ELLIOTT REDEEMED by Scarlett Cole
SMP Swerve
Publication Date: August
29, 2017
ISBN: 9781250132451;
Price: $4.99
Description
A single mom and tortured musician find common
ground in Scarlett Cole's Elliott
Redeemed, the second standalone romance about the band Preload.
Elliott
“Pyro” Dawson burns up the lead guitar like a legend. But the nickname Pyro
isn’t just a clever play on words. It’s much darker. A past he's fought like
hell to overcome.
Grocery
store cashier Kendalee Walker is at her wits end and homeless. She's watched
her fourteen-year-old son, Daniel, go so far off the rails, he can no longer
see the tracks.
When the two
are brought together, attraction flares, but can Elliott find the family he
never had with the sexy woman and her son, or will he fall back on dangerous
habits?
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Excerpt:
When all the wood was finally
stacked next to his clearing, Elliott dove into the lake to cool down.
Excitement began to trickle through his veins. Once he was cool, he dried off a
little and wandered into the house to get one of the now-cold beers and his box
of supplies.
The piano intro to “Pretending”
started, and he laughed. Shuffle was reading his fucking mind.
He walked back to the fire pit and
put the box down carefully on one of the Muskoka chairs nearby. He took a swig
of beer, eyed his supplies, and ran his hand over the rough logs. He’d build a
stack of pallets and logs similar to an inukshuk.
The Inuit had used them as landmarks, and it would be one for him. It would
mark home.
Elliott took his time sorting the
logs into pairs of similar sizes and began to cautiously stack them. If they
fell over too soon as they burned, it would ruin the effect, so he used some of
the smaller pieces to build a frame to stop the logs from rolling.
Periodically, he would lay a wooden pallet across the logs. When he’d used up
his supplies, the structure was nearly as tall as he was. Need coursed through
him. The matches were in the box, calling to him as they always did. The
compulsion, the urges were so very strong. But giving into the gratification
too soon ruined everything. By holding out, he could convince himself that he
was the one in control. And, anyway, lighting it before it was truly dark would
ruin the effect.
Forcing himself to put one foot in
front of the other, he turned away and walked back into the house to make some
supper. He cut up the pre-cooked chicken and served himself some of the
ready-made sides he’d picked up at Loblaws, periodically looking out the window
to check his structure. It would burn well, the pallets igniting faster than
the logs, sending flames high into the air. Elliott took a step toward the
door, desperate to strike the first match, but then turned back. He forced
himself to grab a fork from the drawer, another beer from the fridge, and the
plate from the counter, and wandered outside, taking a seat on the patio.
The sun went down as he ate his
fill. Thoughts of Kendalee spending another night in the hospital eating
takeout food kept going through his mind, and he wondered what she would think
of him if she knew this was the reason he’d had to get out of Toronto for a
couple of days.
Why did he think he was capable of
helping Daniel when he couldn’t even stop himself? Daniel needed someone
stronger than him. Someone who had enough self-control to take the extra few
minutes to clean up the dirty dishes from dinner before stepping down toward
the pier.
Elliott opened the box reverently,
and pulled out his favorite lighter. He loved the sound it made as his thumb
ran quickly over its rough surface. At his command, it came to life, a flame
snapping high into the dark night. He grabbed four long matches and placed all
four tips into the flame at once. They hissed to life, the smell of sulphur
filling his nostrils, calming him as much as it excited him.
There was no way he’d ever be good
enough for someone like Kendalee. He placed the first long match down in the
corner of the fire pit, watching as the kindling took hold. He walked to the
next corner and repeated the action, savoring the crackle and snap of the wood
in the fire’s path. The heat began to lick at his skin, but he couldn’t step
away. He would never be able to tell her why he understood Daniel, and that
would always get in the way. He placed a match in the third corner and breathed
deeply in a bid to control his heart rate. Moving quickly, he stepped to the
fourth corner, but before he placed the match in the tinder, he ran it along
the underside of his arm, pausing near his elbow. He grit his teeth tightly as
the heat seared his skin. The bite of it cleared all thoughts from his head.
Thoughts of the band, the tour, a small boy in the hospital, and a strawberry
blonde he wanted to know better. None of them could compete with this.
Delicately, he placed the fourth
match down and stepped back. The whole structure roared to life as flames
climbed the wood.
Fire would always be his mistress.
He didn’t have room for anyone else.
Review by Gia
Elliott Redeemed is book two in the Preload series. It can be read as a standalone. I haven't read the first one, Jordan Reclaimed, but after reading this one I'm kind of hooked on these guys and I'm going go back and read that one. Elliott is an amazing character. He has is ups and downs. Elliott is now on my list for my favorite character. He had a tough up bringing and is still dealing with issues. Kendalee is Daniel's mom. Daniel is in the hospital recovering from burns. Kendalee's life is a mess. Her husband has left her, her house has burned down, and Daniel is in the hospital. She's a strong character. I really wanted to jump through the pages and give her a hug. Kendalee and Elliott's paths cross when Elliott visits Daniel is the hospital. Those two have some stuff in common and Daniel opens up to Elliott. Elliott takes a liking to Kendalee. Elliott kind of comes in and helps them out. I loved the relationship building between Elliott and Kendalee. Being with Kendalee brings back issue that Elliott hasn't fully coped with. This one is a great story.
5 Amazeballs Stars!
Author Bio
Born in
England, Scarlett Cole traveled the
world, living in Japan and the United States before settling in Canada where
she met her own personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. She now lives
with her husband and children in Manchester, England where she's at work on her
next book. She is the author of The
Strongest Steel.
Author Links
Website: http://www.scarlettcole.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsScarlettCole
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarlettcole/
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