Scan barcode
A review by bookish_notes
Saving Saint by Joel Abernathy
4.0
I read this book all in one sitting because it is IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN. Am I okay? No!! I adore Danny and Saint!! I am not okay because I feel overwhelmed. This book is an absolute roller coaster of emotions that has even the other books in this series beat, and they don’t even come CLOSE. I’ve been waiting for this book for months and it finally came out, and of course I just had to read this immediately. And while there’s a part of this story I can’t say I really liked, the last half was angst and a half and brought in some Dom sadist humiliation and pet-play kink into play, so I guess I’m willing to overlook everything else.
Trigger warnings are included at the beginning of the book (and quite detailed ones at that! and they don’t spoil the story). I would include extra warnings for death, mentions of heroin addiction, and mentions of possible alcoholism. Warnings pasted here are from the beginning of the book from the author:
This book is one I didn’t expect to happen. Danny and Saint are characters that were introduced later in the series. They were part of a band under Sterling called Organic Animal and were later brought into Dante’s Infernal. While I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary to read the books in order or to have read the other books in the series first before this one, I think it’s still better to read the books in order to give you a sense of who’s who and what their relationships are like since the other couples show up quite significantly in the story.
We don’t know Danny and Saint’s ages in this book, but it’s alluded to that Saint is older and Danny is maybe not quite old enough to be allowed into nightclubs when the story starts, but is older than 18. Danny grew up in foster care and has an older brother, Adam, who calls him up from time to time and never for anything good.
When Adam swears he’s gone to rehab and everything actually stuck this time and he’s sober, Danny manages to convince a very skeptical Sterling and Drake to let Adam into their now unusually sober band and for Adam to be their new drummer. Since Saint has a problem with running all of their drummers off.
At first, I thought this was going to be a Dante situation where a guy coming into the band who was addicted to hard drugs was going to get the help he needed and get his affairs in order. I even thought, however brief, that maybe this wasn’t the last book in the series because Adam seemed to be an interesting prospect who could get his HEA too.
But, wow, was I wrong on that count.
Maybe that’s why this part of the story doesn’t work for me and maybe it’s because I read this book all in one go, but the Adam storyline just feels too sad? Yes, it does work to bring Danny and Saint around eventually, but the whole thing feels depressing in a series about band members and highlights their recoveries. I wish it all could’ve turned out different where Adam was concerned and he didn’t have to be the bad guy.
Like I said in the intro, this book IS angst and the author does this really well. And I can’t really think I’ve ever read a friends to enemies to lovers romance, but I think it was believable here. Danny and Saint’s relationship is complicated. They’ve been friends since Organic Animal started and Danny has been in a one sided love with Saint for maybe just as long. Saint never really saw Danny in the same light because he’s scared of wrecking their friendship if sex gets invoked. But I think that Saint really just had no idea how much Danny loved him. I think if things had stayed as they are, their relationship wouldn’t have worked out in the long run because they both really wouldn’t have been what they needed for each other. I love that this book didn’t have a third act breakup, and everything that broke between them happened more organically. Although, would I have liked more angst on Saint’s part during the time they spent apart? I think so. We didn’t really get to see that time pass from Saint’s perspective as much and I would’ve liked to have more of a balance between Saint’s and Danny’s perspective during that time.
The rock band story is more in the background here. Their lives on tour and putting out albums is complementary to the angst that is Danny and Saint exploring and working out their relationship and what they really wanted. It worked for me, but if anyone wanted more a rock band aspect and actually loving that life more on the page, I don’t think readers will find it with this book. It also requires readers to not look too closely and interrogate all the logistics of band life because I think none of it actually makes sense? For instance, Adam might’ve used to be a drummer at one point in his life, but he’s been away from it for awhile now in favor of drugs, and without any practice, he’s supposed to just be able to join the band as a replacement drummer mid-tour and go on stage the next day?? Yeah, just go with it.
At least Danny and Saint’s story is engaging and so full of the angst I adore from romance books that it leaves readers skeptical at how they’re getting a HEA. They do, but it’s hard won. I do like how this book accomplishes both in focusing on Danny and Saint’s story, while also wrapping up the series as a whole. It’s impressive. I guess the one thing I would have liked more is if we could’ve seen more weddings for characters from their own perspectives? Overall, I loved the found family aspect and how angsty these books were and how all the characters found their HEA. This series was darker at a lot of times than the usual rock star romance, and that’s just what I love about Joel’s writing. This series is probably my all-time favorite from them now, but I can’t wait to see what books they have release in the future!!
