REVIEW: Don’t Shoot Me Santa (To Love a Psycho #4) by C.F. White

This series is going to be the death of me, in the best possible way. Kenny and Aaron are easily one of my favourite couples I have ever read about. I don’t say that lightly. I have read some marvelous books and yet… There is something so nuanced and deep about their relationship that I’m completely obsessed with it.

This book is a continuation of the series “To Love a Psycho.” Book one “Dream a Little Dream” introduced Dr. Kenneth Lyons and his student, Aaron Jones. The sparks flew when they met and they were entrenched in a dark mystery that was unravelling around them.

If you like police procedurals, behavioural science or true crime you’ll love this series. Dr. Lyons is a consultant, brilliant and often loses himself completely in his work. The one thing that seems to drive him to distraction is the man he shouldn’t want: Aaron. 

There are ties that bind these two men far beyond their initial attraction. The author has woven a tale here that you won’t see coming. It’s clever, complex, disturbing and you’ll be drawn in as soon as you’ve read the first few pages.

Don’t Shoot me Santa is set a few years after these two souls found each other for the first time. They have overcome many challenges, faced difficult decisions, loss and yet still managed to get out the other end with each other.

The problem is that death and violence seem to follow Aaron and Kenny wherever they land. Even an island home, shielded by the rugged barrier of nature, and a protective rescue dog named Chaos isn’t enough to protect them from the darkness that is embedded in their lives. Scars remain, permanently etched into their existence even though they are battling to carve out a safe place – somewhere they can exist and flourish.

A new case touches the edges of their lives and Kenny is asked to assist. He won’t do the work without Aaron’s blessing. Aaron won’t take Kenny away from a world that needs his skill. And they are plunged back into the dark waters of crime that they’ve been battling to escape from.

The writing in this series is beautiful. C.F. White is the kind of writer who makes me pause when I’m reading to sit with a stunning thought. Sometimes, I have to read a paragraph again because it pinpointed an emotion that I’ve never seen articulated before. Sometimes, I stop simply to let the weight of a scene sink in.

“Kenny understood that. He had to. Because loving Aaron meant more than patience. It meant precision. A quiet discipline. He had to read beneath the surface, to listen with more than ears. To know when to offer steadiness and when to let Aaron reach. Lead without ever taking. To never blur the lines of consent, even when Aaron trembled with the ache of wanting to be led. So Aaron had to choose this. Freely. Consciously. Not because he needed Kenny to hold him together, but because he trusted him enough to let go.” – Don’t Shoot Me Santa by C.F. White

Kenny and Aaron aren’t just characters in this book. They were more than characters on a page in book one and the attention to detail and clear love that White has for them makes them engaging and authentic. I find myself fully believing that these two men exist somewhere in the world. The author has given each character room to grow, room to make mistakes, room to challenge and room to crumble under the pressures of what they have faced. 

Through it all, they come back to one another – Kenny calm, controlled, precise – Aaron all sharp edges and untamed energy. They smoulder, they love, they set boundaries that they break; they are holding on to each other, so they don’t get snatched away by the darkness around them.

This series will shock you; it will take your breath away. The story of Dr. Kenneth Lyons and Aaron Jones has taken me on a ride from blissful comfort to anger while traversing a mine field of danger, fear, trust, unapologetically hot encounters and willingness to take chances.

“I love you, Aaron. The way you are. Every ragged, difficult, brilliant part of you. And everything in between. I’ve never-never-felt like this about anyone. And it hurts.” 

Aaron’s breath caught.

But Kenny didn’t let him look away.

“It hurts because one day you might not need me. You’ll be strong enough to stand in the world without flinching. You’re young and beautiful. And I’m…older and weathered. And if you do choose to walk on your own, I’ll be proud. But devastated. Because this… right here…. This is the best I’ve ever felt in my life.” – Don’t Shoot Me Santa by C.F. White

To Love a Psycho series purchase link: https://mybook.to/ToLoveaPsychoSeries