Ice is the lead vocalist for Wounded Martyr. He’s sober. But he makes one of those mistakes that you usually make when you’re drunk… he has sex with bandmate and best friend, Ash. From that point forward things in Ice’s life begin to come apart.

This is an interesting novella with a lot of substance in it! Ice’s issues with alcohol (and later cocaine) are the way that he deals with … everything. The one place that he seems comfortable, is buried in his music and working with the band. The problem is that one night of sex with bass player, Ash, changes the dynamics of everything. Ice finds himself jealous of other people who are receiving Ash’s attention and he’s struggling with thoughts of Ash invading when he’s with his partner Ricky.

Substance abuse and interpersonal relationships are the backbone of this novella. Maguire has written a great depiction of the backsliding that can happen when one is one the recovery road. Little things become an excuse for Ice to drink … big things are a justification.

The interesting twist to this plot of the way in which Ice is struggling to maintain a relationship with his best friend, Ash… and begin anew with his partner, Ricky. Ice relies on the two men differently but they both have a significant place in his life. He seems to need them both… sometimes that manifests itself physically other times it’s emotionally. As his struggle becomes more intense things cycle out of the control until Ice hits bottom.

I would have loved to have read more about the conversations with Ricky and Ash… ultimately they seem to come together and realize that they have to accept each others’ presence if they want to keep Ash alive. I felt as though I was really missing out by not being able to be a party to how they came to that understanding. While the premise was set up exquisitely, I really wanted to know more about what would happen between the three men and what the dynamic of their relationship would ultimately become.

The end of the story felt a little rushed. Once Ice’s health was affected, Ricky and Ash united quickly to support him and I felt I needed more of an understanding of how that happened.

Overall, this is well-written and a very accurate depiction of a person struggling with addictions. ( )