Free Me

Tattoos and Temptation, Book 3

By: Mia Monroe

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Only his ropes can unravel the past.

I never thought I’d see him again, but when my former best friend shows up ready to make amends, it becomes clear just how tied to the past I am. He disappeared when I needed him the most, leaving me to navigate my truth alone. Now he’s back.

Nixon’s art leaves me vulnerable, defenseless - and I like it. Bound by desire and past hurts, giving him complete control might be exactly what I need to set me free. What neither of us expected? The ropes free him, too....

Free Me is a sensual second-chance, former-friends-to-lovers, bisexual awakening story featuring shibari. It is book three in the Tattoos and Temptation series, featuring hot Miami nights, Latin desserts, and guys with ink.

©2020 Mia Monroe (P)2021 Mia Monroe

Another soothing listen

There’s definitely something to be said for narrators who have just the right cadence to keep a listener engaged but also just ooze relaxation. I could listen to Kale for days. And he’s the perfect match for Mia’s T&T books.

Nix & Tate

Swoon! I loved Nix and Tate’s story! I read this when it came out, and their story was a “I’ll just read one more chapter”, and I couldn’t put it down! So when this came out in audio, it was a must listen. Kale Williams did a great job with Tate and Nix’s story. Kale kept me engaged, and I kept finding any spare moment to pop in my earbuds. He really drew me right into this wonderful good friends to lovers romance. Nix and Tate’s had a bit of a twist. You could feel their connection just pouring off the page, and their chemistry was fantastic. They had so much history together, I loved learning about their past ans how the future would unfold! I was so into Nix’s art, Shibari, and how Tate stumbled upon it. I love how their relationship was taken to the next level and I found it so intimate and moving. The appreciated the trust that Nix and Tate had to build together to make their relationship work. There were some amazing firsts they experienced together and their sexy times were so hot. I just felt so much emotion from these two! I loved getting more glimpses of the characters we’ve come to know through this series!

OMG Shibari!

This was an sexy and amazing book! The more books I read in this series the more I want. Every book is different but the characters are friends, but with very different relationships!

Free me is a great book and Kale Williams did an amazing job!

Mia never fails to give me all the feels

I was so excited when this 3rd book, in the Tattoos and Temptations series, came out on Audible, it's one of my favorite books in the series.

Best friends from birth, Tate and Nix, have been apart for 13 years, due to one eventful night. When Nix reaches out to reconnect, Tate isn't sure if he wants to open himself to more pain/hurt. Through the use of Shibari trust is rebuilt and communication between them is restored. The relationship between these two is smoking hot. I love how Mia brings together all the guys into each book of the series and also builds on to the next book. This book is about overcoming past hurts, former friends to lovers, a bi awakening, with a HEA.

Another fabulous audiobook!

I really adore the Tattoos and Temptation series and Free Me is one of my favorites. Nix and Tate's story is magical - I love a friends-to-lovers with bisexual awakening trope. It's a sweet and hot story with so much schmoopiness! And Kale Williams is fire as he narrates - you'll forget he's not actually Tate and Nix! Can't recommend it enough.

Series Gets Better with Each Book

Absolutely love this series. Sweet, romantic, and incredibly sexy. Narration is on point. Highly recommend!

eep

love nix and Tate! and the way shibari is described so beautifully and freeing to the parties is what makes this book even more beautiful.
Kale Williams as always does exceptional at making both characters seperate so you never loose flow of the story!

Sweet

I enjoyed listening to this story. I thought it was really sweet when I read it and I believe that Kale Williams does a fantastic job adding his narration to the story.

The live between the guys is lovely and I'm so glad they got themselves together. I liked the voices used for them and thought they fit the characters well.

Another great job by Kale Williams.

Another great job by Kale Williams. The way he adjusts his voice and accents is great. I did get confused a couple of times on who was who. I wasn’t super crazy about Nix, but I’m glad he came back for forgiveness. And also that everything worked out in the end. I feel like Tate deserved that.

