Tag: Scarlett Cole

Guest Review: Lennon Reborn by Scarlett Cole

Posted May 1, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Lennon Reborn by Scarlett ColeReviewer: Tracy
Lennon Reborn (Preload #4) by Scarlett Cole
Series: Preload #4
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: May 1st 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 250
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From the queen of heart-pounding, sexy, emotional romance Scarlett Cole comes Lennon Reborn, a stunning, shattering rock star romance in the Preload series.

Lennon McCartney is not a broken man. Because being broken implies being whole once. When a horrific accident deprives him of the one thing he loves—his talent as a fierce and explosive drummer—Lennon is left with a life chained by an abusive mother, by crushing guilt over a tragic past. A life he doesn’t want.

Dr. Georgia Starr is a legend. She’s one of the most successful neurosurgeons in the world, coming from a long-line of respected New York doctors. Her life is built around solving complex medical cases in order to bring relief and hope to sick children. But the one problem she can’t solve is how to live her life. How to be shake loose the burden of being her elitist, arrogant father’s daughter. How to be free.

Can a man who despises his life and a woman who desperately needs to live find the answers, and love, with each other?

**Warning: Deals with dark themes and deep personal struggles.**

If you’ve been reading the Preload series you know that all of the guys in the band grew up in a group home together, but before they all became family they each had horrible childhoods.  Lennon’s was no different and it broke my heart to read about what he went through as a child.

Because of his childhood he holds himself away from his band mates.  He feels like he’s just an extra and not really part of it all.  When he is injured in a tragic accident in New York while on the tour bus, he wants to just give up and die.  Luckily he is saved in more ways than one by Georgia.  She is there at Lennon’s time of need in lots of different ways and I loved her for it.  Georgia stayed with Lennon and figured him out pretty quickly.  She didn’t give up on him and in the end it payed off for her.  It payed off for Lennon as well as he began to see what a vital part he was of Preload as a band mat,e but more importantly in the personal lives of the band members.

The story was horrifying at times but filled with so much love and hope.  I’ll admit I’m sad that this series is ending.  As horrible as it was to read about the Preload issues, I think that Cole did an excellent job of bringing them to a place where they could love and be loved.  Her heroes and heroines are smart and strong in their own ways and I truly enjoyed the whole series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Preload Series

four-stars


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Guest Review: Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett Cole

Posted January 16, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett ColeReviewer: Tracy
Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett Cole
Series: Preload Series #3
Also in this series: Jordan Reclaimed, Elliott Redeemed
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: January 2nd 2018
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Does the past ever really stay in the past?

Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.

Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult lead by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rock star. Before he destroyed it all.

A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?

If you’ve read any of the other books in the Preload series you know that Nikan grew up in a group home, met his best friends – his family – and they formed a metal band called Preload.  Nik’s girlfriend while growing up was Jenny, who also lived in a group home (not the same one).  They moved out of the home and Preload started on their journey to stardom. They fell in love and planned on being together forever.  That is until Preload went on their first tour and Nik slept with someone else.  Jenny was brokenhearted and ended up disappearing before Preload got back from their tour, never to see Nik again.

Jenny ended up going to school and becoming a social worker and worked in a group home.  When the opportunity to run the same group home that Nik and the boys had grown up in, she takes it because it would be her first opportunity to be in charge – her dream.  She knows there’s a possibility of running into Nik but she doesn’t expect it to happen so quickly and when it happens she’s wasn’t prepared for how the meeting affected her.

Nik never stopped thinking about Jenny.  He knows he fucked up all those years ago and has never stopped looking for Jenny or regretting what he did.  When he sees Jenny again he tells her exactly how he’s feeling about her and that he wants her back.  Jenny wants nothing to do with Nik but he’s persistent and soon Jenny is falling under his spell once again.

