'Against the Wall' by Jill Sorenson

From the BLURB:

The RITA-nominated author of The Edge of Night returns with another seductive novel, hailed by M. O’Keefe as “a dirty, gritty gem of a book.” As teens, Eric and Meghan fell for each other despite the odds—but now that they’re all grown up, they’re reunited by dangerous secrets.

Eric Hernandez is the bad boy of every schoolgirl’s fantasies—and every mother’s nightmares. But after serving time for manslaughter, he’s ready to turn his life around. He just needs a chance to prove himself as a professional tattoo artist. The one thing that keeps him going is the memory of the innocent beauty he loved and left behind.

Meghan Young’s world isn’t as perfect as it looks. The preacher’s daughter is living a lie, especially now that Eric is back. Tougher, harder, and sexier than ever, he might be the only person she can trust. But there’s no telling what he’ll do to protect her if he learns the truth, and that’s a risk Meghan won’t let him take. And yet, back in the arms of the troubled boy with the artist’s soul, Meghan can’t help surrendering to the man he’s become.

‘Against the Wall’ is the long-awaited sequel to Jill Sorenson’s 2011 romance book, ‘The Edge of Night’.

Okay. I hate that I didn’t love this book. Because I really liked ‘Edge of Night’ when I read it waaaaaay back in 2011, and in my review of that book I plucked out my enthusiasm for the secondary romance of Meghan and Eric, as much of that book’s saving grace. So much so that I actually reached out to Sorenson to see when their book would be coming … at the time I think she alluded to a possible next-year release – but for various reasons that kept getting pushed back and back, and it’s by the grace of the reading gods that I kept checking in every couple of years to see if that sequel status had changed (seriously – the waiting was getting up there with Lisa Valdez’s ‘Passion Quartet’ third book…) So imagine my happy surprise when I did my annual end-of-year check-in and saw that the sequel dropped in February of this year!

I delved into the novel full of expectations and enthusiasm, and things started out okay? … but then it got wonky.

When we met Meghan and Eric in 2011 as a secondary teen romance in ‘Edge of Night’, their story was reminiscent of ‘Perfect Chemistry’ by Simone Elkeles … if Brittany and Alex’s happy ending had been totally flipped on its head, and Alex had ended up in jail for manslaughter (because witnesses to the crime mislead investigators). So when ‘Against the Wall’ begins, its been three years and Eric is getting out of prison to discover Meghan has moved on with an abusive college beau. Thus begins the book’s many false-starts and dead-ends … because ‘Against the Wall’ almost reads like a “Choose Your Own Adventure Novel” for how many different pathways Sorenson sets up for the plot, but lets fall away one-by-one.

For one thing – I don’t know why it’s only been three years since Eric’s imprisonment? Why not build on the momentum of the anticipation for this novel and make it five?! This would have also seriously raised the stakes – if Meghan hadn’t just been in her first serious relationship with a college dude-bro, and instead was maybe engaged to someone and in the middle of building her career when a convicted felon jeopardizes her “good standing” in work or something? I don’t know. I felt Sorenson’s insistence to keep this kinda college-based and New Adult was for the sake of it, and it’s where opportunities were missed early on.

As to that “Choose Your Own Adventure” vibe. Phew. Okay. First there’s the fact that Meghan has an abusive boyfriend … but it seems that Eric’s reappearance in her life is what really pushes him over the edge, and everything prior was heavy emotional abuse and isolation – but clearly leading into something dire. Again though, the stakes weren’t’ quite there – because Meghan repeatedly admits to not being in love with him, and between her Psychology major and having a brother who is a police officer, we get Meghan’s inner-thoughts which reveal an acute understanding of what Chip is doing, and her recognition that it is indeed abusive and she needs to leave him eventually. Also: this storyline ends up going absolutely nowhere.

Then there’s the fact that Meghan and her best friend Kelsea work at a college campus women’s centre, where they do things like organize a SlutWalk and field vile online abuse that comes via their website and call-centre. In the lead-up and following the successful SlutWalk, the centre receives even more abuse that seems targeted at Kelsea directly and becomes increasingly scary … again, the storyline goes nowhere in this book, as it’s really more about setting up a future story for Kelsea and a tattoo artist called Tank.

