Grant Eastbrook hit the ground crawling after his wife kicked him out. Six months later, in Seattle without a job or a place to live, he escapes to the woods of nearby Vashon Island to consider his options. When he’s found sleeping outdoors by a cheerful man who seems bent on irritating him to death, Grant’s plans to resuscitate his life take a peculiar turn.
Oliver Rossi knows how to keep his fears at bay. He’s had years of practice. As a local eccentric and artist, he works from his funky home in the deep woods, where he thinks he has everything he needs. Then he rescues an angry man from a rainy ditch and discovers a present worth fighting the past for.
Amid the buzz of high summer, unwelcome attraction blooms on a playing field of barbs, defenses, and secrets.
Having been profoundly moved by Everyday History with its unique concepts, I obviously wanted a repeat performance. This was another book about self discovery but sadly, it was more an exercise in frustration for me.
Grant finds himself in dire consequence of his own making. Definitely down on his luck, definitely at the end of his rope, he’s bitter and resigned with very little hope to make his desperate situation better. When he retreats to his ex brother in law’s vacation property to squat in their shed, survivor’s instinct makes Grant ask for bare basics help from an eccentric stranger so that he can regroup and formulate a plan.
Oliver sorta kinda loves a challenge. An artist and an unqualified quasi therapist, his free spirit and need to help others allows him to offer aid. With conditions. The surly dirty man needs a shift in his axis to discover why he’s the way he is, and Oliver knows he can help Grant, if only Grant would just let go and try his 5 week no fail plan.
It’s no surprise that Grant and Oliver’s personalities clash, each aggravated and fascinated, each pushing the other’s buttons to the max. Neither will back down, and as Grant gradually “grows”, he realizes he’s not the only one with issues. It’s soon apparent that Oliver has buried something deep inside, causing his own personal stasis in life, all of which has been holding him back for many many years.
I get it. This was almost like a self help book featuring an enemies to lovers theme and both these men had some major baggage (duh) and both these men had to confront some very harsh truths. Credit for a slow burn. Grant and Oliver get under each other’s skin like an awful annoying rash, bringing out their worst, making their painful soul dissection just not all that much fun.
So as a warning, these characters many times throughout, weren’t very likeable. There’s also an open relationship involving Oliver, and though not much sexual goes on, the 3rd wheel hangs around almost to the very end. However, Archer succeeds at the vivid imagery mostly in the setting of Washington's Vashon Island, making me want to visit its picturesque natural beauty. The descriptiveness of Oliver’s daydreams were interesting additions showcasing his artistic mind, and how the author put Grant's own revelatory creations to page, came to insightful life. Despite all that, the few times this story truly moved me weren’t due to the romance, but Grant’s interactions with his tween nephew and his gaggle of friends he takes on as his own.
Overall, this was too difficult of a win for me but again, if you like that sort of conflicted realism and if you like Archer, then this should be fulfilling as evidenced by the many other readers who’ve rated this book already. The hard fought happy ending was just not enough, though I appreciated the reveal as to why these men were who they were. Unfortunately, it’s just difficult for me to not compare an author’s works amongst themselves, because how can I not? While one evoked so many swoony feels, the other calls for my own 5 week recovery program to be able to move on and let go.
Thank you to the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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