Never Without You

A World of Darkness and Light

Abuse in relationships—both physical and emotional—has long been visibly invisible. Often the abused individual was called a liar or thought to be deserving of the abuse or was too ashamed to seek help. Brenda Ford’s new romance evolves out of the darkness of abuse and bravely shines a light into that darkness. And, she uniquely exposes an even less addressed concept—that men can also be the recipient of abuse.

In Not Without You, Ford allows the reader into the world of a woman, Kelly Ford, and her young daughter Bronwyn, as they try to escape the control of an abuser to build a new safe life. Starting over means a new location and a new job and a new residence and new friends and always expecting to be discovered—this is what Kelly accepts if she and her child are to live in peace and safety. Kelly has relocated from Colorado where she had moved, lured by her ex with false words of love and separating from her family and friends back in Nevada. When her young daughter became the target of the physical and emotional abuse with which Kelly had lived, she found the courage to leave. Now, with a new job at Stansford University she starts over, trying to balance her wariness and fear with the need to be open and trusting of her new associates.

Noah Holden does not want a relationship ever again, He has been there and still suffers from the emotional scars of being dumped. But, he is not a player. He is honest with any hook up—the encounter is just this moment in time; it is going nowhere; it is over when the sun comes up. Now, Noah has hooked up and can’t unhook from a crazy one-night stand named Liv. She stalks him—phoning and texting him from new numbers, circumventing his attempt to block the contacts. She shows up when he is on a date, or at work, or anywhere demanding his attention and threatening to expose his abuse of her affections—to ruin his personal and professional reputation if he does not acknowledge his love and need of her in his life.

And, Noah is beginning to be afraid of her crazy and her threats. He stumbles on a solution—if Liv thought that there was no chance of their reunion because he was in a happy relationship, perhaps she would give up and back off. When he has an encounter with a new staff member—Kelly Ford—whom he has discovered to have a fiery, strong nature—strong enough to believably push back at Live—he seeks her help to play the role of his “girlfriend.” Actually, he offers to pay her $500 per date. And the single parent, Kelly, who always needs money, agrees to the charade. What neither Noah nor Kelly expects is for the charade to morph into a real and caring relationship.

Ford weaves an impactful and authentic contemporary topic within the safe world of a fictional romance. But, she approaches topic with honesty and does not hide the reality of the fear and the danger of both women and men caught in this web of torment. The suspense that enhances the plot for the reader is the real fear that individuals facing abuse live with on a daily basis. And, she offers suggestions though the actions of the characters—seek help—go public—tell friends and enlist the help of law enforcement. This romance offers a happily-ever-after ending, but it does not deny the potential danger that the principal characters faced.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review ARCS, but I enjoyed the reading experience so much that I bought a copy for my “read-again” titles.