Book Reviews

Book Blurb

I don’t like labels and I’m happy that way, but it’s taken a long time to get here. A jerk of a father, too many bullies to name, and a string of dipshit boyfriends whose interest in me rarely made it past the skirts I sometimes wear. Suffice to say, my faith in men runs a little thin.

 

The last thing I need is a gruff, opinionated, fiery, closeted, Paralympian jock messing with my hard-won peace. Miller Harrison is a wrinkle in my life I could definitely do without. I have a job that I love at Auckland Med., a boss who understands me, and a group of friends who accept me as I am.

 

I should walk away.

 

But Miller knows a thing or two about living life against the grain, and that hope I thought I’d buried a long time ago, is threatening to surface.

 

Book Review

“But Miller knows a thing or two about living life against the grain, and that hope I thought I’d buried a long time ago, is threatening to surface.” – Sandy Williams

 

A lot of people have to live with labels that have been imposed on them by others, be it due to their gender identity, physical ability, the color of their skin, or their sexual identity. ‘Against the Grain’ is the story of two men who are fighting labels imposed by others and is a clear but sensitive look into what their lives are like.

 

Sandy Williams is a pathology assistant at Auckland Med and I was curious to find out more about him ever since he briefly appeared in earlier volumes of the series. He is not gender conforming but does not label himself beyond that. Sandy is a self-confident man (now) and “nonbinary” or “genderfluid” might best begin to describe him, but that is not all he is. He has struggled with his identity ever since he came out as gay and his dipsh*t father promptly left the family, not to be heard from again for twenty years. The pain from that betrayal of parental love added to years of people judging him have left scars on Sandy’s soul that mean he does not trust easily and intimate relationships tend not to happen.

 

Miller Harrison is a passionate rugby player, a friend of All Black star Reuben and his fiancé Cam (from book two). Ten years ago, he had a serious car accident and now plays wheelchair rugby which, interestingly, has mixed gender teams. He has never “officially” come out as gay, but his family and close friends know. When he meets Sandy and coming out becomes something to consider, the double label of “gay” and “disabled” is far less easy to deal with than he expected.

 

Both men have put parts of their lives on hold and putting parts of themselves in neat little compartments is a coping mechanism. When their relationship deepens, they both realize that the other person does not “fit in any of my nice little life compartments” and they are somewhat surprised by how difficult it is to let go of that compartmentalization.

 

If you like complicated, multi-layered characters, if you want to find out more about wheelchair rugby, and if you are looking for a deeply emotional story about two amazing men who have to fight their way through their own as well as other’s preconceptions and prejudice, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I can definitely recommend it!

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 406 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	08-December-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Against-Grain-Auckland-Med-4-ebook/dp/B08P2JG8YS