Callie Jacobsen works as DJ Callie J, and as such she has been receiving calls from a certain Rhett for about a year; she's never met him, yet she really likes him. One morning Rhett calls in late, and when she hesitates when he asks her to meet him, he thinks he creeped her out. In a way, he did: Callie had a devastating experience with her psycho ex-fiancé, she doesn't trust men. Rhett is in fact Everett Silverton, a Rock Canyon local; he and Callie keep bumping into each other accidentally, and when he asks her out again, she accepts. Everett is a veteran from Afghanistan, and he is scarred in more ways than one, but so is Callie.

BAD FOR ME is the latest instalment in Codi Gary's Rock Canyon series, which keeps getting better with each book. Callie and Everett have very serious issues, and Ms. Gary keeps BAD FOR ME from getting too heavy by weaving the wedding from characters in a previous book in the main narrative. The interactions and realistic banter of secondary characters alleviate some of the tension; I love Callie's friendship with Everett's father, it's very organic, and it shows another side of Callie, even if it leads to complications.

Everett accepts his physical scars with grace, but women seem too often repulsed by the vestiges of his heroism. Relationships now seem a futile dream, even if he longs for that special someone, yet he is judgemental when he learns something of Callie's past. Ms. Gary does a wonderful job at slowly peeling away all the layers that make Callie and Everett so wonderfully and painfully complex as they struggle to create a more intimate rapport. Their pain feels so real, it almost physically hurts to experience their attempts at conquering their respective obstacles. Callie's hurt manifests itself in her antagonistic, uptight and abrupt behaviour; her close friends don't even know what happened in her past that still troubles her.

Everett tries so hard to draw Callie out of her shell, almost to the breaking point; he is a splendid character. Callie really stands up for herself, and on a specific occasion, I felt like cheering aloud. She was a real tough nut to crack and I really appreciate the approach Ms. Gary chose to make Callie and Everett a couple; lesser writer would have taken a much easier path. The relationship ran a logical course, nothing was instantaneous, nothing forced. With BAD FOR ME, Codi Gary reaches new heights: the author demonstrates her storytelling abilities while creating characters of extraordinary depth while keeping it entertaining and romantic. Excellent job, Ms. Gary!