He’s my fake boyfriend and I’m straight. So why do I suddenly want more?Tate: I’m everything people hate—Spoiled, arrogant heir to a billion-dollar fortune.Scion of a family that made its name opposing LGBTQ+ rights.The last thing I expected to develop was a conscience.I blame Emory Murphy—the golden-haired mess of a dreamer who turned my life upside down.Somehow, I agree to pretend be Em’s … my life upside down.
Somehow, I agree to pretend be Em’s boyfriend for his brother’s wedding.
Somehow, I don’t realize this means we’ll share a bed.
Somehow, I find myself kissing him.
More than kissing him.
And liking it.
How do you go back to being friends after that?
Hey, wanna grab some beers and forget about the time I had my mouth around your—
Yeah. Not happening.
With my family calling me home, I need to put this all behind me.
But try as I might, I can’t get Em out of my mind.
He has no idea that I’m really falling for him.
And my family has no idea who I really am.
I just want to feel free for once in my life—
But am I brave enough to tell either of them the truth?
Free Spirit is a 122,000 word m/m romance that’s got more sweetness than sunshine and peaches, more angsty pining than a coniferous forest, and more steam than a south Georgia summer night. Fake boyfriends, discovering bisexuality, and out-for-you themes. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed HEA.more
Break the chains, Tate, break those chains!
4.5stars
A really good read with drama, romance, passion and humor. This is a great series and another of three lovable brothers, this time Emory, born and bred in a Georgia coastal island Victorian inn, meets his match with a fun meet-cute in a bar in Savannah. Their relationship starts with a big lie that just snowballs and soon neither Tate not Emory even knows how (or if he wants ) to get out of it.
With a plethora of strict, unsympathetic parents and grandparents (Charlotte, Tate’s grandmother the exception), some really out of order friends (mixed in with a few well-meaning ones), a long-time family mystery to solve and some crucial career decisions to make, the romance is nicely fleshed out with enough setbacks and complications to make the characters real and well-deserving of their HEA. This is a standalone story with no cliffhangers but it does bring back Emory’s family and some of the island locals featured in the earlier part of the series, most notably partners Deacon and Mal, Deacon’s cat-loving daughter Lily and irascible third brother Connor (he’s another novel waiting to happen; I can’t wait!)
One of the highlights for me was the frenetic wedding scene near the end of the story. One of the grooms is SO comical in his desire to escape the spotlight, EVEN at his own big day! Does he have any chance of it? Get the book and find out!,
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book but bought it anyway to ensure that it would remain on my bookshelf. Not the first Spencer Spears book I purchased and probably not the last either!
It was a pleasure to read this outstanding, emotional & heartwarming MM romance & it is about two characters (Tate & Emory) who go through a lot of trials & tribulations before finding their ultimate happiness, one of the main characters (Emory) starts off by being a bit naïve & somewhat unsure about the direction his life is taking while the other main character is trying to find himself without parental interference. The well-written plot has some unexpected incidents/situations filled with drama & insecurities.
There is: a arrogant apparently straight man (Tate) on the run from his judgmental parents, for rhyme or reason agrees to be a pretend boyfriend to a openly gay young man (Emory) & the attractions flare causing the situation to change, Emory’s older brother (Deacon) & his fiancé (Mal), Tate’s caring grandmother (Charlotte), a company (Lyles & Blackstone) with devious intentions, family issues, homophobia, family politics, drama, twists & turns, secrets, deceit, confusion, memories, regrets, vulnerability, strange attractions, manipulations, threats, emotional blackmail, anxiety, verbal conflict, embarrassment, misunderstandings, suspicions, verbal banter, confrontation, anger, attempted manipulations, complications, guilt, regrets, advice, decisions, compromises, declaration, laughter, happiness, love, some steam and a satisfying conclusion. I would recommend this MM romance to people who like to read this genre & I really doubt that the reader would be disappointed in this book.
This is such an intense story. Emory has such self confidence issues. Nothing seems to work for him in relationships. He also carries the issue of his parents dying and that adds to his heartbreaking feelings that he is meant to be left. Tate on the other hand has plenty of his own issues. He has grown up with a family and surrounded by people who are full of hate. He feels that it isn’t who he is. He goes to find himself and instead finds Emory. This story has a great flow. I didn’t want to set it down and it never lacked my attention. There are so many side things to this story, mystery, relationships between his brothers and Emory, Tate and his grandmother, Tate and his mom and dad and Tate and Nolan and su much more. The only thing I feel was either understated or not really explained was the past between Charlotte and Eleanor. The secondary characters fit so well and make the story more real. I ended up wishing these were real people. Also I can’t wait to read Connor’s story. This is another example why I have this author on my watch list.
There’s fun, there’s drama, there’s angst and silly jokes. There are two great MCs and plenty of well crafted secondary characters to fulfill the story. There is finally an amazing complete, wholesome, very well written story that I could not help but devour until every last word was read. And what a journey it was! Kudos to the author for writing such a captivating piece.
No spoilers of any kind included!
This is my first time reading anything by Spencer Spears and I have to say I’ll definitely be reading more from this author because I loved Free Spirit!
Heck I actually pouted when I got to the end of the book because I wasn’t ready to leave Em and Tate’s world because I enjoyed visiting it.
But anyway if you are looking for my advice about Free Spirit about whether or not you should get it.
Well my advice would be get this book because I can honestly guarantee you won’t be disappointed in making that choice, because it is absolutely amazing!