Audiobook Review: Live for Love (All Cocks #5) by T.M. Smith

Beauregard Boudreaux is a native of New Orleans Louisiana, born and raised there, he never thought he would ever stray far from home. The untimely death of his first love left Beau lost, adrift, looking for a place as far away from the pain as possible. Initially, he came to New York to visit a friend, the city growing on him, so he decided to stay. His law degree comes in handy at the LGBT Center he runs, but his bar is his baby.

William Richards grew up in Chicago, his family oddly normal and very accepting of his sexuality. Modeling paid the bills, gigs across the country as a model, male entertainer and a personal trainer giving him the opportunity to see the world. He hasn’t experienced loss or pain as Beau has, the common denominator between them is the loneliness. As All Cocks big, brooding bottom Connor, William has found friendship, family and an outlet for his craving to be more submissive than men of his size and stature usually are.

The two men are perfect for each other, their tastes and lives align and the writing seems to be on the wall. But Beau has a secret he shares with a choice few, a secret that not only threatens to keep them apart, it’s deadly. Determined to keep a wall between himself and William, Beau fights the attraction, pushes William away every time he steps closer. Can one man’s determination and strength be enough to tear down a wall that holds back decades of pain and darkness? And if he can, will either of them survive the flood?

Disclaimer: This book is the fictional story of a man living with HIV. I have put a lot of time and effort into presenting this story as true to fact as possible, without going into gory or gruesome detail. If this subject is a trigger for you, you may want to skip this read. But my hope is that you give Beau a chance to capture your heart as he has mine, and William’s.

Listening Length: 5 hours and 26 minutes
Narrator: Joel Leslie

Reviewer: Shee Reader

Well, I just finished listening to this joyous book, and now I have to try and tell you how good it was? Spoiler alert: it was awesome!

I’ve read and listened to all of the previous books in the series, and though it was great to touch base with characters, couples (and the thruples) from previous tales, it would work perfectly as a stand alone. Beau is a lovely quiet, stoic character who successfully pushed people away after losing the love of his life. As such, I was pleased that he was seeing a therapist (who we met earlier in the series and who is successfully living in a polyamorous relationship). Beau had such strength and sadness that I was rooting for him from the outset. That said, I still wanted to kick his ass for almost losing William due to his pig-headedness! Beau’s self enforced isolation was no match for the ever tenacious William. William is a low angst character, who worked as an All Cocks model/performer in order to give himself what he needed. I loved his character, and the fact that he relentlessly pursued Beau even when he was being a jackass!

Their pairing is perfect. William’s strength and resolve were so inspiring, and Beau was a hero to many of the young people at the LGBT youth centre. Again, as in previous stories, the strength of relationships amongst the supporting characters gave Beau and William the family they chose for themselves. The book is quite delightful from start to finish, and didn’t shy away from the harsh reality of life for an HIV positive man, the subject was dealt with beautifully by the author: no over dramatisation, and all the accurate facts. The realism was almost choking at times.

As always, the performance by Joel Leslie was legendary! Awesome voice characterisation, outstanding versatility and all the passion and joy I have come to expect from Joel.

All in all, this is a must listen!

I was given a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.