Review: 5 fantastic, exciting, suspensful and Camden loving stars
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 23, 2013
Every bone in my body ached to turn the GTO around, to go back for Ellie, to take her from something she didn't need to do, from a life she didn't need to return to. From a love that never was, that could never be what she needed.-CamdenHoly Cow! 5 Freaking awesome stars! Okay, so I think I am a little bit in love with Ms. Halle ;) She knows how to grab and hold my attention, and make me ache for more. It was only after reading the About the Author in the back that I learned that Ms. Halle went to school for screenwriting. I can totally see it with the way that this book was written. Karina also mentions that she listened to the Bourne soundtracks while writing, and that all comes across in how exciting, but suspenseful this book was to read.Shooting Scars is the 2nd book of the TAT trilogy and I have to admit, I was pretty scared that it was not going to live up to Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1) which quickly became one of my favorites of 2013 (and perhaps ever?), but I don't know why I was nervous,, this book kicked ass! If you have not read Sins & Needles, and the prequel novella, On Every Street (The Artists Trilogy, #0.5), there will be spoilers to both of those books ahead.At the conclusion of Sins & Needles, Ellie has sacrificed herself to her ex-lover Javier, all for Camden, in order for him to have a life, with his ex-wife and son. However, as we pick up in Shooting Scars, Camden has not lost all hope of getting Ellie back, but he decides to try to give it a shot with his ex and his son, to have the life that Ellie sacrificed for him. Ellie, on the other hand, has become Javier's prisoner, and she soon finds out that he has a plan for her. When things don't exactly work out as planned for Camden, he joins up with a unlikely character to go get Ellie back!"After I first felt Ellie's lips on mine, the warmth, sweetness, I was never the same. She took a piece of me that I was unable to get back until I was inside her, feeling her heart and her sins in my hands.She really was the only one I truly, drowning in my passion, loved.Even at her very worst, she made me want to be a better man. To be good enough for the both of us."-CamdenAnd, at the heart of it, Ellie just wants to be good. But, back in Javier's murderous life, how can she be good? And, Javier wants nothing more than to draw Ellie back into the life that she wants to just leave behind. And, let me tell you, I am totally Team Camden, but there was heat between Ellie and Javier that simply "confused" me (?) and perhaps gave me better insight into Ellie. She is one messed up chic, but I still love her."Who were you yelling at?" he said, pleasant customer service patience being tested."Well, obviously myself. What, you never had a good yell, a good cry, a good f'ing mental breakdown when you've been pawned and screwed over by various drug cartels?"Ellie makes some f'd up decisions in this book, all the while thinking that Camden has gone to make his new life, and she will never have him, let alone see him again. She makes decisions based on her love for Camden, and that kind of selflessness shows how much Ellie grew in this book. Still, it made my heart ache for both Ellie and Camden (not Javier though... I'll never be "Team Murderous A'hole".And Camden,, oh my sweet, sexy tattooed, muscly Camden. Oh god, did I feel for him, especially when he was witness to something he really never should have seen. Camden's metamorphosis was one of becoming the reluctant bad guy, a role that he realizes he must play in order to get the love of his life back."But, I was beyond the pain now. I was something else. I was rage and I was wrath and I was twenty-six years of hell."-CamdenThis review has been extremely difficult for me to write. This book had me so far into Ellie and Camden's world and their feelings - with the alternate POV's in alternating chapters. I highlighted so many wonderfully written passages that were heart wrenching, powerful and sometimes funny, but none of the passages and quotes can really sum up how I felt reading this book. It was an experience. I love the way the book ended, giving us a glimpse into what is ahead for these crazy characters in the final installment, Bold Tricks (which I have already pre-ordered).