Series: Men of the White Sandy #3
on 06-01-2014
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 312
Format: eBook
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Nobody Bodine came from a nobody and will always be a nobody. He can disappear into the shadows—no one can see him if he doesn’t want them to. He exists on the edge, in neither the white man’s world nor the tribe’s, dispensing vigilante justice when he sees fit. There’s no other place for a man like him in this world.
Until Melinda Mitchell shows up on the rez. From the first moment he lays eyes on her, he can tell there’s something different about her. For starters, she’s not afraid of him. She asks where his scars came from, and why he has so many. But more than that, she sees him. For the first time in his life, Nobody feels like a somebody in her eyes.
Melinda has come west to run the new day care on the White Sandy Reservation. She’s intrigued by this strange man and his tattered skin, and when she discovers that he’s a self-appointed guardian angel for the boy in her care, she realizes that there’s more to Nobody than meets the eyes. But how far will he go to keep the boy safe? And will she be able to draw him into the light?
FTC : I bought this book because I love the series.
I’ve been waiting for Nobody’s book. The mysterious man with the bad reputation and grumpy demeanour has been on my want-to-read pile since he first graced the pages of this series and, by God, he was worth the wait.
I knew straight away that I was going to love him. From the moment he saves an abused boy from his alcoholic parents (a thing he had been doing since he had gotten wind of the boys plight) I adored him and then, as I watched him struggle to deal with his developing emotions for Melinda, my heart just ached. Nobody is a product of an abusive parent and, partially because of this, he struggles with his self worth and emotions. He can’t quite fathom that Melinda can care for him, even when he cares for her from the moment he sees her, and it broke my heart every-time he showed just how unlovable he truly thinks he is. He decides to do what he thinks is best for them both; he protects her as best as he can but, ultimately, he stays away. Yes, this does lead to more tortured angst, cuteness and general swooning on my part…. of course, Melinda decides that he isn’t allowed to do this for very long.
Melinda is a free-spirit who is on the Rez to get over her latest break up with a loser boyfriend. I loved the warmth of her character and it complemented Nobody’s character immensely. She never allowed him to keep her at arms length but nor did she demand that he adapt himself to her world; he was still free to live amongst the stars and be alone in the wilderness if he wanted, he just wasn’t allowed to push her away. She understood him like no one else seems to and I think it was quite beautiful that she alone knew when he was around. The notes that she left him when he was cleaning her art room made me chuckle as I could see that she was trying to prove to him that he wasn’t nobody, even if his name suggested it.
I adore the way that this author is completely unflinching and unbiased in her stories about life on the Rez. Cultural and race issues run through this series as the heroines start to live amongst the residents of White Sandy but this book took it that much further and it made me so sad. The tale of the young boy living with his abusive parents was heart-breaking; he would rather live on the Rez and take his chances because, if social services came, they would give him to a white family who would make him cut his hair and take a white name and he wanted to keep his heritage. Yup, the tears were flowing at this point. Please don’t get me wrong, it isn’t portrayed as all bad; there is a sense of community and heritage that is truly lovely to read about throughout the series. I like that it isn’t a judgement of either characters culture; this is a tale of two people with different cultures accepting their differences and building a life together.
Overall, this a wonderful book about a tortured hero and the woman who grows to love him. I loved every page of it.
Great review — I so loved Nobody! 🙂 His book was worth the wait, and I look forward to future books in this series.
Enjoy,
TBQ
I loved this book, but from the way I read the series (which was Nobody first) the first two books lose something being read out of order. So this is definitely a read in order series, despite the fact that the book functions well as a stand alone.