Review: Against the Tide by Nikki Groom

I was happy until I met him. 
I was content until I met her. 
That's a lie. I was lonely. 
That's a lie. I was incomplete. 
He was nothing but a handsome distraction. 
She was nothing but a pretty pastime. 
That's untrue. He changed my life. 
That's untrue. She altered my world. 
I blame him. 
I blame her. 
I blame myself. He wasn't to know. 
I blame myself. It wasn't her fault. 
I don't want to need him.
I hate that I want her. 
There's no easy solution.
There's no going back. 


4.5 Stars by Jen Skewes

Against the Tide is the first book that I have read by this author and it will not be my last.  I loved this book.  My goodness did Nikki Groom take me on one heck of a ride.  I felt all of the emotions with this book, it was at times so raw and intense and plenty of drama and angst to keep you immersed in this story.  I did not want to put this book down. 

Meg has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for the past five years.  But things have changed and the boy that she fell in love with in high school is not the same man that he is today.  He is possessive and while he loves her and gives her everything she could ever want she is tired of the life that she lives with him.  Her boyfriend is a drug dealer and while she has always known what he does she is at the point where she doesn’t want that life any more but at the same time is afraid of leaving and being alone. 

Finn has never been in a relationship before.  His main concern in life is to take care of his dying mother and protect his little sister.  He loves his family and they mean the world to him.  To blow off some stress Finn frequents a club and one night he sees this woman across the crowded room.  He has no idea who she is but he feels some sort of connection with her.  Like he feels her in the room before even seeing her.  He cannot explain but he knows that she feels it too.  And she does.  When Meg looks him in the eyes she feels that same connection.  And one night she finally decides to follow him and they end up having one very hot moment together.  But when that one moment is over and they go back to their friends at the bar they both find that their life will never be the same again.  The paths that they thought they were on, have just been changed.  And at this moment all the passion that Finn felt for Meg just turned to hate. 

Something happens that cause Finn to blame himself for, but he also blames Meg.  He wants to hate her, but he can't.   He blames her for his pain but at the same time he cannot help the feelings he has for her and hates himself for even wanting her.  This is where Meg and Finn’s love/hate relationship starts.  There are moments between the two of them that is just so raw and so intense that I felt my heart beating out of my chest.  I was not sure what would happen with Meg and Finn or where their story would even go.  But I did know that I wanted them together.   Because beneath the hate there was a man who was lost in a world filled with pain and guilt.  He was a man who was capable of loving Meg, you just had to find him and bring him back to life.    

Finn was such a good guy.  Something happened in his life that caused him to go down this very dark road.  But with the help of his loving friends he was pulled out of the darkness and brought back to the light.  He realized how horrible of a person he had been and swore he was going to make things right with Meg.  He would do everything he could to get her to forgive him and give him a second chance.  And once you see the real Finn you will fall in love with him.  Well to be honest I fell in love with him from the beginning but you will love him even more.   Him and Meg were so good together.  I loved the witty banter back and forth and the chemistry between them was off the charts.  They were connected in so many ways and while they both wanted each other I think they both needed to find themselves.  This was a journey about self discovery for both of these characters an in order to find love they needed to find themselves and accept the path that they now had to face.  

Nikki Groom did such an amazing job with this story.  There is a heck of a lot of drama, suspense, some hot scenes, and a lot of emotion.  I was on the edge of my seat just waiting to find out what happened next.  And the supporting characters were a fantastic addition to this story.  I am hoping they we get to see Torran, Harley and Kyle get their own story’s because I loved all three of them.  And I am wondering if Loretta will be the one woman that can actually tame Kyle.   This was an excellent story and I look forward to reading more from this author!!