The One That Broke Free

Title: The One that Broke Free
Author: T.C. Blue
Publisher:  Torquere
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length:  Novella (117 pages, 57770 words)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Summary Review: A broken soldier finds love with the least likely man, someone who showed him that pretty didn’t mean weak.

THE BLURB

The last thing war vet Travis MacRayne expects to find while house-sitting in Boston is a man like Vincent Clark. Even more unexpected is that Vincent seems to be attracted to Travis, too — scars, bad leg, and all. But Travis has to go back to Alabama the next day, and a cell phone just doesn’t seem like enough to bridge the distance.

It’s the first of many obstacles that Vincent teaches Travis to overcome, and Travis wants nothing more desperately than to believe in the love he feels building inside. Still, the doubts instilled by harsh experience are difficult to put aside. Can Vincent convince Travis that the time is truly right to break free?

THE REVIEW 

This book is part of T.C. Blue’s The One and One series and I have been reading them backward starting with The One Who Stayed reviewed here. I hope to review The One That Was Lost within the next two weeks since I love these characters.

The One that Broke Free is Travis’s story. Travis was in his early thirties and had been discharged from the Armed Forces several years ago. He still lived in his hometown of Frederick, (or as he called it, Fred-neck) Alabama, a really backward and homophobic neck in the woods. He was in Boston to attend his brother Elliot’s wedding and he was house sitting while Elliot and his new husband Jamie were on their honeymoon. He didn’t currently have anyone in his life and hadn’t had a regular lover since he and his first boyfriend Jim had broken up 15 years ago, other than when he was in the Army. Although he had loved Jim it was not the forever kind of love and he used Jim’s memory as an excuse not to become involved again.  But after seeing how happy his brother was Travis decided that he wanted a meaningful relationship of his own so he asked Elliot’s in-laws to fix him up with a few dates. He went on seven dates in two weeks and the men he met were quite pleasant, but nothing clicked for him.

When Elliot and Jamie returned from their honeymoon Travis was packed and ready to go back to Frederick, but this time it would be a short visit as he had decided to sell his house and return to Boston. He realized that he needed to make a change before life passed him by, that he had stayed in Frederick because he didn’t want the townspeople to feel that they had run him out of town, but he was also doing damage to himself by staying since he had no future there and no friends- he didn’t even have a job – no one would hire him. The day before he left Boston he went out to lunch with Elliot and Jamie and his life changed forever when he met Vinnie, the biggest flaming Queen who was very much in touch with his feminine side, and he fell head over heels for him. It seemed that Vinnie was interested too but unfortunately the only thing they could do was exchange phone numbers since Travis was going home the next day.

After he left he and Vinnie renewed their acquaintance by phone and exchanged their life stories. Vinnie told Travis that he hadn’t been with anyone in at least a couple of years which Travis could not understand as he was  a very hot looking man. They seemed like a match made in heaven although Travis could not figure out why Vinnie would want him, bad leg and all, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Travis was on cloud nine until he arrived in Frederick and found his property defaced with homophobic slurs and blood, and his dream of a quick sale seemed like a pipe dream. He was so upset he told Vinnie, who immediately decided to drop everything and drive to Frederick so that he could be with his new man. This is where the point of view changed and we get Vinnie’s perspective.

Vincent lacked confidence in himself. When he was much younger he had been a pothead but he had turned his life around and was now a very successful businessman and part owner of a classy restaurant but he felt that he was too feminine looking and unattractive and he was aware that he wasn’t every gay man’s cup of tea. The fact that Travis saw him, the person, was one of the things that endeared Travis to him. Vinnie was a beautiful man but he didn’t feel beautiful and had many self esteem issues, however he knew that Travis thought he was perfect for him and this went both ways. When Vinnie arrived in Frederick he very quickly assessed the situation and made a plan to get them out of Dodge as fast as possible, and it was amazing how he took on some of Travis’s foes and won them over by sheer personality.

I really liked the story and characterizations in the One That Broke Free. Not only was Travis a lonely man but for six years he had been screwed around by the doctors at the military hospital who managed to mangle his leg to the point where their incompetence could have resulted in permanent disability or death. It took an acccident and Vinnie to make him whole again and the thrust of the story was how Travis broke free from his past. He had lived his entire life in Frederick, Alabama except for the time he spent in the Army, despite knowing that most of the residents hated him because he was gay and would gladly run him out of town. The only men who wanted him were either married and in the closet or had one foot in the grave. Until he saw how happy his newly married brother Elliot was he wasn’t motivated to do anything about his life, regardless of the fact that it was barren and the future looked even more hopeless and bleak, but once he decided to change his life he didn’t waste any time. I think Vinnie was an amazing character who managed to steal a lot of the book because he was larger than life but he was also determined to be Travis’s anchor and love of his life and proved it time and time again. Vinnie was my favourite in this story and I particularly liked his version of laundry day. You have to read the book to find out why. 🙂

This book had a lot of angst but it was also very funny as Vinnie was a wonderful vibrant personality who didn’t let anyone or anything get him down and he did his best to change Travis’s set point. The writing was engaging, the characters were fresh and the plot was realistic and I was reminded again why I love this author. If I had one criticism it was that there seemed to be a lot of sex for a novella, but that’s just my personal taste.

If you’re looking for a story with well rounded three dimensional protagonists who are likable, vulnerable and funny and a supporting cast that’s also quite good The One That Broke Free should be on your “to buy” list.