finally just settled.
When Nell’s ex comes to claim Sophie, Aaron needs to make a decision: man up or walk away as Spencer faces the fight of his life.
Spencer and Aaron are back in this final installment of the Survivor series. This is also the final book that will be written under pen name J.P. Barnaby. To that, I say, thank you for the stories, and all the best on your next journey J.P.
Adding a toddler to Spencer’s and Aaron’s dynamic was an interesting twist. These two have been through alot, and this appeared to be the final really difficult challenge for them.
Even though I’m aware of how Spencer’s ASL is written, from reading previous books, the style is still really jarring, and I still didn’t like it. It took me out of the story and had me focusing too much on how it was formatted rather than what was said. It drew my focus for the wrong reasons, and dimmed a bit of the shine.
Spencer had the right idea when he put his foot down with Aaron and basically said that Sophie was now the most important person in his life. It is true. Children will, always come before adults. Fact. Non-negotiable. Aaron is little more than a child himself, and I think that came through in this story. While he has come a long way since we first met him, he is still so fragile in his independence, and struggles to cope with how to take care of himself. At least he was honest with how he felt about parenting, and his limits. Although a little narrow in his view, and certainly frustrating, the fact that he could identify his misgivings and vocalise them was a big plus.
I’ve enjoyed Spencer’s and Aaron’s relationship dynamic since the first book, and I think the author did well in keeping that consistent. They are still very much in love. They are very much connected, and they are both very young. They both recognise that life doesn’t always play by their timeline, or their trajectory, and they are adult enough to admit when something isn’t working.
There are some tough realizations for these two, and some heavy heart to hearts, while trying to do the best for Sophie and grieving the loss of Nell.
Throwing in the mother’s ex was interesting. How that part unfolded was a surprise. I enjoyed the way the family came together to support Sophie, Spencer, and Aaron while trying to understand Nell’s relationship dynamic and how she ended up as a single mother.
I appreciated this final chapter in their lives, and I am glad it was included the way it was. This series, and Spencer and Aaron’s story feels complete, and I very much enjoyed taking this journey with them.
A review copy was provided for an honest review
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