SYNOPSIS:
Ethan Richards has fought depression and a host of other demons all his adult life, and it’s caused him to lose everything—his wife, his son, his friends, and he almost loses the one thing that means the most to him—his band. He hits rock bottom and believes there is no way out.
Enter Jenna McCormick, a feisty drug and alcohol counselor, a woman with her own share of troubles. She finds Ethan intriguing but keeps him at a distance while trying to help him face life without crutches. She feels a spark but denies it, knowing that a relationship with unstable Ethan could be dangerous for both of them.
Ethan knows what he wants, though, and isn’t used to being told no. Jenna isn’t willing to risk Ethan losing his tenuous grip on sobriety, however, and is prepared to deny her deeper feelings to help Ethan climb out of his hole, but he learns how to let go of his pain when he finds that someone is prepared to walk with him through the shadows. Can he convince Jenna that they should take a chance on love or will they forever deny their feelings in an effort to keep Ethan on the straight and narrow?
Review - ARC received from author for honest review
Rock Bottom follows on from Bullet.
Firstly, let me say that Ethan was on my sh!t list after Bullet. Yes, he was confused and drug addled, but what a horrible human being! Made Bullet a very hard book to read as he was so horrible to those he loved and who loved him. He had the love of a great woman, a beautiful son, his friends and his music, but threw it all away for drugs and cheap women.
Forward to Rock Bottom. Ethan is out of rehab and has finally made the decision that he needs to live for himself and for his son. His doctor sends him in the direction of Drug and Alcohol counsellor Jenna.
I loved the instant spark between Ethan and Jenna from their first meeting. Both troubled souls but both deserving of love. He is setting himself on the right track for the first time since a child, and she has troubles of her own she is struggling to come to terms with.
Ethan has a lot of light bulb moments in Rock Bottom. How he has loved Val from the first moment he saw her, but how they were no good for each other. How he always knew that there was something between Val and Brad (who are now living together) and that he is angry with both of them.
I never thought I would say this after reading Bullet, but I felt for Ethan. Hell I even ugly cried there for a bit. The chapters describing Ethan's descent into the darkness really resonated with me. I have suffered chronic depression, and the way he felt - the wanting to die, feeling useless, feeling worthless, the anger when family and friends won't just leave you alone - I have been there and felt that. Bravo Jade C Jamison for catching that perfectly.
I loved Ethan's road to redemption, and was glad that all the bad stuff was not glossed over to make Ethan become the 'good guy'. He was paying the price for his past deeds and was not getting away scott free, was not instantly forgiven and forgotten the minute he apologised.
Jenna is such a strong character. Fighting her own demons while fighting Ethan's and getting him through them. Just goes to show that even though he loves Val, she was never the right woman for him, could not be what he needed her to be.
I am happy that Ethan came through and got his happy ever after. Yes, he was a dick for so long, but every one deserves a chance at redemption.
And redeem himself he did. He is no longer on my sh!t list!!!
Jade C. Jamison was born and raised in Colorado and has decided she likes it enough to stay forever. Jade's day job is teaching Creative Writing, but teaching doesn't stop her from doing a little writing herself.
Unfortunately, there's no one genre that quite fits her writing. Her work has been labeled romance, erotica, suspense, and women's fiction, and the latter is probably the safest and closest description. But you'll see that her writing doesn't quite fit any of those genres.
You'll have to discover Jade's writing for yourself to decide if you like it.
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