A Review by Wendy
5 In the Kylie Scott Groove Stars
* * * * *
To Do A Full Review, Or Not.... That is the question....should I hold back the goods....
Hell, No!
For this is Vintage Kylie Scott storytelling at its best. This is the Scott writing which drew me in with Lick and then made me actually do a real review with Play.
It was experiencing all the Yummy goodness of reading seriously complex characters written so well, you thought you could enter the backstage of the Staples Center and they would be waiting to perform. They weren't caricatures of Rock Gods...they were hysterically funny, sexy, caring and confusing Men/Children... and you wanted to know them, hang with them, yes dream of fucking them but also loving them with all their warts and all...
No, they didn't have any sexually transmitted diseases to worry about... Just beautiful, thick, extending dicks.... yes...lollypop time...and moves and grooves to make you howl... with an added benefit of unparalleled hand and mouth action....kissing lips, all kinds of lips...
But they were as real as Rock Stars could be and Scott created magic with outstanding humor, zaniness and heart. The Stage Dive series had magical moments in many of its books, some more than others for this reader. Yet in every single entry, they all had their bravery and Scott made us part of the journey from the first page.
Dirty (Dive Bar,#1) is no different.
It captures you even before the first page...The blurb sets the coaster on the bar...the cover art enhances the anticipation of the drink hitting your lips... and the first taste of the frosty concoction just barely coating your tongue and hitting your taste buds starts to explode into mind bubbles of glee....The taste is sharp, cuts through whatever you had thought was coming and adds an extra zing.
What we have is Lydia Green; a woman whose disconnected parents with their child-rearing skills and lack of affection have set her on a path which has her sitting in a over inflated Mc Mansion master bedroom about to marry a man who systematically pursued, wooed and made her believe he was her happy ever after.
He fit all the rules she had been lead to believe would make it so:
He was a part of his family's successful Real Estate company
He wooed her, not pushing for anything inappropriate
He texted her in the morning and then a good night,every night
He was polite, caring and promised the dream...all in the FOUR MONTHS of her moving here
Wasn't that supposed to be the perfect...
Especially for a woman who was not the cookie cutter image of J.Crew or Ralph Lauren...Who had curves, breasts and thighs like most of the womanhood had...
So we meet this accomplished real estate professional as she is seeing the reality of her life playing on a smartphone with the soundtrack of moans...visuals of groping between her minutes-away-soon-to-be-husband and his best man....Lydia is stunned, yet also realizing she was not about to let this be her life. Like in all the movies, she figures out a way to run... to escape and somehow just like in fairy-tales, she goes over woods and through the glen and finds her hideout to regroup.
If that sounds vague, it is.
Due to the wonder of reading this specific section. Never let it be said I would take that pleasure away from you.
Lydia finds herself in the bathroom of the little house that backs up to the one she ran from...she is sitting in the tub trying to gather her thoughts....she has no idea of how much time has passed ... did she blank out while crying...it doesn't matter because now noise of a person in the other room has her on alert...The door opens and a hand reaches into the shower/tub area turning on the shower...Yes... water is now falling on her in her disheveled wedding dress, ripped stockings and bruised face...running for your life will cause all of that...
As she sits there trying to figure out how to explain her presence, the curtain is flung open and Lydia meets Vaughan Hewson in all his glory.
Time out for a Moment..
Let's just say all of the things you read about him in Deep is front and center in this scene. Again, this is another fabulous moment you can ponder and imagine...I will tell you the reading experience is worth the price of admission
Vaughan Hewson, V-man ... the bass player for the opening band for Stage Dive on their last tour. We had a taste of him, were very intrigued and here he is...confronted with a woman in his tub looking like she has been on the Amazing Race without any assistance from her team-mates...
The timing couldn't be worse...he just arrived from a crappy flight, driving to get here and collapse. He doesn't even want to be here... it is his family's home... but all of the memories and good feelings it should stimulate...are lost to the heartbreak of his parents' death. The only saving grace was they both died together in a terrible weather related car accident. Vaughan was hit hard and escaped from the pain by not being around the home or even his sister. He couldn't be around the town or in the house without everything flooding back... it was too much. But now he has no choice... the band is no longer... meaning the money for the mortgage isn't there. He hopes he won't have to sell...but this woman is in his tub... so as tired as he is...he will have to deal with her...
Lydia seems to have lost her words...Once the two of them are out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, she begins to explain the deal. It all comes out... the wooing, the "sweet, polite kisses" and then it seems once she starts talking she doesn't stop. She doesn't quite understand it, but she is more comfortable around Tattooed, Bad Boy Vaughan then she has ever felt with anyone else. The both of them slip into an easy way and Vaughan being from the area, puts two and two together and shares more information about her ex-fiance as they all went to high school together.
This is good; painful because now she knows she really was targeted by his family and the swine but comes in handy when things escalate. Also, Vaughan being a "what you see is what you get" type of fella...has given her a sense of self...to move on and just realize how worthy she is...
This story has so many pieces. We have the budding friendship of Lydia and Vaughan...and what exactly will it be...Both of them are at a fork in their emotional roads... It takes some hard realizations for the both of them to make it over this obstacle course called life. They are lucky, though, because the people who surround them have helping hands out...to get them over the really tough stuff. The best, though, is knowing the hands are there... but being able to pull yourself through it on your own.
Then we meet all of the characters who will inhabit the Dirty Bar series. The intros are classic Scott- Real, Fun, Gut-wrenching, full of back stories and heart. There is so much given... with equal amounts teased... for us to want more... More of Vaughan's sister Nell... more of Andre, Pat, Eric and even a possible love story for the asshole ex-fiance...Hey it is Scott- she could make him redeemable....
This new series will have all of the Stage Dive fans so happy...because it wouldn't be a Scott book without some tease and delivery of a Mal Sighting....yup... my fav is there and may be making other visits too....
So I hope I gave you enough to hold on...Your entry into Dirty (Dive Bar#1) will be here before you know it.
A gifted copy was provided by the author/publisher for an honest review
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Australian Romance Writer.
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