A review by shrikebait
How to Flaunt Your Chains and Surrender a Vein by D.N. Bryn

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

How To Flaunt Your Chains follows two single dads who learn there's another chapter in their stories. They both know the comfort of love and the devastation of loss. They understand parts of one another that might be lost on a partner who has never known that kind of trauma. I loved seeing them help each other heal. 

My favorite part of this book is how familial love is as integral to the story as romantic attraction. Kids are too often used as a plot device to throw a wrench into a budding romance. Lydia, Mercer's daughter, is far more than a symbol of her father's past. She's a curious, strong-willed girl growing into her independence and managing traumatic upheavals at every turn. I was equally invested in her as I was in the adults. 

How To Flaunt Your Chains works well as a standalone, but I think it would help to at least read book three first. I think having that context helped me catch on to the dark implications of errant research more quickly. I also just thought it was neat to see where this story intersects with the previous one. I'm excited to see how the others overlap. 

Thanks so much to the author for the chance to check out an advance copy of this book. I'm leaving this review of my own accord. 
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