Gillibran Brown

Shane doesn't get therapy. No one negotiates anything. Safewords don't exist. RACK doesn't exist. Gilli has no decent allies who can talk to him about what DD can look like and what his options are.

Gilli continues to a) lose weight, b) be mocked and ridiculed and abused for having a tough time with medication side effects (including being treated badly for feeling anorgasmic - which is ableist nonsense and cruel - hey Dick and Shane, you wanted the meds, learn some grace!), c) be punished for acting out when he's treated poorly and d) still thinks he's in a 'healthy' (pfft) DD relationship. (Not to mention hiding things out of fear, insecurity and grief, all of which are perfectly understandable given the abusive relationship he's suffering through).

For the record, a healthy DD relationship tends to actively improve the boy's life over time, not make it worse over the years ending in total financial control, one that doesn't improve someone's QOL over time is one of the cardinal signs of toxic (at best) or abusive (at worst) DD. Do I think Gilli's life has improved? No. No I don't. He was at his happiest, brightest and bubbliest in book one. And since then we've just seen a constant eroding of his personality, his chirpiness and even his ability to function healthily in society.

I'll always sit in the limbo of wondering if a real person is suffering in a toxic DD relationship and literally has no idea, especially given it's listed as a biography on Smashwords. God. I hope not.
I guess that's me done with this series. Consider that it is listed as a biography, and non-fiction, and that enjoying a toxic relationship in fiction is one thing, but enjoying it in a biography is...a choice.

(Oh, the irony of Dick talking about his history with Bastard Craig, while almost all of his words sans a few applied perfectly to Shane. Oh, the *irony.* It could have been satire, it was so on the nose.)
… (mais)

Well worth the wait. Gilli's latest book offers the perfect climax and resolution to an emotional build-up. I can't express enough how glad I am that 'Revelations' has seen the light of day, and how proud I am of Gilli as one of his devoted readers. Not only does he demonstrate astounding maturity here, but highlights universal struggles of identity and belonging that demonstrate the ever-changing nature of relationships. He does this by tapping into the most tender parts of his compulsion and openness, which is a process not many of us could pull off with the same modicum of honesty.

That's one of the things I admire most about Gilli. He never shies away from the ugliness we all store within, however self-admonishing these reflections prove in the end. His self-awareness and endless search for emotional comfort are also aspects of his personality that will never fail to preserve his innocence, no matter how many mishaps he gets himself into.

I'd also like to add that Gilli, while always an engaging writer with the ability to entertain and pin his readers to their seats, has really honed his craft. 'Revelations' read like a wonderful piece of literature, pieced together with more reverence and attention to detail than most books I come across.
I hope Gilli keeps writing, since it both soothes his soul and feeds his readers' inspiration.… (mais)

This series has been on my TBR for years, pretty much since I first started reading M/M, and I'm glad I've finally gotten to it. Having only read the first and the fifth book, there are some gaps I need to go back and fill in, but the relationship among the three is quite fascinating. This particular book really lets the reader see why Gilli is the way he is, lots of backstory, but he also still has a ton of growing up to do. He has got to learn to not bottle up and hide his past and present hurts, because they definitely come out in snark and bitterness. Not exactly a light-hearted Christmas story, but I did love Pat. Pretty much a TBC.… (mais)

This is one of those books that has been sitting on my shelves, gathering dust. Everyone kept telling me to read it, but for some reason I resisted. Why? That's the question I'm asking myself right now as well lol.

This is one of those rare pieces of work. It's funny, yet there is a depth of emotion that wasn't expected. There are moments I want to slap Gillibran. Times I want to tell him to grow up and be quick about it, because he doesn't deserve those guys he's got. Yet at so many other times I could feel for him and see where it was all coming from.

I would love to know at times what Dick and Shane are both thinking while these tantrums etc are being played out, but the account of Gilli is fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.… (mais)