Then there’s everything that Eric is dealing with – among them, sleeping with the girlfriend and baby-mama of the man he killed and was sent to jail for manslaughter over. This was an interesting turn early on, and I was intrigued to see it explored, weirdly. For one thing, we got to see but a glimpse of what it’s like for women within California gangs and there was serious emotional high-stakes … but again, it peters out.

There’s also stuff with Eric feeling sucked back into his old gang life because of his best friend, Junior – but this was also lacking emotional punch because Eric is so determined not to get drawn back into that life, and his interior thoughts tell readers that’s never at risk of happening anyway. This also feels oddly unresolved and half-assed.

What I really found interesting and wish Sorenson had focused on, was how freakin’ hard it is for Eric to get back to life after prison – because if you don’t already know, the American prison system is fucked (seriously, watch the documentary ‘13^th’) and Eric alludes to this quite a few times;

I didn’t have any trouble getting my GED in Chino, though. I’m not a dumbass like some criminals. I was born here and I learned English right off the bat. I can read and write better than most inmates. As a convicted felon, I’m not eligible for government programs like housing assistance or financial aid, but I could save money to pay my own way. I could continue my education. Get an art degree. 

I glance around the library guiltily, as if someone might guess my thoughts and rat me out for overstepping my place. Guys like me don’t become college students. We beat up college students.
 

But he falls on his feet kinda quickly. Between having a place to crash at with family who love and support him, and nabbing a pretty sweet job working at a tattoo parlor, plus finding outlets for his artwork … there were never any stakes here either.

And as for Meghan and Eric – the romance that made me check back in for FIVE FREAKIN’ YEARS to see if it was written yet … meh. The sex scenes were great, but I feel like because the plot was all over the place, they were too. I never really knew how they felt about each other; also because their thoughts belied their actions and whatever hurdles Sorenson was trying to construct for them, they just seemed to jump over easily because they had great sexual attraction and that cured all manner of doubts? I mean … even Eric stupidly sleeping with the baby-mama of the man he killed who’s also affiliated with a rival gang when he says he doesn’t want anything to do with that violence anymore – Meghan is momentarily horrified at his stupidity, but because that storyline for Eric didn’t go anywhere, it likewise didn’t carry much weight when Meghan found out.

I just … I feel like ‘Against the Wall’ didn’t actually have an editor? Because I think any beta readers would have come in and said “You’ve already set up emotional high-stakes in ‘Edge of Night’ for these two, they already have a story – you just need to pick a lane for the plot to be in, and stick with it!”

Yeah, this was disappointing. It just had so much potential, and as a reader I was totally there for Sorenson, Meghan and Eric – I was rooting for them and this book for so, so long. But this was a mess … a hot mess, to be sure for those sex scenes (which is the only reason this isn’t get a 1-star) … but a hot mess nonetheless. Sorry.

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2/5

'The Edge of Night' by Jill Sorenson

From the BLURB:

To support her small daughter, April Ortiz does what she has to do—which means waiting tables in a skimpy outfit at a popular nightclub in the gang-infested area of Chula Vista. When one of her co-workers is found raped and murdered, April does what she knows she shouldn’t—she defies the neighborhood code by giving the police a hardcore gang member’s name.

Clean-cut cop Noah Young wants a shot at breaking this case more than anything in the world—that is, until he meets the unforgettable April Ortiz. When April gives Noah the tip, a spark ignites. As the fire between them threatens to blaze out of control, the two are dragged down further into the dark mysteries of the graffiti-lined streets, taunted by a crazed killer who could strike again at any time.

Noah Young is a green cop working on the Chula Vista anti-gang unit. He loves his job, and is still optimistic that he can make a difference to the turf warfare that runs rampant between the various Mexican/Hispanic gangs. But one day Noah stumbles across a make-or-break case – he finds the dead body of a young Hispanic woman; she has been brutally raped and strangled - and all signs point to her death being a gang-related warning.

Noah’s investigation leads him to a popular nightclub where the girl worked. It is here that he meets April Ortiz, a beautiful young mother who is slinging drinks to keep her head above water. Her co-workers death has April scared, enough to incur the wrath of local gangs and give Noah a name, and a lead … but April is playing a risky game. Her daughter’s father is an infamous gang member, Raul, who is behind bars now, but could still make trouble for April and her daughter Jenny.

