Sliding Past Vertical

Laurie
Boris
Genre: 
Other

LITERARY FICTION:  Talented ex-diver Sarah Cohen not only thrives on chaos, she creates it wherever she goes. Her life would be a great deal more difficult if Emerson wasn’t a phone call away to help unravel her latest mishap.

 

Emerson and Sarah had a brief college affair. The loyal rescuer is firmly in the friend zone now. Still, he hopes that maybe Sarah might realize he loves her and is better than her series of bad boys. He tries to move on with his life without Sarah, but a call and a new disaster drags him back into her world.

As a writer, he models his erotica on Sarah, never really hiding his obsession. Sarah finds it somewhat creepy, but still solicits his help when she creates another catastrophe.  Because Emerson constantly rescues her from failed jobs and bad decisions, she never experiences the real consequences of her actions or growing. 

“Sliding Past Vertical” is a love story that takes place in the 1980s in the USA and is a realistic look at modern relationships. This well-written tale shows how far one man will go to pursue a woman. It also demonstrates how a woman will take advantage of the same man. As a romance, however, it is depressing. Two dysfunctional individuals engage in a co-dependent relationship that serves neither one of them well. This works as a drama, but if one wants a satisfying journey to a happy ending, probably not. 

Morgan Wyatt