Ponder Post: No One But You

No One But You is the second book I’ve read by Brenda Novak and the second in her Silver Springs series. The first book I read by her, which is actually the third in the Silver Spring series, was Until You Loved Me which I reviewed in my 11/2/17 post. No One But You was not quite as appealing as Until You Loved Me but still quite enjoyable. Although I read these two books in reverse order, I did not miss out on any running backstory; they were pretty independent of each other. It was mentioned that the hero in each had spent a stint at New Horizons Boys Ranch, a school for troubled boys with behavioral issues due to a history of abuse, neglect, or abject poverty. The location of each novel was the same, Silver Springs, California, a small fictional town not far from Los Angeles. Other than those two aspects, there was no more overlapping information that was needed to enjoy each book on its own.

Sadie, the heroine in No One But You is in the process of divorcing her domineering and controlling ex-husband, Sly, and is in desperate need of a job so she can support herself and her five year old son Jayden. In the small community, where her ex is on the police force, her efforts to acquire work are thwarted by his influence on and manipulation of potential employers. Sly is convinced that keeping Sadie penniless and with no hope for employment will force her back into his arms and under his control. Out of earning options and determined to wriggled free from under the thumb of her ex, Sadie warily accepts a job from Dawson, a man who was accused and acquitted of hatchet murdering his adoptive parents in their bed. The adage “innocent until proven guilty” does not hold true in a small opinionated community and even an acquittal does not preclude perceived guilt and associated harassment and shunning. Despite the heat and threats he may feel from her cop ex-husband and his buddies on the force, Dawson hires her to be his housekeeper and help him recover his home from a year of neglect and vandalism while he was being held in prison. Once she has an income, Sadie feels she will be in a position to thumb her nose at Sly’s nasty actions and violent tendencies when angered. In this book I was really rooting for the underdog – both of them.

Even though Dawson was acquitted of the murders, he still is trying to gather the evidence to find how who really did kill the adoptive parents he loved so much. Since No One But You is a romance novel, of course there is a love interest and love-making scenes and, although they play a strong role in the storyline, they do not dominate it. No One But You has a lot of tension throughout which makes it a real page turner. One is always wondering when the simmering cauldron of Sly will explode and what nasty move he will make next to harm Sadie or Dawson, strategically or physically, when they outwit him or refuse to capitulate to his ploys. I give No One But You a 7 out of 10 on the tongue-in-cheek but highly descriptive Grabill Scale of Literary Tension.

As she did in Until You Loved Me with the main characters of a chemist and a football player, Brenda Novak reveals the difficulties inherent in someone’s situation to which the reader may not be sensitive having not “walked a mile in their moccasins”. In No One But You the reader is confronted with a two people’s situations and can’t help but ponder how they can learn to survive, or hopefully eventually thrive, within those constraints. How does a woman deal with a man more powerful than herself who presents himself as a pillar of the community but, in reality, is a bastard within the walls of his own home? Barely subsiding on a minimal income, being robbed of any employment prospects, living daily with the fear of losing custody of her young son to a man definitely not at all paternally inclined, walking on eggs constantly in her ex’s presence so as not to evoke his anger and retaliation – however can a woman like that break free? For someone like Dawson, acquitted of a crime yet still having to live with the associated feelings of isolation and loneliness that accompany a stigma of guilt within a community –  how does he cope and move on? How can he take the time to grieve the only parents who ever showed him any kindness and love when forced to keep from drowning in the disdain of those around him? The author claims herself to be an eclectic reader and writer and I feel she portrays these “eclectic situations” in a very thought-provoking and enlightening manner. Because of these character insights and the suspense involved, I give No One But You 4 stars, despite the stigma of being a fluffy "chick lit" romance novel. Remember – innocent until proven guilty, folks.