Synopsis
Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic rock star romance series from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott, author of Lick and Play.
As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it’s booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.
Lena’s not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.
Review
Dave, Mal, and now Jimmy – boy does Kylie Scott know how to create kickass rock stars who have the personalities to command a crowd but also are flawed individuals who need to find a balance between the rocker lifestyle and a life of stability that they can only find out of the limelight. Dave found his with Ev, and Mal finally saw what he needed in Anne. But for Jimmy, there’s not an easy fix because the path he’s been down has been filled with multiple addictions, and when you add his less than welcoming personality into the mix, there’s not many women who would be willing to endure his wrath to see what’s underneath Jimmy’s problems and bad boy persona.
Enter Lena Morrissey. Lena’s a sassy, outspoken woman, which, for her, is a double edged sword; it allows her not to be walked all over, but it also prevents her from putting up with anyone’s bullshit, which doesn’t really help her hold down a job when she calls people out. But Lena just so happens to be fired in front of all members of Stage Dive, and when Mal sees how she handles herself, he knows she’s the perfect choice for keeping their lead singer on the road to recovery. But Lena’s job is definitely not going to be an easy one. Jimmy is closed off, arrogant, and dismissive. He doesn’t want a babysitter overseeing every move he makes, but he knows he doesn’t have a choice because one more mistake, and he’s done, but that doesn’t mean he has to make it easy on his assistant or even pleasant for that matter.
It’s a battle of wills in the beginning of Jimmy and Lena’s working relationship, but soon, Lena finds herself developing feelings for the hot and cold lead singer, which is not a good thing because dating assholes has never turned out well for her. She tries to step away from the situation and distance herself from Jimmy, but she sees the Jimmy that no one else does, and as Jimmy leans on her more, the push and pull between them becomes something that needs to be dealt with, but will Jimmy admit that what he feels for Lena is beyond professional or will Lena be left picking up the pieces once again after another shitty choice?
I love Kylie Scott’s Stage Dive series, and one of the main reasons is because of the witty banter and humor used amongst the characters. Mal is the connoisseur of one liners, but in Lead, Lena gives him a run for his money. Her comebacks helped put many people in their places and earned her the respect of the band and their leading ladies. It’s her quick thinking and perfectly phrased lessons that allow her to go head to head with Jimmy and hold her own.
Another aspect that draws me in is Scott’s storytelling. Her writing is flawless; it captivates readers from the first page until the last because the storyline seamlessly flows between moments of sadness, angst, drama, and romance. Because Lead is told through Lena’s perspective, readers are given insight into Jimmy that no other person sees, which allows us to understand why Lena feels the way she does about him. Without that viewpoint, I’m not sure if my feelings for Jimmy would have changed from the asshole I thought he was, especially in the first book.
Lead is a fantastic addition to the Stage Dive series. Jimmy and Lena’s story has all of the qualities that readers have come to expect from a Kylie Scott text, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us with Deep – Ben’s book.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 poison apples
Excerpt
“Lena, you seen my old black Led Zep shirt?”
“Nope.”
“You sure?” His brows became one dark cranky line. The scratches on his face were healing well, thank goodness. Though it didn’t reduce my desire to throttle his mother on a daily basis.
“Yes. I haven’t seen it.”
Can’t find it anywhere…”
“And this is a surprise, how?” I slipped my hands into my back jean’s pockets. “Jimmy, you own more clothing than Cher, Brittney, and Elvis, put together. Things are bound to go missing.”
“Sure you haven’t seen it?”
“For goodness sake, what do you think, Jimmy? That I stole it to sleep in or something?” I laughed bitterly. Sure as hell, the truth deserved a good mocking. I’d sunk so despicably low.
I hadn’t even meant to steal the stupid thing, but the shirt had been mixed up with my laundry a few days ago. It’d been the first top I laid my hand on after stepping out of the shower, ready to go to bed. Without thought, I’d put it on and it’d been so soft, the scent of him lingering beneath the laundry detergent. Every night since, I’d found myself in it come bedtime. My shame knew no limits. And no, I still hadn’t quit. The words still hadn’t come even close to leaving my mouth.
He frowned. “No.”
“That I have some deep secret longing to feel close to you resulting in my stealing your shirt like some creepy perv?”
“Course I don’t fucking think that,” he replied crankily, reaching up to grip the top of the doorframe. All of his bulging muscles stretched the arms of his white T-shirt in the nicest way. It was all I could do not to start drooling, my heart beat taking up residence somewhere down between my thighs. And who could blame it? Not me. Maybe if I got laid, this would go away and things would return to normal. It’d seemed safer to avoid rubbing up against any men just in case I got carried away and started dating again. This new situation, however, changed everything.
“Well, of course not! That would be crazy.” And wasn’t that the god’s honest truth? Cray-zeee. Lock me up and throw away the key because it wasn’t like I didn’t know better.
“Just can’t figure out where the hell it could be.”
Angels couldn’t have smiled as innocently. They might have tried, but they would have failed, the dirty-mouthed, winged, little liars. “Jimmy, I don’t know where it is. But I’ll look around for it later, okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, and then added as an afterthought, “and stop looking at me weird.”
“I’m not!”
The Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott
Lick (Stage Dive #1)
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads
Play (Stage Dive #2)
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads
Lead (Stage Dive, #3)
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | iTunes
Coming January 6th, 2015
Deep (Stage Dive #4)
Pre – Order
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY
About Kylie Scott
Kylie is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads
Check out more of Kylie’s work
The Flesh series | Colonist’s Wife | Heart’s A Mess
Fairest Of All Book Reviews 