No Apologies

by Sybil Bartel

[Cocktails and Books]

3.5 Cocktails

This was an interested story with a male character that made it really, really hard to like him.

Graham Allen was somewhat of a loner, who used sex as a way to deal with his anger and other emotional issues. He could be a mean ass SOB when he wanted to be (which was most of the time) but only had a bond with one person, his best friend Myles. Even that relationship was somewhat strained at times because Graham's assholery was an equal opportunity offender. But when Graham meets bartender Carly, we starts to see cracks in his defensive walls. He breaks his somewhat golden rule about women when it comes to Carly, because he doesn't use her for sex. Instead, they form a weird friendship (even though Graham claims they don't have one) where we start to see that beyond the rough exterior and attitude is a boy who wants to believe someone he loves will be loyal to him and protect him when needed. Graham doesn't make it easy on anyone, but when you start to see what's beneath and his struggles, you start to warm up to Graham.

Carly was a special girl. She had her own trauma and was dealing with it the best way she could, but she was the polar opposite of Graham. She embraced people. Made friends. Smiled. She felt broken, but didn't let those feelings drag her down or those that were around her. And even when Graham continued to hurt her, she was always quick to forgive him and give him that smile again. It was remarkable and I felt myself a little bit in awe of her, because there were times when I was ready to kick Graham to the curb, but she kept going back for more. She saw in him what everyone else missed and was determined to help him get passed his fears.

There was a bit of a twist towards the end of the story. One I didn't see coming, but a twist that helped Graham get past everything. It proved just what kind of man Graham was and why Carly fought so hard for him. And really, it's at that point where I was willing to forgive Graham for everything else he'd done, because you saw what he was made of.

This is an angsty story, because neither Graham or Carly's history is pretty. But it's a story of overcoming the horrible and living again. It was well done and had me stuck to my sofa from start to finish.