On Solid Ground (In Too Deep #2) by Michelle Kemper Brownlow

On Solid Ground (In Too Deep #2)
by Michelle Kemper Brownlow



Emotional abuse can break both your heart and your spirit. Twenty-one year old Gracie is broken and weak but she’s determined to heal. With the encouragement from her best friend, Becki and her best friend-turned-boyfriend, Jake, she is ready to do what it takes to heal from the pain she suffered while with her ex, Noah. Gracie’s post-Noah days are filled with the gentle love she receives from Jake but in her sleep she is plagued by nightmares that she fears will never go away.

It’s summer on UTK’s campus and Gracie, Jake and Becki have all decided to stay at school for the summer, each for their own reason. Gracie wants to be as far away from Noah as possible, Jake knows Gracie will need him to lean on and, because of a late in the game change of major, Becki has a ton of classes to take before her senior year.
In the beginning of summer, Gracie and Jake continue to steam the windows with their beautiful love-making but Gracie’s internal struggles with self-esteem and confidence weigh heavily on their relationship. Jake’s point-of-view alternating throughout the book will have readers falling even harder for him.

When Gracie’s new counselor suggests she may have jumped into a relationship too quickly, Gracie knows what she needs to do to make a full recovery. With strength she didn’t know she had, she walks away from Jake to recover her spirit. Staying true to the promise he made her the semester before, although heart-broken, Jake remains her closest friend and support system while trying to give her the space she needs to heal.
Gracie has spent years pouring her heart into volume after volume of journals. Gracie starts writing poetry that seemingly pours from her heart, proof that writing is merely an extension of her soul. Gracie also reconnects with her musical talents and takes up guitar again, a talent not even Jake knew about. The beauty in her passion for both playing music and writing renders Jake speechless.

Gracie is inspired by what she’s learning about herself in therapy, writing poetry and lyrics. And as fate would have it, she unexpectedly runs into Calon Ridge, the lead singer of her favorite local band, Alternate Tragedy.

Memories of an evening she spent with Calon two years prior and his sudden intense interest in Gracie throws both she and Jake for a loop. Jake experiences something he’s never had to deal with. He is jealous; fist-clenching, pulse-thumping jealous.

With broken souls and passion for music in common, Calon and Gracie reconnect on a different level. Calon becomes a creative confidant for Gracie and with his cocky humor, sexy mannerisms and sensitive spirit, he convinces her to begin to explore the depths of her talent by taking the stage. Jake’s new job as a bartender gives him a front row seat to the sensual connection between Calon and Gracie as they practice. But that connection is just what Gracie needs to lift her confidence as she starts to find herself again.

Becki and Gracie spend more time together than usual because of their shared newly-single status and Becki is completely intrigued by Calon. Becki’s honesty and no-filter humor is gut-busting hysterical and keeps Gracie grounded and giggling. She’s up for a summer fling but may not be expecting the intensity Calon’s soul holds.

And when the end-of-summer festival brings the whole cast of IN TOO DEEP back, front and center for a weekend none of them will soon forget, stakes are set, tempers flare, truth prevails, and unexpected plans are made. And Gracie finally finds herself On Solid Ground.