Fighting Solitude by Aly Martinez

I started this book with my heart in my mouth because I just knew it was going to shred my soul and I was right, this is Aly Martinez at her very best, although saying that she is never anything else, but this is without a shadow of a doubt some of the finest work I have read.

I was conflicted in how to approach this book and that is because I knew I was setting myself up for a fall, I had no doubt that my heart was going to take a pounding yet I couldn’t deny the fact that I simply had to read Quarry’s story.

Quarry’s heart was broken when the love of his life Mia died and I wrung my hands with sadness as I contemplated just how far the author was going to allow him to sink, because I couldn’t stomach him hitting rock bottom, he had fought so hard all his life I need him to be happy. I just wanted to wash his pain away but understood that the magnitude of the pain he experienced was only tempered by the force with which he loved Mia in the first place.

She had been his reason to breath but would he be able to exist without her?

Ms Martinez handled his pain with the sort of kindness and empathy that gave me a peak into who she is, she didn’t dwell on it, so to speak and she didn’t allow it to either define or drown him, she gave him both honour in his solitude but grace in his grief.

But how do you follow the sort of relationship that Quarry had with Mia?

How do you even begin to contemplate loving again, when you have lost so completely in the past?

And when you are willing to open your heart to someone who has suffered unimaginable pain but who has meant so much to you for so long, can you ever believe that what you have to offer ever going to be enough?

Well, Liv was about to find out.

A hell raiser from an early age, Liv had been Quarry’s friend for years and as his friend she stood by him no matter the situation, she was his shoulder to not only lean on but to suffer on too when he needed her the most, but when he kept her at arm’s length it was too hard for her to take.

It was through her Mia that she became reacquainted with Quarry but can they find their common ground again, can he be her friend, like they were before?

Well it was worth a try wasn’t it?

Life isn’t always what you want or need it to be and they quickly discover that they are not infallible.

Liv’s connection to Mia was one that meant when the worst happened she had a personal insight to the magnitude of the pain that Quarry was feeling, because she too had lost her friend. Mia was a kind soul, one that everyone loved and that they were all touched by but they had to find their feet so to speak and take the painful steps to move on.

The fact that they had history meant that I got it when they eventually migrated towards each other in a more physical sense. I understood it when Quarry finally accepted that his relationship with Liv was far more than just friendship.

That she had been and continued to be the constant in his life, the rock that harboured him to his sanity and the arms that held him tight even when he didn’t know he needed it the most.

I think Liv fought the realisation that there was more to the two of them, probably more than most would consider normal but I understood her, I got that she was wary, mindful of the fact that she knew she had more to lose, she had lost him once before and was hesitant taking a risk that might result in her losing him again, knowing full well that if that happened, this time it would be for good.

And I think that was something her conscience really struggled with but I could have shaken her on more than one occasion in an attempt to get her to understand that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Quarry on the other hand, well I words fail me, the man had the patience of a saint and was willing to wait for her, he give her time and space to work out what was going on in her head but he never allowed her to be further than he could either physically or emotionally reach so to speak, he knew that she belonged with him and he was never going to let it be anything else but he had to fight Liv for the opportunity they both needed.

The guys in this series are some of the more admirable men you will ever read about.

Yes, they are not perfect.

Yes, they have had to fight for everything they have.

Yes, they have seen things in life that make you realise that your own lot might not be as awful as it feels at times.

These men are genuine, they are hardened and they are sincere.

They love without question and with their whole hearts because that is the only way they know, they fight for what they believe in and what they cherish the most and if you are lucky enough to be the woman that soothes their souls then you are in a very privileged position.

I have loved every moment that I have spent in the company of these guys and their loved ones. I have laughed and cried both with and for each of them but most of all I leave them through a mist of happy tears.