Lead (Stage Dive #3) by Kylie Scott

Lead (Stage Dive #3)
by Kylie Scott
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 29th 2014

Rate: Enjoyed it (4,5 stars)

Synopsis:

Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic New Adult 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.

As a Stage Dive fan, Lead was definitely one of my most expected reads this year. This time it was Jimmy's story and it definitely rocked my reader-world. 

In this new Stage Dive story, we have the change to meet Jimmy, who we have met in the other two Stage Dive stories and that we got to see that he had some problems with booze, drugs and, to not leave the it behind in the rock world, women. 

If you have read the previous two Stage Dive novels, you might have read about Jimmy and get an earlier impression of him. Mine was that he was kind of a jerk. However, Lead is the perfect book to understand Jimmy's previous behavior and to get to know him better. He changes throughout the story with Lena's help and the insight is very enlightening.

Lead is different from the other two stories. This one touches more serious problems like addiction and the relationship in this one is not a crazy romantic one (like Mal's) or a sweet version of the Hangover (like David's). Their relationship is a professional one that turns out into much more after months of living together. It definitely takes its time to become a meaningful relationship. So much, that I even started to become anxious, wondering when they were going to confess to each other that they had something going on between them. 

Throughout the whole story, Lena has a very important role. She's good, comprehensive and strong. She has some attitude, needed to deal with Jimmy Ferris, and you get to understand her and her frustration over Jimmy's attitude sometimes.

Jimmy, on the other hand, has a lot to deal with, not to mention his addiction, and it seems that is hard for him to trust anyone. Let alone to rely on someone to get over his addiction. Despite this, as our rocker heals, we get to meet him and the sexy and sweet person he really is and, by the end of the book, you are definitely a Jimmy Ferris fan.

Although this book can be perfectly read as a standalone, I highly recommend to read the books in order. This way you can get a pretty early insight into Jimmy's world and get to meet the other Stage Dive's members and their stories. I'm still faithful to Mal, but I have to confess that I had a great time reading Lead and got a chance to meet the real Jimmy Ferris. 

So, if you ask me if I would recommend you this series? I would not tell you yes, I would tell to run to nearest store and start reading them like two minutes ago. You definitely need to meet the Stage Dive rockers!

Read my review for Lick

Read my review for Play

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.

Release Day: Lead Me Not by A. Meredith Walters

Lead Me Not
by A. Meredith Walters
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: August 5th 2014

Synopsis:

In this dangerously sexy novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Find You in the Dark, a straight-laced college student meets a handsome but enigmatic stranger who lures her into an underground club scene, where she finds it difficult to resist temptation 

Aubrey Duncan understands loss. She knows what rock bottom looks like, and she is determined to crawl back up to the top after the sudden death of her younger sister. She blames herself for her part in the tragedy, convinced that she could have done something, anything, to help her.

In her effort to gain redemption, Aubrey starts fresh at Longwood University and facilitates an addiction support group, hoping she can support someone else in the way she failed her sister. But what she doesn’t count on is an all-consuming fascination with group member Maxx Demelo, a gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed enigma who hides dark secrets behind a carefully constructed mask. He only reveals what he wants others to see. But Aubrey glimpses another Maxx hidden below the surface—a Maxx who is drowning in his own personal hell.

As Aubrey and Maxx develop an attraction too intense to ignore, he pulls her into the dark underbelly of the city club scene, where she is torn by her desire to save him and an inexplicable urge to join him in his downward spiral. Worst of all, she is beginning to love everything she should run away from—a man who threatens to ignite in her a fire that could burn her alive…

Lead Me Not

by A. Meredith Walters

I stared harder at the picture, uncomfortable with the odd sense of familiarity I felt. Looking at the woman's graceful yet agonized form, I felt as though I should recognize her.

Bothered by my increasing disquiet, I stood up and walked closer. This was not your typical campus painting of daffodils and laughing students. I had seen this particular kind of art several times before. I leaned in to try to see the details in the poor lighting. And there it was- the tiny patterns on the woman's dress composed of dozens of Xs.

I didn't notice any numbers or words in this picture, though, so I didn't understand what its intent was. It was my understanding that X's paintings held the clues to the location of the club, Compulsion. But this picture seemed to have nothing to do with that.

This was a painting created for some other purpose.

"So what do you think?" 

I looked over my shoulder to find Maxx standing behind me. I turned back to the picture, not bothering to answer him. The truth was, my outburst in the group had left me feeling raw and vulnerable, and seeing him so soon after making a gigantic ass of myself was embarrassing.

As he came up beside me, the sleeves of our jackets brushed against each other. Maxx inclined his head toward the painting and asked me again, "Well, what do you think of it?"

I shrugged, not really in the mood for small talk. My pounding head couldn't handle a go-around with the group Romeo. I started to walk away from him when he grabbed hold of my arm.

"Wait, Aubrey. Please." It was that word that did it. Please. It was uttered softly and sincerely. And it held me as fast and surely as if he had put his arms around me.

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance including The Find You in the Dark and Bad Rep series as well as the upcoming stand alone romance, Reclaiming the Sand, and a dark new adult series for Gallery Books.

A. Meredith spent ten years as a counselor for at risk teens and children. First working at a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault program and then later a program for children with severe emotional and mental health issues. Her former clients and their stories continue to influence every aspect of her writing.

When not writing (or being tortured with all manner of beauty products at the hand of her very imaginative and extremely girly daughter), she is eating chocolate, watching reality television that could rot your brain and reading a smutty novel or two.

A. Meredith is represented by Michelle Johnson with the Inklings Literary Agency.

Release Blitz: Lead (Stage Dive #3) by Kylie Scott

Lead (Stage Dive #3)
by Kylie Scott
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 29th 2014

Synopsis:

Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic New Adult 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.

Read my review for Lick

Read my review for Play

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

Pre-Order Now Deep (Stage Dive #4): Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

Lead

by Kylie Scott

“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!”

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.