Reviewer: 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
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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
This definitely sounds good! Thanks for the review, Tracy.