About the Series
Kylie Scott’s Stage Dive series is based on the theme: what happens in Vegas stays there. But everyone knows that what happens doesn’t always stay there. And how true for the first couple of the Stage Dive series, Evelyn and David!
I’m happy to say that I get to add another series centred around a famous band, and these books are definitely worth a re-read or two. Each story is unique and hints at those frequented plots (married in Vegas, pretend couple and unrequited love) but with their own creative twists!
The review of the series includes reviews on each of the following books (listed in order of release):
Note: Each novel in this series is Standalone.
Lick (Stage Dive, #1)
Release Date: October 11th, 2013
Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.
One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favourite son is sure to be a wild ride.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• No OTT sad parts
• No cheating (BUT the Heroine “catches” the Hero “cheating:” the OW kissed him and the Hero didn’t kiss her back. BUT the Heroine didn’t stay around to find that or even discuss it with the Hero. Also, the Hero said he didn’t stop the OW because he was surprised… which is BS because if you don’t want to be kissed you turn your cheek or jolt away.)
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
“It’s not fair that you remember and I don’t”
“No,” he said, his voice hard, cold, in a way I hadn’t heard it. He looked over at me, jaw set. “It’s not fair that I remember and you don’t, Evelyn.”
Evelyn wakes up in her hotel room in Vegas to a hot man–who happens to be a world-famous rock star–with a giant diamond ring on her left ring finger. Only she doesn’t remember anything … and neither is she happy about it.
“Love isn’t always smooth or straightforward. It can be messy and painful … Doesn’t mean it isn’t still the most incredible thing that can ever happen to you.”
Eventually, Evelyn and David agree to take a shot at being together. Still, marriage isn’t always smooth sailing, and through the millions of fans, groupies at every turn, and vengeful employees, theirs is definitely not one for the weak-minded.
This whole series was something that I was hesitant to indulge in because, to be honest, I just think of how common those themes are when waking up in Vegas. But although it took a while for this plot to hit the original ground, I must say that the journey there was awesome!
I loved the characters, being introduced to the rest of the band, and props to Scott for planning to put a book out for every band member, including the sleazy Jimmy and the unfavourable Ben. At least they make up for it. What I loved about Lick was how true Scott was to her characters. Evelyn was the girl who was always cautious, and although she took a jump that fateful night in Vegas when sober, realizing her actions, she was true to herself. And although David annoyed me a lot when Evelyn visited him in LA again, Scott gets points for staying true to his rock star persona.
The pace of Lick is well thought out and fluid with the plot development of the story, allowing both David and Evelyn to build a real relationship. The romance of Lick was swoon-worthy, and there was enough humour in there to keep you laughing. However, the whole beginning of the book had an ominous air, like when will the other shoe drop. Because although Evelyn was trying, it was evident that it would take a jaded rock star a lot more than words to get him to commit. This is what led to the book getting four stars. I don’t want to say anything that might classify as a spoiler, so I’m just going to say that this really solidified how the book was about an unlikely relationship blooming and lasting.
I also adored the backstory of Evelyn’s best friend and her brother and that there were other storylines concerning Evelyn that weren’t the typically terrible ex-girlfriend of David tormenting them; it made the characters more real.
Play (Stage Dive, #2)
Release Date: March 25th, 2014
Mal Ericson, drummer for the world-famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn’t plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn’t count on finding the one right girl.
Anne Rollins never thought she’d ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Heroine’s father abandoned her and her sister and the Heroine’s mother has a mental illness which meant the Heroine had to basically raise her sister. (off page/memories)
• Hero’s mother is diagnosed with cancer (she has months to live)
• The novel doesn’t discuss the reality of mental illness or cancer–like living with it or its effects on the family
• No cheating
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have have a separation between the Hero and Heroine (both are faithful)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“Life’s a song, Anne. Let’s play.”
Mal and Anne set off on a pretend, committed relationship. Anne accepts this due to her friend’s betrayal and money problems, and Mal accepts it for reasons that are a mystery to everyone.
“We’ve broken my bed,” I said, stating the obvious. “In battle, sacrifices must be made, pumpkin.”