This was another great book in the Preload series.  This book showed us a different side of Preload than what we’ve seen before and I liked that we got down to the nitty gritty with the boys and their issues.  Nik had always been the glue that kept it all together but that was stressful for him and he didn’t want everyone relying on him constantly.  He also really didn’t like playing metal even though that’s what the band played.  He wanted to make his own music but didn’t want to give up on Preload either.  It was a tough thing to be caught in the middle of and hard for Nik to bring it up to the guys and actually have them understand.  On top of those issues he was trying to get Jenny back and he was trying to focus solely on her.  I felt for this guy.  Yes, it was a complete asshole move to sleep with a freaking groupie when he had the love of his life back home, but I think that Cole really showed us how he had changed, grown, matured over the years.  I honestly believed that he would never do that again.

Jenny’s situation was crazy.  Her father had been a cult leader and had eventually tried to poison his followers – when that happened he made Jenny’s mother go first and she died before the authorities stepped in and saved a lot of lives.  She’d arrived in the group home when she was about 13 years old and Nik had been her rock.  When he betrayed her, she didn’t know what to do with herself, but it didn’t stop her from making her own dreams come true. She was also dealing with getting letters from her father who was trying to get her to visit him in prison telling her he’d changed (yeah, right).  I admired Jenny’s strength with all she was going through with her dad and Nik as well as her dedication to the kids in the homes.  I also liked that she didn’t give in to Nik right away.  Yes, they ended up together, but she didn’t make it an easy road for him.

Overall the book was a really great one and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Preload Series

four-stars


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Guest Review: Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole

Posted September 8, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett ColeReviewer: Tracy
Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole
Series: Preload Series #2
Also in this series: Jordan Reclaimed, Nikan Rebuilt
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: August 29th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A single mom and tortured musician find common ground in Scarlett Cole's Elliott Redeemed, the second standalone romance about the band Preload.

Elliot "Pyro" Dawson burns up the lead guitar like a legend. But the nickname Pyro isn't just a clever play on words. It's much darker. A past he's fought like hell to overcome.

Grocery store cashier Kendalee Walker is at her wits end and homeless. She's watched her fourteen-year-old son, Daniel, go so far off the rails, he can no longer see the tracks.

When the two are brought together, attraction flares, but can Elliott find the family he never had with the sexy woman and her son, or will he fall back on dark habits?

Elliott and his Preload band mate are asked to see a child with cancer at the hospital.  They agree but then Elliott is asked to see a teen who is a burn victim.  Elliott meets Daniel who sets off all of these triggers for Elliott.  He really likes the kid and helps him so much that he can’t keep himself away. It doesn’t hurt that Elliott thinks that Daniel’s mother, Kendalee, is hotter than hot.  So what if she’s 10 years older than he is.  He sees something in her that calms him and he wants to explore that.

Kendalee has going through hell the past six months.  Her husband cheated on her with his secretary, she found out that her husband’s twin brother was molesting her 14-year-old son and then said son burned down their house.  Unfortunately he didn’t get away in time and ended up burning 35% of his body. Life is stressful enough without adding in a new man but Elliott is so kind and thoughtful.  Kendalee starts to think that there may be something between them more than just dating or sex but she’s not sure if she can stay with him after he tells her of his past.

Book two in Preload series was a good one.  We got to see the other band members but this one was really focused on Elliott and Kendalee.

Elliott had been through a nightmare with his step-father when he was young. It changed him dramatically and he developed issues with fire.  I loved how both Daniel and Elliott could relate to each other about Daniel’s issue with the fire he set. It ultimately helped Elliott with the issues he thought he’d dealt with but truly hadn’t.  His relationship with Daniel was awesome and I was so happy that Cole made this a large part of the story.

Kendalee was one strong woman.  She’d had her life pulled out from under her but was truly dealing with it the best she could.  Her soon to be ex-husband was an ass but she dealt with him appropriately.  I loved how Kenda didn’t just jump into bed with Elliott but put her son first and stood on her own two feet.  The whole story made me truly love this character.