An unusual twist on the second chance romance

Free Me, the third book in Mia Monroe’s excellent Tattoos & Temptation series, presents her most unusual romance yet, remarkably conveyed within the framework of two common M/M tropes: friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance. Never one to rest on her laurels, Ms. Monroe continues to push the envelope, spinning out unexpected yet enlightening content brimming with subtext. Free Me can easily be read, appreciated, and thoroughly enjoyed in all its sexy, spicy goodness without a whole lot of digging for themes and messages. But dig you should because Ms. Monroe’s story is given greater meaning if you “get” what she’s sharing through her carefully crafted prose.

This story focuses on Tate, baker at Dulce Santo, and his long-lost, childhood best friend, Nix. It follows on the heels of three exceptional romances in Date Me, Marry Me and Fix Me, made unforgettable through Kale Williams’ masterful vocal performances in their companion audiobooks (the latter with some seriously hot Scottish brogue). It’s a tough act to follow, but Free Me doesn’t cower in their presence. Nor should it. The book can be listened to as a standalone (although if you skip the prior books, you’re nuts … just sayin’). Plus, it’s a complete departure from what you’d expect or what came before. This isn’t a plot-centric book. Rather, it’s character and emotion-driven, almost to the exclusion of anything else. When you read it, you’ll understand why and you’ll appreciate how well it works.

Free Me explores how two people who have known each other forever, literally from birth, became inseparable, and then unbelievably broke apart. They’ve been physically separated for thirteen years, but never severed their mind and heart connection. Now Nix returns, seeking Tate’s forgiveness and another chance to be in his life.

They fall back on their long history and revive their deep connection as easy as breathing. It seems like it shouldn’t work that way. Surely for a deep rift in a solid, lifelong friendship to form, the cause must have been devastating, the hurt lasting, and trust issues inescapable. But this is Tate and Nix and they are unique.

I expected Free Me to focus on trust. But trust isn’t the issue here. Despite the event that broke up their friendship and kept them apart for over a decade, we quickly learn that Tate and Nix have an underlying level of trust that never broke, despite the strain placed on it by their separation (and the cause of it). Tate says at the beginning of the story that he doesn’t trust Nix. But that’s just lip service catering to Tate’s insecurities concerning Nix’s acceptance of him and his sexuality. We know this because Tate, without hesitation, willingly exposes his vulnerabilities and cedes control to Nix under the Shibari ropes. Tate quickly recognizes he’s always completely trusted Nix and despite everything, that trust remains.

What both Tate and Nix struggle with is acceptance and acquiescence; making peace with themselves and each other. Shibari is used as the perfect vehicle to literally and metaphorically take them on that journey. It ultimately sets each of them free from the internal struggles tying them up and preventing them from being happy.

Free Me contains plenty of scorching interactions between Tate and Nix using Shibari, but Shibari is used more profoundly throughout the book. It can be sexual, and definitely physical, but it’s overarchingly impactful on a soul-deep level. Their romance is executed perfectly with the right balance of steam and emotional complexity.

Kale Williams’ return to voice Free Me is truly a gift. His mellifluent, fulfilling voice is sublime and truly defies complete description, although I valiantly try every time to accurately convey his mastery of the craft. Mr. Williams gets everything right here: pacing, tone, pitch, and most importantly (at least in my opinion), intonation. He breathes life into Tate and Nix and amps up the emotions and chemistry between them. Notably, their voices are not all that different in pitch. Yet they are clearly and consistently distinguishable because of the nuances Mr. Williams provides.

I’ve been caught effusively praising Mr. Williams’ vocal performances many times before (*cough* Fix Me *cough*), but it’s not hyperbole. He’s one of my favorite narrators, and there’s a reason for it. His performances are well-rounded, accurate, engaging, and immersive. They pull you in and make time fly, all while enhancing even the best stories, like Ms. Monroe’s Free Me.

Free Me is a different experience than the previous series books, so it presents a fresh view of characters we’ve seen before. It’s an uncommon gem of a story made into pure escapism by Mr. Williams’ performance. I relished every minute of it and highly recommend that you give it a listen too. One caution: having audiobook credits available may be necessary because once this audio finishes, you’ll be grabbing the entire library of Tattoos & Temptation audios, and will want a few to spare for the upcoming releases of Catch Me, Tempt Me, and Twist Me.