Audio, 9 HoursRelease Date: October 11, 2013Published by: St. Martin's GriffinStage Dive, #1Source: LibraryFor fans of: Chick-lit, Romance, Audio, DEAR, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Music, Take Me Away After Dark
Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.
Evelyn Thomas's plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man in her room, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.
One thing is certain, being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride.
BETWEEN THE COVERS!
*"This book is part of the new adult contemporary romance genre! It is more mature than both YA and MG. I have featured it in Between the Cover as a way to feature the few Adult and New Adult titles I am beginning to read!" This book will contain strong language and explicit sexual scenes. Intended for adults 18 and up!
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I first heard about Lick, I was not impressed with the synopsis. It seemed so cliche and it just didn't seem interesting enough to me. And then, it got the cover redesign and HOLY HOTNESS..... Now I know that's a bit shallow, but COME. ON. Have you seen it?!
In Lick, Evelyn meets the famous rock star David Farris... And doesn't remember it at all. She wakes up to meet her new husband on the floor of a bathroom in Vegas. As she tries to piece it together, things start to get interesting.
For it to have such a cliche in the beginning, the rest of the story is interesting and really unique. I've never read a story about rock stars before, so this was definitely enjoyable. David Farris is such a genuine person (for him to be a literary character lol) Although he was a rock star god and it seemed like EVERYONE knew his name, all he wanted was to be in love and be happy. Seeing him that way showed how humble he was and I loved that. I also loved Eve. She was so naiive and sometimes it got on my nerve, but for the most part it worked for her character. As in, there were sometimes I rolled my eyes, but when David "taught her" something, it worked.
As for the romance, I like how they explored each other. They found new things about each other and found things they both liked and didn't like and I was happy we got to see both sides. As Eve remembers more about what happened the night they got married, their romance gets more and more heated. It was this that sealed the deal. Kylie Scott can definitely write a hawt love scene. Tack on to the fact that I was listening to it on audio, yeah I had to pause it and stick my head in the freezer a couple times.
The only thing I would really change about this one was the plot. It started with a cliched beginning and then spent the entire book just trying to make herself remember. It seemed like there was nothing really happening but them running from the media, but since there was still so much other stuff going on (meeting the other band members, the smexy times, etc.) it wasn't boring.
Audio, 9 hours
Release Date: March 25, 2014
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Stage Dive, #2
Source: Library
For fans of: Chick-lit, Romance, Audio, DEAR, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Music, Take Me Away After Dark
Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl.
Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?
Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?
*MY THOUGHTS*
This one wasn't as good as Lick. But only because I couldn't really take Mal serious. In Lick he was really funny and had some pretty funny one liners, but an entire book about him was a little much.
Mal has been a jokester his entire life, but now he wants to grow up. And the only way he can think to show the world he's serious is to have a good girl on his arm. Even if the relationship isn't real. Anne is a good girl that's loved Mal as long as she could remember. But meeting Mal while she's going through a time period when she's broke and he gives her a proposal of being his fake girlfriend, how does she say no? You just don't tell the drummer from the hottest rock band in the world no.
I loved Anne because she was just what Mal needed. Where Anne is quiet and sane, Mal is crazy and loud. He got on my nerves for awhile, but as the secret about him started to finally come out, it made a lot more sense. I was happy to see a different side of him, but I was so sad it had to be in that situation. I wished that there was something else that had made him act that way.
As for the romance, it didn't take long for their fake romance to become a real one. Mal is a jealous SOB and he wasn't having someone else be with Anne. In this one, it took a while before they warmed up to each other, but once they did, I couldn't help but fall in love with them. Mal and Anne can definitely give Eve and David a run for their money though.
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Audio, 9 hours
Release Date: November 25, 2014
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Stage Dive, #3
Source: Library
For fans of: Chick-lit, Romance, Audio, DEAR, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Music, Take Me Away After Dark
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.
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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was so ready to get to this one because after what Jimmy does in Lick, I needed to know his story. I needed to know why he acted that way towards everyone. And find out I did.
