One Night: Denied by Jodi Ellen Malpas

I have spent the day in the company of Miller Hart and as I turned the last page of the book, I didn’t want my time with him to end.

Jodi Ellen Malpas has a way with words and characters that just render me dumb-stuck!

In the first book of this series, I am ashamed to say that I had my reservations about Miller and whether I was going to be able to connect with him, well god forbid – the man might as well, come to life and move in, he has taken root in my soul and I have to say that he is very welcome.

This beautifully complicated man is simply breath-taking and the way he was written meant that tears snuck up on me and when they started to fall they were difficult to stem.

But what was more difficult, was the pain that took hold in my heart and made my heart break for this gorgeously damaged man.

Olivia and Miller just want to be left alone to establish their relationship on their own terms, without the “interference” that Miller fights so hard to shield them from.

Constantly on the defensive, Miller is so highly strung that he is barely able to keep his grip not only on reality and struggles even more to hold on tight to the precarious grip that he has on his temper.

Life has never played fair with Miller and in this book we get to see behind the carefully cultivated mask that he now wears, to see the man behind the impeccable suits and carefully executed control.

But can Olivia, keep her man and can she see the grace that dwells deep inside him, the honesty that he shows to her and her alone, his light in a world of darkness.

Together they are formidable, they have a strength that was difficult at times to comprehend, a dependency that was completely symbiotic but a thing that was beyond reproach.

I loved the relationship between the two of them, the fact she challenged his fastidious ways and the way he loved the sassiness that she brought to the table.

They were complete opposites that no matter what was going on, had every ounce of my conscious being begging for them to be given the chance to make it.

When he let her in on his past, she stepped up to the plate and held her man firm. Even more so when he was the problem, the cause of her pain, she refused to let him go, I loved the fact that her heart and head were singing from the same hymn sheet and she was prepared to do whatever it took for them to have their “us”, the girl has a backbone and determination that is unshakable.

“I Love you, I won’t go down without a fight. I’ll take on anyone and I’ll win against them all. Even you.”

Miller was lost without her, she was his reason to breath and the scene in his flat after he had supposed to have left for France was staggering in its impact, I found myself holding my breath and pleading with the words before me to morph into the outcome I was praying for. I was beyond sad for their situation and the unenviable choices that they had been burdened with.

But one thing remained true, the love that existed between them and despite the peripheral shenanigans and the not so veiled threats of danger that surrounded them, their hearts belonged to each other.

"I beg you to love me forever."
"You don't need to beg me. There's nothing more natural to me than loving you, Miller Hart."

I loved Greg in the first book of the series and took and instant dislike to William, but my opinions have changed in this book and when William lets Livy in on his story and association with her mother, I was surprised by not only his candour but his willingness to allow her to see his vulnerability.

Greg on the other hand stuck me as being a needy friend who when his own relationship took a turn for the worse was looking for nothing more than his friend to share his misery and Livy’s happiness with Miller was an inconvenience to him.

But like many have stated before the little spark of genius is the little old font of all knowledge that goes by the name of Nan, she is a gem!!

I know that there is more to come and that book three will, more than likely be a very difficult read because there are forces at play that are not going to accept the situation as it stands and that have a vested interest in having their own way but Miller and Livy have made their stand….. I just hope it is enough.