Meanwhile, Noah’s young sister Meghan has fled her strict catholic college and is desperate to get some life experience – begging Noah to let her stay with him for a little while. She gets a job at a local minimart, where she meets and befriends a clean-cut gang member called Eric Hernandez. Eric sells drugs on the side of his minimum wage job; partly to help his ailing grandmother, but also to assist his brother’s ex girlfriend and daughter – April and Jenny.

As the Chula Vista killer gets more and more brazen, the four lives of Noah, April, Eric and Meghan intersect and become tangled in webs of deceit, love and chaos.

‘The Edge of Night’ is the new romantic suspense novel from Jill Sorenson.

I read this one upon recommendation of the brilliant book blogger, Mandi from Smexy. And, I have to admit; if it hadn’t been for Mandi’s golden recommendation I probably would have passed this one by. The cover doesn’t do a whole lot for me; it’s a little bit 80’s romantic trash, and there’s nothing on the cover to hint at the sex-appeal within (unless you’re into the Blue Man Group?). But I am really glad that I listened to a fellow blogger’s recommendation and gave this one a chance – because it was brilliant.

Sorenson’s blue-man cover doesn’t hint at the heavy-hitting violence and gang explorations within. Yes, ‘Edge’ is primarily a romance – but Sorenson’s violent undertones and gang-focus makes for an intense storyline that really packs a punch.

The book is told from the four perspectives of Noah, April, Eric and Meghan. From Noah we get the lawman’s eyes – how he sees the tagging and gangbanging prevalent in the Vista. Noah is still a green cop, and eager to make a difference. He’s actually taking the time to learn Spanish and wants to see these people as individuals, rather than a collective of thieves. But from Noah we read the weariness of his fellow cops – those who have been on the force for a long time and believe that the gangs will never be wiped out, and anyone associated with them is scum.

From Eric, we get first-hand accounts of a local gang – the Chula Vista Locos (CVL). Eric is a quiet and intense young man – his father was violent, as was his brother – and as an antithesis to them, he respects women and is disgusted by violence against them. Eric is the breadwinner and carer for his grandmother, and eager to make life easier for his niece and her mother. Eric is in the CVL more out of familial loyalty than a genuine love of mayhem. Eric’s perspective is chillingly honest – like when he recounts witnessing his first gang-bang (when a young woman is, literally, jumped into the group by offering herself up to all gang members).

April was a gangbanger’s girlfriend for years. Raul hit her and raped her but she loved him – so much that she took drugs with him and stayed with him, even after he abused her. It wasn’t until she fell pregnant with Jenny that she left that lifestyle behind – adamant that she would give her daughter a better life than she had. From April, we get the viewpoint of someone who was once ingrained in the CVL – but is now on the outskirts, walking on eggshells and wanting to avoid detection.

Meghan is new to the Chula Vista area – so she is looking at this world with naked eyes. She knows that Eric is a gang member, but she has no concept of what that means as she finds herself falling in love with him.

When these four lives interact and criss-cross, it makes for explosive couplings and mismatched love pairs. April and Noah have the most to lose from their courtship – but April can’t resist Noah’s steadfast kindness, and Noah is blinded by April’s strength and determination. Though it could endanger April’s life and end Noah’s career, they embark on a relationship.

Patrick gave him a weighted stare. His gray-blue eyes looked like dirty ice, and sweat dotted his ruddy forehead. “How was your date?”
The question was so accusatory, Noah flinched. “None of your business.”
Patrick snorted his derision. “That’s what I thought,” he said, unlocking his truck. “You’re fucking some crew member’s baby mama, but I’m the one who gets sent home for inappropriate conduct.”

Likewise, Eric and Meghan’s unlikely love intensifies after he plays white knight to her at a bonfire. Eric doesn’t think he’s good enough for Meghan; while she is adamant that he’s not like his fellow CVL members, and should get out of the gang before it’s too late.

Both relationships in ‘Edge’ are intense and erotic. Jill Sorenson writes some sizzling scenes that are especially heated for the high-risks each character is taking with their heart.

My only complaint about ‘Edge’ was the ending for one character, which left the book off on a somewhat sombre note that didn't entirely sit well with me... but I have since contacted Sorenson and confirmed that Eric and Meghan's book will be written next year (YAY!!!), but the actual release date is TBD.

‘The Edge of Night’ was a powerful and tellingly violent romantic suspense. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book; heart-racing and blood burning for the murder mystery whodunit, as well as the high-stakes romances throughout. This may have been my first Sorenson read, but it won’t be my last!

4.5/5