Brother Mine

When you pick up a book thinking you're getting some dirty, delicious, bad-wrong only to find yourself reassessing long held social mores, you know you've stumbled onto a special writer. You also question the universe as to why this author isn't better known. Thanks to Moony for putting this in my sights. Here's Moony's ReviewI've noticed this has no blurb and pretty vague reviews but I don't think any of this, below, is spoilerish. This is the story of the Cavanaugh brothers, Connor & Aiden. After their parents' divorce Connor went to live with his father. Now done with high school he's come to spend the summer before college at his mother's home and more importantly with his beloved younger brother Aiden, who due to his “eccentricities” has essentially been abandoned by their parents (also they're horrible). This is Aiden through Connor's eyes, and a good blurb for the story: “... for Aiden's whole life we've been waiting for him to figure out how to act like everyone else. It was starting to become obvious that he was never going to be like everyone else because he simply didn't know how. He didn't know what to say, so he stopped saying anything. He didn't know what to do, so he stopped doing anything. He didn't know how to act around friends, so he didn't have any. He was fifteen years old and so lost inside his own head I was afraid he might never get out. I made up my mind about a few things right then: The little fucker was weird as hell, but he was my brother, and that made him MY weird little fucker. He needed to be touched, because no one was touching the kid and he was starving to death for human contact. He was also obviously queer as a three dollar bill and while I wasn't gay, I was almost eighteen, and I knew exactly how to spend those kinds of bills. Finally, he needed to be told what to do because he had no fucking clue on his own.”They live in a nowheresville hick town which means Aiden is the favorite and frequent target of bullies, homophobes, and assorted sadists. However all of that is about to change if Connor has any say in the matter. And he does.Aiden worships Connor. Like a deity. Connor loves his little brother, and though he identifies as straight he's willing to use his “assets” to quiet the cacophony in Aiden's brain and offer him comfort. Yes. That kind of comfort. But it's so much more than that. [a:Seth Kirkcauldy 17558354 Seth Kirkcauldy https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] has created characters whose motivations and actions you believe in and root for. Connor doesn't have all the answers, he's 17, but he tries his damnedest and is willing to stand up for Aiden in defiance of their parents or the other adults. And Aiden doesn't so much need to be rescued as to be loved and the love Connor offers is limitless and true. The icing on the cake is some beautiful writing which I highlighted the hell out of (I'll post some). There are moments of utter horror and pain but also pure and unwavering love. And while there is quite a bit of sex, most of it transgressive, I wouldn't call this erotica or even bad/wrong ‘cest. It's just two people holding tight to each other in spite of or because of everything. “No one has to understand what we're doing but us. I get what you need, and I get what I need, and I don't think it's a coincidence that those match up pretty much perfectly. I plan t keep you.”SK brings everything to a HEA that had my cold cold heart melting. I loved this through the tears. For those who are sensitive or just plainly have a heart there's some tough going (looking at you, Ch.6) but none of it is gratuitous. All is sadly & infuriatingly true. Lackadaisical parenting and the aforementioned ‘cest. Also the characters are teens.