Trigger warnings are included at the beginning of the book (and quite detailed ones at that! and they don’t spoil the story). I would include extra warnings for death, mentions of heroin addiction, and mentions of possible alcoholism. Warnings pasted here are from the beginning of the book from the author:
Spoiler
alcohol use, characters in rehab from drug addiction, physical torture during a kidnapping (mostly off-page), and a brief non-graphic reference to a past off-page sexual assault. Saint does sleep with other people before he is in a relationship with Daniel, and Daniel has an open relationship with Saint’s ex specifically to get under his skin. Plenty of hot, heavy, angry encounters. The road to the HEA is a rough one, but there’s plenty of sweetness in the end.This book is one I didn’t expect to happen. Danny and Saint are characters that were introduced later in the series. They were part of a band under Sterling called Organic Animal and were later brought into Dante’s Infernal. While I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely necessary to read the books in order or to have read the other books in the series first before this one, I think it’s still better to read the books in order to give you a sense of who’s who and what their relationships are like since the other couples show up quite significantly in the story.
We don’t know Danny and Saint’s ages in this book, but it’s alluded to that Saint is older and Danny is maybe not quite old enough to be allowed into nightclubs when the story starts, but is older than 18. Danny grew up in foster care and has an older brother, Adam, who calls him up from time to time and never for anything good.
When Adam swears he’s gone to rehab and everything actually stuck this time and he’s sober, Danny manages to convince a very skeptical Sterling and Drake to let Adam into their now unusually sober band and for Adam to be their new drummer. Since Saint has a problem with running all of their drummers off.
At first, I thought this was going to be a Dante situation where a guy coming into the band who was addicted to hard drugs was going to get the help he needed and get his affairs in order. I even thought, however brief, that maybe this wasn’t the last book in the series because Adam seemed to be an interesting prospect who could get his HEA too.
But, wow, was I wrong on that count.
Maybe that’s why this part of the story doesn’t work for me and maybe it’s because I read this book all in one go, but the Adam storyline just feels too sad? Yes, it does work to bring Danny and Saint around eventually, but the whole thing feels depressing in a series about band members and highlights their recoveries. I wish it all could’ve turned out different where Adam was concerned and he didn’t have to be the bad guy.
Like I said in the intro, this book IS angst and the author does this really well. And I can’t really think I’ve ever read a friends to enemies to lovers romance, but I think it was believable here. Danny and Saint’s relationship is complicated. They’ve been friends since Organic Animal started and Danny has been in a one sided love with Saint for maybe just as long. Saint never really saw Danny in the same light because he’s scared of wrecking their friendship if sex gets invoked. But I think that Saint really just had no idea how much Danny loved him. I think if things had stayed as they are, their relationship wouldn’t have worked out in the long run because they both really wouldn’t have been what they needed for each other. I love that this book didn’t have a third act breakup, and everything that broke between them happened more organically. Although, would I have liked more angst on Saint’s part during the time they spent apart? I think so. We didn’t really get to see that time pass from Saint’s perspective as much and I would’ve liked to have more of a balance between Saint’s and Danny’s perspective during that time.
The rock band story is more in the background here. Their lives on tour and putting out albums is complementary to the angst that is Danny and Saint exploring and working out their relationship and what they really wanted. It worked for me, but if anyone wanted more a rock band aspect and actually loving that life more on the page, I don’t think readers will find it with this book. It also requires readers to not look too closely and interrogate all the logistics of band life because I think none of it actually makes sense? For instance, Adam might’ve used to be a drummer at one point in his life, but he’s been away from it for awhile now in favor of drugs, and without any practice, he’s supposed to just be able to join the band as a replacement drummer mid-tour and go on stage the next day?? Yeah, just go with it.
At least Danny and Saint’s story is engaging and so full of the angst I adore from romance books that it leaves readers skeptical at how they’re getting a HEA. They do, but it’s hard won. I do like how this book accomplishes both in focusing on Danny and Saint’s story, while also wrapping up the series as a whole. It’s impressive. I guess the one thing I would have liked more is if we could’ve seen more weddings for characters from their own perspectives? Overall, I loved the found family aspect and how angsty these books were and how all the characters found their HEA. This series was darker at a lot of times than the usual rock star romance, and that’s just what I love about Joel’s writing. This series is probably my all-time favorite from them now, but I can’t wait to see what books they have release in the future!!