“Grief is different for everyone, and healing can be a slow, arduous process. Then one day, one moment even, when you aren’t expecting it, everything changes.”

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

I read Samantha Christy’s entire Stone Brothers series and Perfect Game series before I started my blog. But this book might just be my favorite of anything I’ve read. This story put me through the ringer. It was so incredibly painful, truthfully much darker than I thought it would be. When you think of rockstar romance you don’t usually associate it with death (at least I don’t), so this was new to me. I can’t wait for Reckless Invitation to be released at the end of August. I need more of Crew and Bria.

We start out meeting Bria as she’s touring with the famous band, White Poison, as their backup singer. Reckless Alibi, Crew’s band, is the opening act for them for a few shows and Bria falls in love with their music. When drama unfolds and Bria is not invited back on tour with White Poison, she is invited by Crew’s bandmates to come sing with them. Not as a backup singer, as the co-lead singer with Crew. Crew is NOT a fan of that but we don’t understand why until the flashbacks begin. 

You see, Crew was in love once. To a girl named Abby. They were high school sweethearts, but something incredibly tragic happened to Abby and he’s never been the same since. Some might say he’s in a constant state of suffering…and then he begins to sing with Bria. It’s like a light finally turned on in his eyes. He finds joy in life again. It’s beautiful, watching him blossom. He can’t keep his hands off Bria, either. Each time they sing together, they leave the stage and run off together to make out and hook up. The only problem is, Bria doesn’t know about Crew’s past, so when things pop up that remind him of Abby, he goes cold towards Bria. It’s a constant hot and cold with Crew, so much so that it starts to really bother Bria. She just wants Crew to be happy and doesn’t under the reason why he can’t be. When Crew finally breaks down and tells Bria what happened to Abby, the dam opens. I was sobbing, it was brutal to read. I can’t imagine having to go through something like that. You feel for Crew on a new level. You understand his constant need to protect Bria and keep her safe. Everything begins to make sense.

As far as reviews go, I’m still pretty in shock from what I read in this book. It was an absolutely perfect story, but it was so raw and painful. It’s been a long time since a book made me feel so ripped apart. I feel a little like a broken record when I say this but: you should read this book. It will make you feel so many things and it’s so worth it. I have always loved Samantha Christy’s work, but it wasn’t until this book that I realized the depth that adoration went to. This was easily a 5 star novel, I wish I could rate it higher, truthfully. Wonderful, wonderful work. Gotta go grab a new box of tissues now!

“This is the real thing. It’s a more complete kind of love. More mature. The kind you know is going to make you laugh and cry and maybe even rip your heart out times. The feelings I have for you are so intense, it sometimes scares the shit out of me.”