Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Lick

Am I glad for the happy accident that led me to pick up my first Kylie Scott book recently. As I mentioned in my review of Dirty, I decided to check this author out after noticing a new book that was coming out but was the second in a series. After reading one book by an author and loving it, sometimes I am scared I’ll be let down when I go on to read more from their library of work. Well, Ms. Scott is 2 for 2. I loved this book!

Although in this story we don’t yet meet any of the main characters from Dive Bar, When I read Dirty, the first book in the Dive Bar series, I realized that there was a bit of crossover of characters from this series. Since chronologically this series comes first and I already had this book on hold I decided to do something I don’t usually do…read both series at the same time as the books became available to me from my various libraries. I just couldn’t wait! We get to see Mal in Dirty and, although he had a small part in that one, I was looking forward to actually meeting him on his own turf here. He did not disappoint! Now, this isn’t Mal’s book so don’t go being disappointed you don’t get to see him more. But he is in this story quite a bit and he’s every bit as charming as I had hoped he would be.

So onto the actual hero and heroine of this story, David and Evelyn. They are both wonderful characters with their own assets and foibles. It was quite touching how they seemed to be able to read each other even before they had a real conversation while sober. The way David would get his feelings hurt when Evelyn was struggling with her Vegas memories was really quite sweet. That night meant a lot to him and it hurt that she couldn’t remember that.

I have to say, I really expected this to play out a bit differently than it did and I’m glad for that. Not that I would have minded, this author does such a great job of putting you in the moment it would have been okay even if it was predictable.

The last few chapters, after the climactic conflict, were extremely sweet and raw. I love when authors allow their characters to really get raw and feel that pain. To share that pain with us, the readers. It really adds a lot to the story for me when that magic happens. I didn’t think I could truly get mad at David but I sure did! He was rather unfair to Evelyn in expecting all from her but holding back so much of himself. The way it played out broke my heart for both of the characters.

I’m hoping to see more of Evelyn and David as peripheral characters in the coming books of this series. And now that I’m truly, madly, deeply in love with Mal I am even more excited that his story is next. Unfortunately, I don’t have my hands on that one yet but I do have my hands on the next Dive Bar book so, once again, I’m shuffling my order.

Update 4/24/24 after reading the audiobook:
Wow, I talked about Mal a lot in my original review! But he deserves the time. I still love him. And I still love Evelyn, David, and this book.

The first time I read this book it didn't bother me that it is a single POV story. Had I been reading the book by another means it most likely still wouldn't bother me. As much as I enjoyed listening to this story via audiobook this time, I wish I couldn't have heard David and the other band members with a different voice. The narrator didn't do a bad job, I was still immersed in the story, but it wasn't the best way to consume this story in my opinion. So while I still strongly recommend this book, I also suggest your first read of the book isn't by audiobook.

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