From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kylie Scott comes a new story in her Stage Dive series…
When the girl of your dreams is kind of a nightmare.
As head of security to Stage Dive, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Sam Knowles has plenty of experience dealing with trouble. But spoilt brat Martha Nicholson just might be the worst thing he’s ever encountered. The beautiful troublemaker claims to have reformed, but Sam knows better than to think with what’s in his pants. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to make his heart fall into line.
Martha’s had her sights on the seriously built bodyguard for years. Quiet and conservative, he’s not even remotely her type. So why the hell can’t she get him out of her mind? There’s more to her than the Louboutin wearing party-girl of previous years, however. Maybe it’s time to let him in on that fact and deal with this thing between them.
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“Ooh, busted,” said Lizzy. “The bodyguard caught you looking.”
“Shut it.” I inched my chin up a bit, trying not to frown because frowning gave you lines. “Sam and I have known each other for years and nothing has ever happened. You’re completely wrong about this.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, there’s nothing between us.”
“So that’s why you were staring at him?”
I chose not to answer that. “And you know he prefers to be called executive protection officer instead of bodyguard.”
At this, Lizzy burst out giggling, a malicious glee in her eyes. No wonder I liked my sister-in-law these days.
Ben shot us both an irritated glance. We both ignored it.
Of course, I’d known Sam would probably be here. Rock stars going out in public could be a delicate thing. People had a tendency to get overexcited. And while one person wanting an autograph wasn’t a problem, twenty or thirty of them suddenly swarming definitely could be. Having once been part of the entourage, I’d seen it happen to Ben and his fellow Stage Dive band members enough times to be wary. And you couldn’t get by with ordinary security. Rock stars needed protection from their over-zealous fans, but on the other hand they didn’t want the fans roughed up or hurt in any way. It required a delicate balance: control, experience, and a whole gamut of scary physical skills. Hence Sam.
Still, Portland seemed generally less crazy than the good old days back in LA. All of the guys seemed calmer and more settled away from the constant craziness of the party scene. Not to mention the effect of all of the wives/partners and various offspring. The biggest rock band in the world had officially been domesticated.
It was kind of cute. Or sad. I don’t know.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stir you,” she lied. “What do you think of your brother’s new musical bromance?”
On the small stage set up in the corner of the room, a young man wailed his heart out while playing an acoustic guitar. Much angst about a girl who only called him after midnight. Trust a rockster to turn a simple booty call into a heartbreaking ballad. The song was damn good though. He had talent. If only I hadn’t had my fill of the type when I was younger. The kid looked to be in his early to mid-twenties. Lanky with lots of tattoos. Your typical rock ’n roll Prince Charming. Gag. These days my type ran more toward…actually, what I needed or wanted in a male was a total mystery.
And my gaze did not stray back to Sam. That did not happen.
Review:
Strong by Kylie Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Strong (Stage Dive #4.5) (ARC) was graciously provided to me by Inkslinger PR for an honest review.
The Musical Chords of Love and Strength…
First and gleefully foremost, to say that I was honored and blown away by the opportunity to read an early copy of a new book from one of my most favorite series..would be an understatement. I may have fan-girled just a little bit at this discovery, as I have loved the Stage Dive Series by Kylie Scott ever since the first page of Lick from the series. So, needlessly to say, an utmost need and wanting to voraciously read this new and upcoming book with such eager anticipation of yet another great book was put into place immediately.
SQUEEE! I could not be more happy at the conclusion of my most recent read of a much-anticipated new book from such a beloved series. So much so that I need to re-read the entire series from start to finish all over again..like, right now. I adored reading once again a storyline that is fun, gripping, sizzling, as well as addicting with characters who are so realistic that their lives become such brilliant and well-developed entities that readers simply need to keep up with the lives of these characters. It was quite an exciting and pleasurable read and to have experienced such an overabundance of emotions was an amazing feat that I greedily hope for again.
Strong by Kylie Scott was such a great and welcomed read, and predictably, such a super book. I loved every minute of it! As a novella, it was able to draw me in quickly as the characters were just as fantastic as ever. These down-to-earth, absolutely adorable, family-oriented, hilarious, sweet, sexy, perfectly-written characters, that speaking for this reader, were so enticing, that, I already need more of them. Clearly, I just loved being blissfully immersed within the lives of all of the characters while getting caught up with all of them. I squealed, cheered, laughed my butt off, teared-up, and I even got just as hot-under-the-collar and flustered as well.
As previously mentioned, this is a novella, an almost like wonderful tease for readers, as readers of this author are always eager for more of these characters from this popular series, and, this was the time to meet Sam and Martha as they come to grips with their budding and disguised relationship. Sam Knowles *dreamy sigh* oh how I loved him.. This former Navy Seal turned security expert, is a drool-worthy, without-a-doubt, prime example of male perfection. I wish I could just wrap him up and place him in my pocket..or something. His character is a muscular, dedicated, sincere, and devoted kind of absolute male yumminess. Martha Nicholson is intrinsically a good person, enjoys doing good for others, and with a softer side hidden underneath a sharp and naively brave shell, is also a woman who has the capacity for growth. In all honesty, this is a character who actually got on my last nerve. But, despite this, her underlying good could also be seen throughout the story as well, as the writing is that good. I loved being able to venture down the road that Sam and Martha had finally taken and had welcomed all of the excursions that had been taken as well.
Strong by Kylie Scott is one of those stories that could be considered as having an ongoing storyline and because of this, while this book could definitely be enjoyed as a standalone, it could also be enjoyed twice as much with the accompaniment of the previous books having been read beforehand. While the writing was so smooth and enticing and incredible with its ability to weave the absolutely squeal-worthy members of the band, the mysterious past of one of the main characters, all the while successfully interweaving the most epic and surprising of twists successfully..I also needed more. I needed more depth to the main characters as well as more development to the ending to be understandably complete with the storyline.
However, as a whole, this book..THIS BOOK.. Strong, being part of the Stage Dive Series by Kylie Scott is one hugely incredible book, that is indeed one of the most highly-anticipated books of 2018, that will be read over and over and over again, because it was that good of a novella, one that I drank in its greatness as it was over way too soon. As a result, as books from Kylie Scott always have readers reaching for more, speaking for this reader, I will sit with great anticipation for the next book, as there are already so many intriguing possibilities as a result of this most recent read, and I can-not-wait..:)
*star rating: 4.49 ‘I really liked it’ stars*
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/
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