Jimmy does whatever he wants, whenever he wants since he's the lead singer of Stage Dive. And no one blinks an eye when he does drugs or drinks way too much. But then after a bad run in with the two, Jimmy lands himself in rehab and finds himself with a new assistant. Lena doesn't take crap from anyone. Including Jimmy the rockstar. But as she continues working for him, she can't deny that they have some serious heat together but she wants to keep what they have together professional. But sometimes, you can only take so much.
When I first started reading this one, I wasn't sure I liked it. But as I kept reading, I realized that it wasn't the book I didn't like, but it was just Jimmy. Jimmy pushed everyone away and Lena was no different. I saw that it was just Kylie's writing that made me feel like Jimmy was a huge jerk and was pushing Lena away. I think I was done with Jimmy before Lena was. And it's no surprise that she was planning to leave him.
My favorite part of this book was ironically seeing a scene from Play and seeing it from a different person's point of view. It was super interesting to see what was going on in the same room, just looking through the eyes and mind of someone else. Normally when I read companions it only features some of the same characters, not the same scenes.
As for Jimmy and Lena's romance, I was glad to see that it wasn't an easy one. Jimmy isn't one to just give in so easily and Lena is just the same. Because of that, the romance is almost non-existant. In fact, Jimmy ends up trying to get other people to date Lena and he ends up "seeing" some other person. This is supposed to draw them further apart, but ends up bringing them together. It also makes for a pretty weird couple of smexy times. But man, when they got together, Jimmy and Lena were explosive.
But at the same time, that's the part I didn't like it. In the end, it seemed to be a really weird and kinda rushed ending. She seemed to give in completely to what he said after hurting her so bad. I guess it was because she "loved" him before she even started the position, but for Jimmy who had no idea what love even was, I didn't like it. I wanted to see Jimmy grow up after a while, not hurriedly and right away.
Audio, 8 hours
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Stage Dive, #4
Source: Library
For fans of: Chick-lit, Romance, Audio, DEAR, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Music, Take Me Away After Dark
Positive. With two little lines on a pregnancy test, everything in Lizzy Rollins' ordinary life is about to change forever. And all because of one big mistake in Vegas with Ben Nicholson, the irresistibly sexy bass player for Stage Dive. So what if Ben's the only man she's ever met who can make her feel completely safe, cherished, and out of control with desire at the same time? Lizzy knows the gorgeous rock star isn't looking for anything more permanent than a good time, no matter how much she wishes differently.
Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She's his best friend's little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he's not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he's always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible... but will it lead to a connection of the heart?
Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She's his best friend's little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he's not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he's always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible... but will it lead to a connection of the heart?
*MY THOUGHTS*
This one had to be my favorite of the series, but I was really sad when I finished reading it. I didn't want this series to end. It has been such a wild ride, and I wasn't really ready to give up my favorite rock stars.
Lizzy finds out she's pregnant and her life stands still. She realizes that the father of the baby is bass guitarist from Stage Dive, Ben Nicholson, someone who has told her numerous times that he couldn't be with her. But that's the only reason that Ben wants to stay away from her, but he can't.
I liked this one the most because there was an actaul plot in it. Lizzy and Ben were trying their hardest for the baby, not because of each other and I was addicted to finding out what it was that they were going to do. I couldn't listen fast enough.
As for the romance, I was impressed to see how far Lizzy and Ben go in this book. It was really weird to read about smexy times while she was pregnant, but I know it's done. I just don't think I've ever thought about something like that before. I love that Kylie Scott could be so daring to try something like that.
As far as the ending, it was a nice wrap up, not only for the book, but for the entire series. I was happy with where everyone was after I listened to that epilogue. I am a little upset about the fact that there is no longer anymore books, but now I have another of her series to look forward to. It's called Dive and it features a character we meet in Deep. This makes me happy. Maybe Stage Dive won't be completely over and we'll get to see what they're up to in this next series.
As a whole, the average for this series came out as a 3.75 which I would round up to