Against All Odds - Angie Mckeon

“We share a reckless, toxic love that feeds the brokenness in me, in us. Our love is an addiction. A love that I won’t ever consider living without.”

Well, the story is really quite heavy. It’s filled with angst, heartbreak, regret and disappointments. I was particularly hooked to read this because I was feeling quite down when I started the book and I wanted something to escape and release the heaviness in my heart. Well, angst wise this book did not disappoint. For the entirety of the book I was feeling the heaviness and the drama.

However, while the book is very interesting and appealing and it was a good start for a debut novel, there were still minor improvements needed on my viewpoint. For me as a reader, I don’t have problems with drama but I felt that it was too much when  I  was  reading  Cooper’s  view. I am unable to fully grasp the source of his issues; I didn't understand their need for torture. I also felt that the intensity and the intimacy of the conversations between Cooper and Grayson don’t quite fit the male characters. It was too deep and profound for men, I’m not saying that men should be incapable of emotions; it’s just that I preferred an alpha male type for these two hot characters.

I'm not a big fan of Kylie. I didn't like how she handled her marriage issues. I get her pain but I really can't fathom how immature she reacted. She already knew how her actions affected cooper but she still continued with her selfish ways. She keeps too many but at the same time so full of platitudes. I didn't understand her self-destructive ways.

I'm also having mixed emotions about Grayson. I was thinking he was more of the alpha male type as a best fit for his character, however I couldn't understand how obsessive he became, it just doesn't add up. But still I'm drawn to him and I want to read his story.

While I'm not particularly fond of story lines and issues focused on miscommunications, I liked how Cooper and Kylie evolved from that state into something beautiful. I liked how things picked up after all the destruction. 

This book is recommended to those who enjoyed Arsen and to those who love highly emotional stories and marriage issues. Despite having minor issues, this debut novel is worth reading. If you want something to make you feel, if you want to cry and breakdown but couldn't, give this book a try and you will instantly feel that pinch in the heart.