Finding Me: Voice Out Book 2, Stella Rainbow

Brady's spark and loyalty was engaging when we first met him in Finding You and here we get to see him get his happily ever after with the person who fits all of him.  Luckily Charlie is just as wonderful and a great match because they have their own journey to travel and it's not always on an upward slope.  Together they navigate change, acceptance, and love in a way that was full of challenge and tenderness.  This was such a wonderfully sweet story with an insightful look into how difficult some personal evolutions can be.

Charlie was shy, vulnerable, and so very curious.  Their openness served them well at the same time as giving the reader a glimpse into the ups and downs of accepting your true self after hiding away for decades.  The body dysmorphia was especially interesting in a way that a cis female like myself wouldn't truly be aware of had I not found a story like this.  Not liking myself or being dissatisfied with my body's appearance has nothing on what Charlie and many other non-binary individuals have to face and I absolutely appreciated how this topic was described and handled.  Following that up with Brady's fierceness in the face of hurtful family members showed a lighter and positive outcome for bringing family together despite all the hurt.

Brady's constant encouragement and support was invaluable to Charlie and their dynamic really worked for me.  This was a much lighter story in comparison to Finding You, but its subject matter was completely different and held a different intensity.  The Voice Out community is full of love and brightness in a world that doesn't accept all humans in their variety of flavors.  I'm a fan of this series and am eager for more.

*$3.99 on Amazon

Brady:
I thought I was happy with my life. I have a successful business, an awesome found family, a dog who is a bigger princess than me and volunteer work that keeps me busy and satisfied when nothing else does.

I was content—and I'd thought I was happy, too—to live my life just like that. No mess. No one to demand things of me I wasn't willing to give. No complications.

But then I met Charlie.

Charlie:
For my whole life, I'd been sure I was destined to live a half-life, to hide a part of myself so I wouldn't lose the only two people I cared about. And I was resigned to my fate.

But when my dad died of a sudden heart attack, I realized life was too short to keep hiding. I moved to a new city, but I had no clue how to go about finding a part of myself that I'd buried so long ago.

And then I met Brady.

A man who is out and proud of who he is and a person who has spent their life hiding a part of themselves. Will they be able to forge a path together or would their differences end up pushing them away?