Christie's review: Lead by Kylie Scott

Title: Lead

Series: Stage Dive #3

Author: Kylie Scott

Release Date: July 29, 2014

Rating: 3.5 stars

Cliffhanger: No

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.

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First off, I'm going to say I really had no business reading this book. I haven't read the others in the series.

#1... Too bad. I wanted to. Reading the others isn't necessarily required. It can be read as a standalone.
#2...It has the lead singer in a rock band as the hero.
#3...He's a major bad boy who falls for the good girl with sarcastic wit and a brain in her head.
#4...It has hot sex. (At least I hoped)

That did it. I was all over it like a cheap hooker.

Every single review I've read for this book has been more than glowing over this latest addition the Stage Dive series. They've clearly had time to meet the whole band, fall in love with them, grow close, and get excited about all the characters. I didn't have that advantage. I looked at the story purely from a neutral standpoint. Maybe a little detached. But I'm a sucker for a great musician story and I was hoping I could fall for it just as hard as everybody else. So what's my official opinion of Jimmy and Lena's story?....Ok, clearly I'm batshit crazy or possibly an alien from the planet I'm-Not-Bewitched-By-Jimmy-Ferris. Because I didn't love it. Liked, absolutely. I enjoyed a lot of things about it but I didn't get a book buzz over it.



My thoughts on Lena: I liked Lena. A lot. She was fun, she had a self-depreciating, sarcastic wit that entertained me and she was a smart girl. Right away from the first page, I could tell that she was a girl after my own heart. I loved how she stuck up for herself and didn't take herself too seriously. I loved how she gave Jimmy hell. When he struck out at her, she struck right back just as hard. She handled his mood swings and with care and compassion but she didn't let him walk all over her just because he was some hotshot rockstar. The thing was though, after how rude and difficult he is with her, she falls so hard for him immediately after seeing him vulnerable one time and understanding his behavior a little better. I wasn't really seeing why she was so desperately crushing on him to the point where she couldn't stop staring at him, dreaming about him, and lusting over him. All because she understood his rough childhood better. It was like flicking a switch. She suddenly felt so intensely for him.



My thoughts on Jimmy:Sometimes I liked him, sometimes I didn't. He's one of those you love to hate or hate to love. He was a major asshole but once I understand where he was coming from, I was a lot more sympathetic. He was sulky and downright unfriendly in the beginning of the book but once he started healing a bit from his troubled past he was a lot more likable. Lena really softens him up and makes him want to be a better man. And yeah, he was an incredibly hot, talented singer who was a lot tortured and a little bit guarded. He really was a complex character-and eventually I saw through his gruff exterior and saw the lost soul he was hiding. Really the one place he really fit and felt whole and complete was on stage. He was carrying a whole lot of baggage and without drugs to make him forget, he was really struggling.



The one thing though that really frustrated me was the fact that I was expecting a lot steam in this book. Now don't get me wrong, when they finally got around to it, they had some great chemistry and the explosion was hot! I just wish that It would have happened a lot sooner. 70% into it, there was absolutely nothing. Zilch. Not a kiss. Not even an almost kiss. I was like, "Come on already!" I'm all for building the sexual tension but I wanted that delayed gratification to be a little less delayed.



Overall, it was an enjoyable book and it had it's high points, but I didn't fall head over heels for their story like I hoped I would. There were a lot of funny moments-I loved the humor and the author had considerable skills turning this character around and making my sympathies turn toward him. And Lena was a great heroine for me-I loved her personality and strength. If you're already a fan of the Stage Dive books, you'll most likely be very happy with this latest addition to the series.

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