Sober Dope & Sundays: Nordika Night

 I loved this book. Nordika Night continues to prove why she is a GO-TO author for me, every damn time.

SOBER DOPE & SUNDAYS is a weird book with weird characters. This isn't a squishy romcom. Even if it is romantic as hell and sweet with funny moments... more than all else, it's a story with real characters with real experiences. Sobriety and recovery and addiction are always tricky situations for me to read about. But this was like looking through a mirror, and while I loved the characters SO MUCH, I had a lot of reflection time, too.

Gage is coming out of rehab for the 8th time. Eighth times, a charm. He's determined. He's ready. While it seems a daunting task, he's about to move back home and face his past.

Alexei is the son of an addict. He raised himself and raised his dad, too. He's weird and proud of it. He's complicated and argumentative, but he's not afraid of boundaries and putting himself first.

Gage's sponsor Nathan is Alexei's dad, and that's how they meet. What starts as friendship leads to courting and then slow-moving boyfriends and then soulmateship.

This book was full of self-awareness, the shittier aspects of recovery, the hope of recovery, small romantic gestures, big romantic gestures, hot times in bathrooms, weirdness, and lots of talk about colors and fried meats.

Gage was an addict. In recovery. He was also a person. Watching him rediscover that was a joy and watching him approach his feelings for Alexei was lovely because there was serious work done to make sure Alexei didn't become another addiction.

Their story was dark, in a way that most folks in recovery have a dark sense of humor. I loved the little details, something Nordika is great at. The way she phrases things is quirky, but in a way that feels real. In the best way. Like Alexei in his blacks and whites under his blacks. That phrasing makes Alexei and Gage feel real, like neighbors or friends.

Sober Dope and Sundays comes out 08/23, add it to your tbrs now!!! Highly recommend!