Harper Fox - Driftwood

Dr Thomas Penrose meets Lieutenant Flynn Summers when a surfing accident dumps Flynn, half-drowned, at his feet. Never were two men less likely to form a bond... Flynn, a reckless air-sea rescue worker, will surely never find common ground with Tom, whose time as a combat medic in Afghanistan has left him desperate for a quiet life. And yet the attraction is there, sparkling like sunlight on the sea-water of Cornwall. As spring turns into summer and they become lovers against all the odds, Tom discovers dark secrets behind Flynn's bright exterior, and is forced to confront a few shadows of his own. He's falling in love: but can he unlock enough of Flynn's past to save him from the grasp of his ex, a mysterious helicopter pilot called Rob, whose deadly hold on Flynn seems to tighten the more he struggles to escape? Rob has been keeping some very bad company. One stormy night at sea, Flynn and Tom find themselves up against Rob's arms-dealer friends, fighting for their lives – and, more importantly, for one another's...

Comment: Hilcia suggested to me that I should read this author, so I looked for Harper Fox and picked this story (also the one Hilcia haven't read yet).

Tom lives a isolated life, he changes after some bad experiences at war as a doctor and now works just to be occupied. He had a relantionship in the past, one that marked him, but he lived it for one night only and that pusues him with guilt. Guilt is a powerful intrument...even when one says "it's not my fault", unless we actually believe it...well, it can shape someone's mind and behaviour.
Flynn has an even deeper issue, he goeas through punishment during intimacy with his partner because he thinks he deserves it.
I think this was the most important thing in the book, for me. I don't know anyone, personally, who lives like that, but I'm sure it happens a lot more than one imagines. Sometimes, if we are told something long enough we start to believe that. Like that abyss quote from Nietzche that when we look really deep into it, it stares back, well, it's true, it happens. People's minds are something unique, people don't just work the same because it can be convenient...so I got Flynn's issues, I understand why he thinks that way and I don't think it's too farfetched. Nowadays people hear a lot of PTSD cases but this is as serious as that. We can know something and still aloow it because to someone who thinks like that, that is real. As real as the sunrise and sunset.
So, this book convinced me because of that. Things aren't always happy and shiny. But they talked, processed and overcame their problems. I think because of this the HEA at the end tasted much sweeter. This isn't a light book, but it's appealing. I enjoyed the writting style too. And I'm very happy to have read it. Thank you for the suggestion, Hilcia. :)