Review: 5 amazing stars!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2013
Full review at [...] I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.This is not your hearts and flowers kind of romance novel. No, The Artists Trilogy novels are dark and messed up romance stories and they are completely enthralling. It had been a while since I read Sins & Needles and I had somehow forgotten just how good Karina Halle is.Shooting Scars picks up right where Sins & Needles left off with Ellie leaving with Javier in order to protect Camden and his family. Stuck with the man she once loved but now hates, Ellie is left to wonder what sort of plans he has in store for her. Is he going to kill her? And why has he come for her now after six years? Meanwhile, Camden wants to get his ex-wife and son settled and safe before he sets out after Ellie. But a betrayal has his life taking another unexpected turn. He finds himself a partner and together they start the hunt for Ellie sooner that he expected.Back in the home they once shared together for a year, Javier tells Ellie what he wants from her. But I never felt like he was being 100% honest with her, even right up until the very end of the book. The last thing that she wants to do is help Javier, after all she hates the man. Doesn't she? Remember what they say about their being a fine line between love and hate? Yeah, well we definitely get a look at that in this book. And Javier is a damn expert at manipulating Ellie's past feelings to get what he wants from her. Since she feels likes she has no other choice, Ellie agrees to go along with Javier's plan. Ellie ends up doing something that I want to hate her for, but I can't. Honestly, I really felt like it was inevitable and I was waiting for it to happen. I don't like it, but I get it.As Javier's plan gets put into motion, it seems more and more like an impossible task for Ellie. Will Camden and his new friend ever catch up to Ellie and Javier? And if they do, will it be too late to save her?Ellie, Camden and Javier are all such complex characters with their own sets of demons. Each of them walks the line between right and wrong and often times the line is blurred, even for the reader. Camden has to do things to find Ellie that are morally wrong, but I find myself not giving a damn. And Javier. Sigh. He is a bastard and I do hate him, but I love how the author wrote him. Karina Halle's story telling is completely captivating and she had me deeply involved from the first page till the very end. There is never a dull moment and you will feel every emotion while reading Shooting Scars. And yes, there are twists and a cliffhanger at the end which sets us up for an exciting finale.