Review: Lick by Kylie Scott

5/5

I haven't ready anything of Kylie Scott before but after this book, you can be sure as hell I'm going to be on the look out for her next one.

This is contemporary romance done right. It has a dash of New Adult (which seems to be my obsession as of late), that wild, hot flavor of a sexy rocker romance and the grounding tenderness vital to a love (not just lust) story.

Before I go, let me quickly tell you what I look for in a good contemporary romance—interesting relationship dynamics that continue to evolve, a lot of fun, a lot of butterflies in the stomach, a palpable attraction (not just page after page of sex because there's erotica for that) and likeable characters that are also relatable (no matter how larger than life they may seem in the book).

I got all the things I was looking for in this book that I couldn't put it down until I was done with it. After that, I had no idea what to do next because I was still kind of hung-over from it (pun intended). 

What happens in Vegas never really quite stays in Vegas as much as we'd like to think it does.

For fans of the marriage of convenience tropes, this one's for you. Can't have a romance take off in Vegas without some reckless wedding and a good amount of alcohol to excuse a sudden lack of inhibitions. 

Evelyn Thomas wakes up in her Vegas hotel room married to Stage Dive's guitarist David Ferris. 

Sure, this is nothing new. But that's alright because I love romance formulas. I love the myriad ways they could go and how they're executed. It's always fun to see something familiar come out brand new.

I actually like Evelyn. It's not often I find heroines I absolutely loathe but it's also hard to find one I actually like enough to not mind being in her head (especially with the explosion of novels told from the heroine's first POV). 

She's really a simple girl, sweet, possessing a sense of humor that makes you laugh without wanting to duck your head in embarrassment at the same time. She struck me as one of those quiet, laid-back types you could get to know and become really good friends with. She's smart without overanalyzing every thought. Despite her own insecurities and the ones brought on by her unusual circumstances with David, she didn't have an overly irrational moment. She was honest and straightforward and showed some spine when she needed to. She was a girl I could root for and root for her, I did.

David Ferris has the world worshipping at his feet. He plays the guitar and writes many of the songs for Stage Dive, one of the hottest bands in music. 

This is nothing new either but David is a male lead done right, too. Yes, he's gotta be a little angsty with a wounded past, etc. and relationship issues. 

I liked him right off the first page, when Ev was just starting to stir awake and he's there, taking care of her and her monster hangover. Because of the rocker personality and this edgy lifestyle they're supposed to lead, many male leads are written to be arrogant, domineering, possessive, difficult and all the many things that scream at the female lead to stay the hell away. And in most cases, they'd be right. Some heroes in books don't deserve to win the girl at all, at the end of the day. I get that they have to have their edges, and they're going to make a lot of stupid mistakes and hurt the girl, but they don't have to be a one-dimensional jackass the entire story. 

David doesn't suffer from that. Yes, he talks a little rough. Yes, he's immersed in a world that celebrates bad habits and a reckless lifestyle. But he's actually quite a nice guy!

He didn't react well to the epiphany (or lack thereof) that Evelyn suffered from in the morning after but when they got over their initial bumps, he was quite caring and tender toward his new wife. He's got some baggage but he's not a walking disaster who pulls out the sob story for every despicable thing he does. No question he's an alpha male, but the kind you could actually bring home to your parents and marry. 

As to their relationship, yes, Evelyn kind of fell fast but I didn't mind this 'insta-love' too much. They were married, after all. Other than a serious lap of judgement, you don't go marry someone without some compelling, if unnameable, reason. Why get married when you can just screw around, right?

Their relationship wasn't perfect but they had a lot of things that many couples in many books out there don't have—honesty, the common sense to talk things out, decency to each other (this is seriously lacking in many books today), a sense of friendship, a tenderness that threads into their conversations and their actions.

Even after an ugly confrontation that ripped them apart, the way they dealt with each other had a lot of maturity and sense. Don't worry, the passionate scenes are very passionate, indeed, but the book as a whole handled the plot effectively I never once felt like tossing it out the window or wanting to gag from excessive gushings like "Oh-my-god-he's-beautiful-and-I'm-just-Jell-O-in-his arms".

This was a great read. It wasn't overly complex (which can sometimes ruin a good story) and it had the perfect combination of romance, heat, and characters you wouldn't mind hanging out with for a day or two.

Can't wait for Mal's story coming out in paperback this August. 

Read more reviews about it here: Goodreads - Lick