Overall this was an intense story but one I’m glad I read.  Elliott is a great guy and while he tends to go overboard with taking care of those he loves he does it with a good heart.  I can’t wait to read the next book in the Preload series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett Cole

Posted March 3, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett ColeReviewer: Tracy
Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett Cole
Series: Preload Series #1
Also in this series: Elliott Redeemed, Nikan Rebuilt
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: February 28th 2017
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Jordan Steele’s life began when he was ten. When he was taken from his parents and a house that was never a home. When he met his brothers, the other lost and abandoned boys in his group home. When he learned what friendship and family and love looked like.

Now he’s made good, touring the world with the band he and his brothers formed in that crowded group home. No one but his found family really knows the man under the fame and fortune, the scars he hides behind the rockstar lifestyle. Until he sees her through the windows of the National Ballet, dancing, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem so dark.

Aleksandra Artemov ticks all the ballet boxes. Father a legendary Kirov dancer. Check. Prepping since birth for classical ballet. Check. Compulsive control over the food she eats. Check. Principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada. Check. But what she craves is freedom.

She craves Jordan.

Everything about him should terrify her. His size, his tattoos, his edge. But he doesn’t. He stirs her very soul. Jordan has nothing but himself to offer her, and he's never been good enough for anyone. Can he figure out how to face his own demons before he loses his light for good?

Jordan’s early life was hell.  He experienced horrible abuse and abandonment but survived and grew up to become a rock star – literally.  He and his “brothers,” the boys from the group home he lived in, created Preload, a heavy metal band that hit it big.  From the outside Jordan looks like he has everything that anyone could want but inside he’s constantly in turmoil.  He doesn’t believe that he is someone that can be loved and he certainly doesn’t know how to do romantic love.  When out walking one night Jordan sees Aleksandra rehearsing and he becomes completely enthralled.

Aleksandra aka Lexi is also someone that looks like she’s got it made – from the outside.  She has done very well for herself in the National Ballet of Canada but it’s never enough for her father who was once a dancer himself. He’s constantly telling her that she’s fat or not good enough and pushes her to her limits.  She would love to dance in some of the contemporary pieces the company does but her father will only let her do the classics.  She feels she owes him because of the sacrifices he’s made but his verbal abuse hurts.

When Jordan and Lexi meet it’s scary for both of them but each pushes through their issues in order to be together.  The question is, will their issues push their way to the front and eventually pull them apart?

I was so excited when I saw that Scarlett Cole had started a series that told us the stories of the men of Preload. While reading the Second Circle series I was completely intrigued by these men and their strength.  Jordan’s book was a great start to hopefully what will be a wonderful series.

Jordan is an amazing man.  He survived his horrible childhood and has worked through a lot of his issues over the years.  The one that he can’t deal with is his brothers leaving him.  He knows that they all live together because of him but he can’t find it in him to care until he meets Lexi. He finally starts to realize that he can’t continue living as he has in the past because he needs to be strong for not only himself and his brothers but for Lexi as well.  I loved how he worked things out in his own brain, with his brothers and with Lexi.  He was smart enough to know that he couldn’t do the same things and expect a different outcome.  Yes, sometimes he was overwhelmed but for the most part he had the strength to push through so that they could be together.

Lexi had a decent childhood but what she saw as her father’s discipline amounted to physical and verbal abuse.  She was 26 years-old, had a wonderful job, owned her own home and paid her own bills but she was still under the thumb of her father.  It took a lot to break free from him and Jordan helped her with that.  I hated that it had to be such a caustic break with her father, and I wish that we could have gotten more closure with that issue, but it was still well done.  Her father was a complete bastard so I was just happy she was away from him.

Of course we got to catch up with Dred and Pixie in this book, and Dred’s daughter, Petal. (The Purest Hook) I loved seeing where they were in their lives (approx..) 9 months after their story took place.  We didn’t get too too much info about the other guys in the band except for Elliot who is a bit of a pyro from what I understand.  His book should definitely be interesting.

