Seeing Beyond the Scars: Manx Cat Guardians (Book 2)Why did his new neighbour make him want to change and leave his protective shell? A man not frightened to show the world who he was. Would Martin stay or run when faced with Brad’s past and his scars? Brad Cummings lived a quiet controlled life: the world he created was not through choice but from necessity. A traumatic past left him unable to … unable to see past his scars.
Until fate steps in with Martin.
Martin’s need to show him how beautiful he is both inside and out leads Brad to finally understand the true meaning of love.
Martin’s ability to have fun allows Brad to stop existing and start to live for the first time in his life.
Martin shows him that not all families are the same: a family can be more than a blood connection.
But Brad has learnt the hard way, being himself is not always a good thing. A mischievous cat, a prying neighbour, a sexual awakening, and a father intent on harm, turn Brad’s ordered life upside down. Can he trust an instant connection and believe in soulmates?
Seeing Beyond the Scars is the second book in the Manx Cat Guardian Series, these books are not standalones and need to be read in order to gain the background. It is an MM romance, with hurt comfort, steamy instant connection, light aspects of BDSM play, and an ancient paranormal cat that likes to interfere. This book has a HEA.
Trigger Warning: There are aspects of child abuse and some scenes of violence.
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When Marin settles in to his Grandmothers’ house after returning from the service, his world was broken losing his paremts to a car accident, a falling out with his sister, and being injured in the line of duty had almost broken him. Slowly repairing his relationship with his sister, growing another branch of his business on the Island, he was finially healing and then he meets Brad. What a wonderful totally unexpected treasure just waiting for him to find and together they begin to explore a relationship that will see them both beyond the scars into a love and life they deserve.
Seeing Beyond the Scars is part of JP Sayle’s Manx Cat Guardians series. This is the story of Brad and Martin. And the Manx Cat Guardian Princess. And I love them all!
It is a fantastic mix of funny, sweet, emotional and sexy. I love the story line and the characters are loveable, you root for them to get their HEA. This series has me hooked and I cant wait for more.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
2.5 rounded up
With so much pain and trauma surrounding these men it’s a wonder either of them could fully admit what they wanted and make a go of it. It was so hard to read not only because it felt very long-winded, but because of how much angst each of the characters felt. I really struggled with this one until we got to the end. I don’t know how the author does it, but at the end I feel like I need more no matter how much I wasn’t into most of the story. It’s that conflict that’s utterly confusing and yet compelling.
Martin’s paranoia was confusing. Like he kept having to look over his shoulder for a stalker of some kind that was never fully explained. With the intrusive and shady neighbor I could understand it, but it was the notion that there was something in his past in the city that led to his reactions rather than just his stint in the military. And for his interest in the house across the street to rush right to an incredibly unsettling amount of lust…I just felt uncomfortable with his thoughts. I didn’t feel that they were genuine, nor was any of the discovery of all that is Brad. Martin did grow in the story, but honestly it wasn’t until the last maybe, 10% of the book? Most of what we get is a lot of lusty thoughts rather than anything to build an emotionally mature relationship. And the way he conducted his business with his secretary was disappointing to say the least. She was also an unnecessary complication to not just his relationship with Brad, but to the story’s plot.
Brad made me ache over and over again. His drama and trauma was huge and his coping mechanisms were insufficient. I felt so bad for him and kept hoping that he would learn about himself, find his inner strength that wasn’t reliant on Martin, and find ways to truly heal from his past. Discovering what he likes sexually was interesting, but without all the emotional stuff to back it up, it felt hollow rather than transformative.
As for Princess, I still have weird feelings about a cat with voyeuristic tendencies and very human reactions to physical intimacy. While I get that they’re guardians and guide soulmates together, they’re still very much cats even if they have a much higher level of intelligence and reasoning. I also don’t know that I liked how she “handled” Brad. I was hoping for something more consistent, but it was more like watching an adolescent be in charge of Brad because she had the temperament of a cat yet thought like someone much more mature at times. I just didn’t connect with her at all.
So while this review totally sounds like I didn’t like the book, you’d be kinda right. But through it all I hoped for love, I hoped for resolution, I hoped for healing. The ending was almost worth the slog through all the angst and then when I finally got to the actual ending, I knew I was absolutely going to read more in the series. Confusing as freak to feel that way at the end, but there it is. The author has some kind of magic, I guess.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
For the most part, I quite enjoyed this, but there was one issue that very nearly ruined it for me.
EDITING.
This book needs a major edit. Almost every other page there were words, while spelt correctly, did not fit in the sentence. Images, when it should have said imagine. Little things, that mount up, and because of this, I very nearly dumped it. It NEEDS mentioning, because it did effect my reading pleasure.
THAT SAID!
I did enjoy it, mostly. The tale of a little cat, looking after her charge. A damaged man, and a disillusioned man, coming together. Brad is pretty much a recluse, only going out his house when he HAS to. His new neighbour and his naughty cat have him all a-dither. Martin is hit with that “MINE” moment you usually get with shifters (there are no shifters in this book!) and the attraction is instant and powerful. HOT too! But I found it a little too much, too soon, you know?? Brad is damaged, emotionally and physically, by his history, and I would have expected him to be way more skittish.
I would have liked some more of Princess, more specifically, about HER, and her sort of being and her people (for want of a better word!) We get hints and clues, but I’m left feeling like I missed something, you know?? Something important about her.
A first time author and in places, it shows. BUT!!! One to watch out for, I think. A good start, as a new author, AND as the first in a series. I’d like to follow it, maybe I’ll get what I’m missing from Princess.
3 solid GOOD stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**