STRIPPED BARE by SUSAN MAC NICOL

Reviewed by Gitte

So I thought this story had everything you could possibly wish for. It had romance, passion, intrigue, drama, lovable gorgeous characters….it had real heart! Oh and yeah it had those ‘must go read this bit in the freezer’ moments….what a scorcher! I absolutely loved the story of Matty and Shay, I literally devoured their story and put life on hold until I had finished. At no stage did it drag or feel forced. I never once felt the need to skim or roll my eyes. It was emotional, romantic, sexy and quite frankly horrific once or twice. I cried, laughed and swooned through a story that had such realism. Well played Susan, Matty and Shay worked their way into my heart….to stay!

Stripped Bare is about Matthew, a lawyer, who’s working under pretty strained and awful conditions. His boss Walter Debussy is an absolute arse and I wanted to beat him over the head with something hard and heavy so many times I lost count. Walter and his henchman Roy deserved stringing up!

Matty is surviving a traumatic past which involves not only the death of the love of his life but also his father; you could say he’s barely existing. This quiet and gorgeous man doesn’t do relationships rather he keeps himself to himself; a result of his past and what was a pretty significant breakdown. Working for a homophobic and violent man; taking over from his father, he knuckles down and avoids anything that involves his heart.

Everything comes to a head one fateful night when David, a dear friend of Mathew and Walter’s son, lands in hospital after a grave assault. Matthew is called as Walter’s lawyer and meets the larger than life Shane Templar for the first time. Shane is there as a friend of David’s and is immediately stunned by his feelings for our Matty.  This meeting spurs some awful significant events and Shay and Matty begin their journey which is fraught with obstacles, deception and hatred yet ultimately a journey of love, trust, discovery and passion.

“Matthew wondered what the hell was happening here. It was all moving along far too quickly, having this brash, sexy, tender and caring man lying in his arms, feeling as if he belonged there. He wasn’t ready for the feelings that overwhelmed him…..”

Now Shane is absolutely gorgeous. He’s fun, sexy and foul-mouthed. You can’t help but fall in love with him. He really cocks up a few times, but his heart means well.

“I thought I’d never be able to find another person I could love again. And then along comes this one, all mouth and no manners…” – Matthew

Working as an escort for thrills and a sought after hacker, Shane’s kind of like a modern day Robin Hood. He loves life with passion despite having experienced a traumatic event in his life that throws a shadow into his existence. Shane says it like it is and his effect on Matty was profound.

“Babe, you call me all upset and say you need me. I would have run twice the distance just to get here for you, to hear you say that.” – Shane

Shane is a fixer and he wants to fix Matthew.

“It’s easier to turn tail and pretend things didn’t happen and that people don’t make you feel things, rather than accept them and deal with it.” – Shane

I think Matty was the one who had to go through some major soul searching in this story. He had to let go and open up. Let someone in. And really, who better than our Shay. If ever there was an example of opposites attracts and people bringing something different to the table thus balancing everything out…this was them. They just worked and I fell in complete love.

“You drive me crazy. You’re bloody cheeky, you’re a maverick, and you never bloody listen to anyone. You do what you think is best, all the time. You also care so much about people – it’s what I love about you. But it’s not the only thing I love about you. I love the way you smell, the way you look, the way you make me feel.” – Matthew

No question, I loved this story, it brought everything to the table that you’d look for in a story. I was swept away and this one definitely goes on the m/m must read list!

Gitte: 5 Stars

ARC Supplied by Author for an honest review

STRIPPED BARE by SUSAN MACNICOL
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