Eva's Dad....

[LN Cronan]

It's almost as if Monica has adopted Cary as a foster son. More misguided guilt? Allowing Eva to have a good brother of sorts (Cary) to make up for the monster step-brother (Nathan)? Mind you, I think it's unhealthy of Eva too, allowing her family to semi-support Cary too like they semi-support her via paying for housing. She's giving in to her mother in a dysfunctional way. But then again, Eva is not exactly the picture of functional (understandable with her trauma background).

 

As Sylvia puts it about Gideon, "Gideon has a lot to work through". So does Eva. So does Cary too. The main difference is Eva and Cary have worked through more than Gideon, because both Eva and Cary have benefited from a very good therapist (Dr. Travis in San Diego).

 

I'm hoping that as part of growing in Entwined, Cary grows a pair, so to speak, by starting to support himself and by stopping sabotaging relationships.

[mrsmajessick]

That's a good point LN Cronan. I started throwing a side eye at Cary when he didn't tell Eva about Brett's band being the show that night. He knows Gideon is jealous and how much Eva loves him why not give your friend the heads up? It sounds like Cary still needs more therapy - lots of it. He's still self harming and it's falling over into Eva's world - the orgy at the end of BTY - what was that all about? And there was no mention of how it was resolved in RIY outside they went to Vegas to talk about it, but the reader isn't privy to that conversation??? I'd like a happy ending for Cary too but he sounds like he may need his own book.

[GiGi]

Hi everyone, It seems like all of the characters in the book are in desperate need of more therapy! I don't think that the therapy they had thus far seems to have stuck. I agree with you Mrsmajessick, it seems that there are many gaps in the story; orgy...Vegas...no talking...or maybe it was already dealt with but we the readers didn't get to be part of it. Who knows, maybe the next book will fill in the blanks. Who knows maybe Carey will get his own book. :)

[LN Cronan]

When Cary and Eva first met in group therapy years ago, both were promiscuous and angry and wild. The few hints we have about Cary's past is that his mother was a junkie who abused him and allowed others to abuse him (I'm guessing sexually, but neither Bared nor Reflected give any details.) That he bounced around the foster care system and later rehabs, becoming a drug addict himself. That when he and Eva first met, the only way he could relate to others was sexually, and he kept propositioning Eva.

Things I view as progress: 1. He's not doing drugs any more. 2. He's pursuing a career. 3. He's at least is trying to have a relationship with a nice guy. 4. This is key, he has a close, trusting, platonic, practically-family relationship with Eva. To sum it up, he's grown from junkie to someone trying to make something of himself, and he's become part of a family.

Ways he's still stuck: 1. Sabotaging good relationships. 2. Though off the hard drugs, he drinks too much. 3. The way he superficially sexually relates to female partners (Mommy issues?) 4. He's far too dependent on Eva and on her mother/stepfather.

[GiGi]

Hi LN Cronan, You make a really interesting point about Monica "adopting" Carey as a step son. It could very well be. Something really odd struck me; could Monica be trying to acquire things/people for Eva(a multimillion dollar settlement for her daughter, status/place in the socialite community, clothing, a secured apartment, a friend with a similar background who won't judge her, etc.)? I was also wondering if Monica was acquiescing to Eva a bit. We don't seem to hear about Eva having any other friends in Bared to You and in Reflected In You, she makes it a point to try and make some good girlfriends; Shawna and Megumi perhaps. It seems like Carey is Eva's "best girlfriend/guy friend" all rolled into one. 2. I completely agree with you about the positives. Even after the orgy in the first book and after being beaten up in the second book, Carey didn't start using drugs. I would add that Carey seems to be having sex with Tatiana on a consistent basis. Maybe that is a good thing and the start of a new relationship for him. I don't think that the relationship the Carey had with Trey was healthy. Trey wanted Carey to be solely gay and not bi-sexual, which is what he is. To me, that's not allowing the other person to be who they truly are. I think that when Carey found out what Trey's hopes were, he started to self destruct. I am going to be bold here and say that maybe Carey started to self preserve. He either didn't have the courage or the emotional skills to walk away from a relationship that, although loving, would ultimately be very damaging to his psyche. Let me clear here, I think that the way in which Carey dealt with Trey's disappointment about Carey being bisexual stunk! I just think that he didn't know of how to separate himself in any other way. I am not sure that he knows how to accept love or relate to others in a non-sexual way. I think Eva seems to be his first successful attempt at this. Those are just my thoughts. What does everyone else think?