Overall I enjoyed the book tremendously.  Despite all the issues that the H/h had, and some of the darker things they spoke about, there really wasn’t too much angst between them.  Yes, they had to work through stuff but hey, that’s what I call a normal relationship.  I loved that they communicated in order to make things right.  The book was a great and one I definitely recommend.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: The Darkest Link by Scarlett Cole

Posted September 9, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: The Darkest Link by Scarlett ColeReviewer: Tracy
The Darkest Link by Scarlett Cole
Series: Second Circle Tattoos #4
Also in this series: The Strongest Steel (Second Circle Tattoos #1), The Fractured Heart, The Purest Hook
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 30th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

When her car breaks down off the side of a lonely highway far from her sunny Miami home, tattoo artist Lia never expected her very own white knight to ride up on the back of a barely street-legal motorcycle...and she never expected to fall for her dark savior. After a string of failed relationships and a bruised heart, Lia is not looking for forever, and the hot mechanic, with his sexy scruff and shaggy hair, is simply impossible to resist and the perfect candidate for mind-blowingly-perfect, no-strings-attached one night stand.

Reid left his life in Chicago far behind him and hasn't been back, but he's never been able to escape the guilt he feels about his own painful role in inviting a monster into his baby sister's life. A monster who almost destroyed her. Being with Lia is an unexpected gift, one he doesn't feel he deserves, and their one night together has him wanting more than he should. Especially since she doesn't know the truth about his past. However, when he finds Lia’s bracelet in his bed, he has the perfect excuse to drive down and surprise her at her tattoo studio, Second Circle Tattoos, in Miami. He's in for an even bigger shock - and a fist to the face - when his past and present collide in the humid Miami weather when he runs into the last person he’d ever expect to see in a tattoo studio: Harper, the sister he betrayed, and the last link to his former life.

Tattoo artist Lia Carlisle is on her way from Miami to an expo in Orlando when her car breaks down at the side of the road.  She gets out to wait and then along comes Kenny – a hot guy on a motorcycle.  He happens to own a garage and contacts his guys to bring a tow truck.  While Kenny and Lia wait for the truck they get to know each other a bit and like what they see.

Little by little the pair get to know each other better and soon Kenny is riding to see Lia in Miami.  A shocking revelation throws them off but not enough to quench the fire that’s burning between the two of them. Unfortunately they have to deal with Lia’s family.

Lia’s father has decided to run for governor – in three years – but insists that Lia “comes to heel” as she’s just too wild and opinionated.  At the age of 27 Lia is her own woman.  Lia dresses like she wants to and she certainly won’t cover up her tattoos to make him happy.  While Lia is trying to deal with her father and her mentally fragile mother someone is trying to kill Lia and Kenny (whose real name is Reid) and they can only hope they survive.

Book four in the Second Circle Tattoos series brought us some answers that were asked in book one.  I was happy to see that Harper got those answers and that she could lay to rest some of the concerns she had about her family.

Lia was amazing.  She’s strong and confident and sexy as hell.  She’s the embodiment of the buxom pin up girl with 2 sleeves of tattoos and a full leg piece.  She dresses and does her hair like she lives in the 50’s and I loved that she could be her own woman – especially after finding out how her father had put her down and degraded her for years while she was growing up.  While she tends to fall in love easily (by her own admission) she realizes that there’s something different with Reid as she’s never felt that way before.

Reid was a great guy as well and while he’d been hurt by his family he had carried guilt for so long he wasn’t sure how to handle it all.  He didn’t want to fall in love with Lia but he found himself unable to stay away from her and I loved that he didn’t question himself – just went with the flow.

The story had a bit of a twist at the end that I saw coming. I would have also liked to have seen a bit more during the final scenes with Lia’s father but I still enjoyed it.

Second Circle Tattoos has been a great series and this was a good addition to it. I’m looking forward to her spin off series of Preload (Dred’s band from book 3).

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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