Mal was soooo funny. Honestly, I think I almost died laughing more than once. The above is a glimpse of only a few scenes that will make you laugh (BTW, it’s not what you think it is)!
Play is probably my favourite of the three in this series so far. Although Lick was definitely the more romantic, this book was so funny! I laughed out loud on every other page because Mal’s wit and candid remarks were so crazy! And the situations that he got himself into, I can’t even imagine.
The whole plot of Play revolves around a mystery. Basically, Sir Laugh-a-Lot, Mal has had doom-and-gloom periods, unlike anything his friends have ever seen. And for some reason (which no one knows), Mal feels compelled to stage a fake long-term relationship with a good girl, our heroine, Anne.
What I loved about Anne was that she just rolled with the punches and was quite resilient, considering how she grew up and the shit she was handed in life. And the relationship between Mal and Anne was so cute! Whereas David and Evelyn were the sweeping, dramatic romance, Mal and Anne are the couples you see always goofing off, but they’re still in sync and have each other back.
Play didn’t have as much, if any drama, compared to Lick, but I felt that the fights between Mal and Anne were really left open-ended. Mal would run away after saying something or doing something really embarrassing or rude to Anne, and then Anne would just welcome him back with open arms.
It was weird, and I think if they had solved the problem, there wouldn’t have been so many at the end. The lack of communication dropped the book from 5 to 4.5 stars.
Lead (Stage Dive, #3)
Release Date: July 29th, 2014
As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it’s booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.
Lena’s not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Loss of parental figure
• Parent is an addict
• Does have OTT sad parts
• Does have Abuse
• Does have minor OW/OM drama (The Heroine kisses OM before anything happens between her and the Hero, no details concerning OW.)
• Does have the Hero pushing away
• Does have have a separation between the Hero and Heroine (The Hero does go on a date with OW during this time, but he says nothing happened. The heroine is faithful.)
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4/5 stars
“People fucking love their own opinions and are all too happy to throw ’em at you, whether you ask or not. You have to be happy with yourself.”
Having been a previous addict to pretty much everything, Jimmy knows that at the end of the day, the only person whose opinion really counts is yourself. But that doesn’t mean that he accepts himself.
“Your dark parts don’t scare me, Jimmy. They never did.”
And then there’s Lena, who’s trying so hard to get Jimmy to want her and accept her like she does him, but Jimmy is unwilling to cross that line in case things don’t work out. He doesn’t want to lose her.
I was super curious about how Scott was going to write Lead. To be quite honest, Jimmy came off as a total sleaze in the first book, although he did make up some of it at the end and same in Play. But since our heroine, Lena is his babysitter (for the lack of a better word), we get to see Jimmy in all his unfiltered glory. And he is much better than I thought he’d be in Lick, but still… some of his remarks were so ugh.
Lead was one of those books where the main characters literally went from enemies to allies to pseudo-friends. And, of course, in every boy-girl friendship, one always wants more. So, Lena finds herself in that sticky situation where she has an unrequited crush on her employer and soon realizes that it could interfere with her taking care of Jimmy. So, she does the logical thing and hands in her resignation. But Jimmy always gets what he wants. He wants Lena to stay, just as his friend, but still.
So the two go on a journey of Jimmy trying to convince Lena that she shouldn’t like him. Jimmy then hatches a plan to ensure Lena moves on from her love for him. This leads our hero and heroine on an interesting journey filled with lots of love, laughter, heartbreak, jealousy, and hurt. The journey was also an easy way to see both main characters grow and develop.
The pace and plot of Lead were well thought out, allowing everything to develop naturally. But unlike the other two books, I felt that the romance and connection were repressed. This was probably because Jimmy was trying to help Lena get over him so they could continue being pseudo-friends.
I also felt that the ending was too rushed, though. There was this huge blow-up – the one you were waiting for half the book at 90% – wrapped up in this neat and tidy bow. I feel that Lena gave Jimmy too much slack because Jimmy seriously does not hold back his tongue. To have made this more real, Lena should have been warier to trust Jimmy. For this reason, Lead recieved four stars.
Preview the Books I Haven’t Reviewed in the Stage Dive Series
Lizzy and Ben
271 pages
Martha and Sam
120 pages
Mae and Ziggy
107 pages
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