Thick as Thieves

An Aster Valley Novel

By: Lucy Lennox

Narrated by: Michael Dean

Julian:

I've been in love with my best friend since forever. Okay, fine. Like, kindergarten. It started out platonic, obviously, but then became.... Nope. Still platonic. The problem is that Parker Ellis has been straight since forever. And that makes it difficult to convince him that the two of us are meant to be together.

And now, there's no point. All is lost. He's gone and gotten engaged to his high-school sweetheart - which means I have to grin and bear it, while pretending to be the happy, supportive best man, while he prepares to commit his life to a woman I can't even fault. She's great. We've all been friends forever. I know he'll be happy with Erin, just not.... Just not as happy as he could be with me.

Parker:

I'll admit. Sometimes I press the easy button. Like when Julian Thick had offered me half his sandwich, back in grade school, after noticing I didn't have any food. Or when I'd needed a date to homecoming in 10th grade, and Erin told me she was it. Or when I'd used the one thing that came easy to me, skiing, to get my college tuition paid for. Or when Erin had showed back up in my life, six months ago, and me told it was time to marry, and start a family....

But, for the first time in my life, I'm facing something that's not at all easy. It's my wedding weekend, and I've just been left at the altar. Not only that, but when my best friend whisks me away, to drown my sorrows in a snowy cabin in Aster Valley, I accidentally discover Julian's been keeping secrets. Big secrets.

The kind of secrets that lead to hot, experimental kisses in front of a blazing fire, tentative physical exploration in a way I'd never imagined before, and the kind of intimate, true confessions I'd never even dreamed of - between me and the one person who's always been my true home.

But after 20-plus years of thinking of Jules as my friend without benefits, is it truly possible to change who we are to each other? There's no easy button this time, but I'm willing to do the work. I only wonder if Julian is ready to trust I really mean it.

©2022 Lucy Lennox (P)2022 Lucy Lennox

Recommend despite Side Character Mishap

Yes, there is what I consider to be a glaring discrepancy in a character's back story in this book, which I will talk about without any spoilers, but first I want to say that I'm a fan of Lucy Lennox and her interconnecting series Made Marion, Forever Wilde, and Aster Valley and this book IS worth a credit. It is heart-warming, heart-wrenching, laugh out loud funny, sweet and steamy in turns with a HEA ending.

I just re-listened to all the books in all three series before getting this latest one. Perhaps it is because they are so fresh in my mind and because I am so fond of these crazy families and invested in all the characters that the mistake with Sam's backstory was so glaring to me.

First a quick list of the main characters of the Aster Valley books.
1. Winter Waites (novella) - Winter and Gentry
2. Right as Raine - Mikey and Tiller
3. Sweet as Honey - Sam and Truman
4. Hot as Heller - Finn and Declan
5. Forever Wilde in Aster Valley - Miller and Darius
6. Thick as Thieves - Julian and Parker

Sam was introduced in book 2 as Mikey's childhood friend/ best friend who is also good friends with Tiller, but that happened through Mikey. In book 3 he becomes a main character and that history with Mikey in Texas is fleshed out even more. However in this book, book 6, he is talked about/ presented as if he grew up with Tiller, Julian and Parker in Colorado and was part of their tight childhood group of friends. He really is just a minor side character in this book and whether or not he was part of that friend group doesn't really affect Julian and Parker's story. The inconsistency just bugged the crap out of me.

If you can get past that, then I have no hesitation in recommending this book.

Fabulous Lucy

As one can only expect from the incredible Lucy Lennox this book knocked it out of the ball park. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys great love stories.

entertaining - solid 4 stars

“You inked me into your skin, Julian. This is us right here. It’s always been us." - Parker

📖 Story comment: I was delightfully entertained with Thick as Thieves, it has a good pace, charming characters and the story was entertaining - thats all I need to be a happy camper!

🎧 Narrator comment: I enjoyed Michael Dean's narration, he knows how to bring out the best in Lucy Lennox's characters. He has good timing, inflections and intonations and it's easy to distinguish the characters from each other. Overall an enjoyable performance.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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great story

a simple premise , great characters, hot scenes, and nice HEA ending. what more to ask for.

Narrated

Michael dean never disappoints. The story was good .always like hearing from Mikey and Truman.

Best darn book omg

Overall the book had an amazing story line! The friendship and romance was way too cute!

I Loved it.... Read it!!!!!!!

incredible

Absolutely loved this. A perfect end to a great series..... although I am not wanting to say goodbye to the Pastor Valley denizens, this was the best way to go, with the most romantic of the 4 stories, and 1 short story. Thank you Lucy Lennox.....and Michael Dean.

Another Great Story from Lennox

I absolutely love the town of Aster Valley and the characters Lennox has created. My only (very minor) complaint in this one is I didn’t feel like I got enough interaction from other Aster Valley residents. This is a best friends to lovers gay awakening and that is one of my favorite tropes, so I was sure to love this story from the beginning. The characters made it an extra great story though!

Could not stop listening!!

I hadn't even finished the story and wanted to scream to the world how much I was loving the story. I enjoyed the other titles in the series, but this one just hit all of the right spots for me. The friendship and deep love just tugged on my heart strings, so much so, I didn't know what to do with myself as I was feeling all of the feels. I have nothing critical to say about this story. Great narration--as usual--Michael Dean is just AH-MAZING; I laughed, and teared up, I sighed, and I got hot under the collar with the steamier scenes. It was almost perfection. I want to listen to it again already, and I want to crawl into the lives of Jules and Parker, they are my favorite characters of this year without question.

Such an endearing romance.

This is my MOST favorite book by Lucy Lenox, she nailed BFF to romance.
These guys were adorable. From beginning to end. I loved this read.