Jordan
Steele’s life began when he was ten. When he was taken from his parents and a
house that was never a home. When he met his brothers, the other lost and
abandoned boys in his group home. When he learned what friendship and family
and love looked like.
Now
he’s made good, touring the world with the band he and his brothers formed in
that crowded group home. No one but his found family really knows the man under
the fame and fortune, the scars he hides behind the rockstar lifestyle. Until
he sees her through the windows of the National Ballet, dancing, and suddenly
the world doesn’t seem so dark.
Aleksandra
Artemov ticks all the ballet boxes. Father a legendary Kirov dancer. Check.
Prepping since birth for classical ballet. Check. Compulsive control over the
food she eats. Check. Principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada. Check.
But what she craves is freedom.
She
craves Jordan.
Everything
about him should terrify her. His size, his tattoos, his edge. But he doesn’t.
He stirs her very soul. Jordan has nothing but himself to offer her, and he's
never been good enough for anyone. Can he figure out how to face his own demons
before he loses his light for good?
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Swerve
Preload Series #1
Contemporary Romance
Review copy provided by publisher
Nikki’s Review:
Sometimes a book comes along that just wrecks you. It pulls all
your heartstrings, and drags every emotion from the depths of your soul. And
sometimes you aren't sure you can get through it. You want to because the
writing and story are brilliant, but the wreckage is almost too much to handle.
This was one of those books for me.
I first "met" Jordan in, The Second Circle Tattoos
series. From the moment he showed up on the page I knew he was special. I also
knew that he was hurting...a lot. I was desperate to know his past and what his
secrets were. Alas, I had to wait for his book, but I thought of him each time
I read a Second Circle book.
Jordan has been to hell and back. And in some sense he still
exists in that hell. He is rocked and dragged down by his memories on daily
basis. I've read some pretty heavy books where the characters are
survivors of child abuse, but this shredded my heart. I won't go into details
because I think you should learn those from Jordan. It's his story to tell
after all.
The moment Jordan spots Lexi dancing through a studio window he
is transfixed by her beauty and grace. I could sense his curiosity of this
almost ethereal creature. It was like a little of the heavy burden on his
shoulders was lifted...just a little.
Lexi is a dedicated ballet dancer, a Principal Dancer for a
prestigious Canadian company. She's pulled in many directions. Her heart yearns
for something different in her career, but her sense of responsibility to her
father and his idea of what her career should be is a constant battle.
I talk about chemistry between characters a lot in my reviews.
It's an important component that I need in romance novels. But I think
chemistry is too simple a word to describe what happens between Lexi and
Jordan. Maybe it was fate. But even that seems inadequate. Whatever it was, it
was beautiful to witness.
The path to their happiness is long and arduous. While I
typically love a book that throws the characters into the sack very quickly, I
loved watching the romance build. I loved watching Jordan pull at all his
layers and discover things about himself that were buried deep. Jordan had to,
in a sense, grow up. He was robbed of so many years and experiences. I had a
huge smile on my face when he decided he needed a cell phone. It should have
been a simple decision, but it wasn't. And the moment itself is pivotal in his
healing. Not to mention the scene that followed his epiphany was hilarious!
Scarlett Cole wrote Lexi in such a way that I felt I could
really see into the mind of a dancer. Her struggles with food and her weight
felt real to me. I believed that she was a real person with these struggles.
And you know what? She was! So many professional dancers, and ordinary everyday
people, struggle with eating disorders and body image issues. So maybe Lexi
isn't real, but there are people just like her in the world.
These two are struggling to find their footing in a relationship
when their internal battles are eating them alive. It seemed like a recipe for
disaster. I adored their strength. The determination to grab life by the balls
was admirable.
The love scenes were, at times, heartbreaking. Jordan needed the
physical connection to know that something in his life was good and beautiful.
Don't get me wrong, Jordan is crazy hot and sexy in bed! It's just that the
love scenes were something more. More than Pleasure. Does that make sense? It
was a testament to survival.
The supporting characters in this book are so interesting. They
leave me curious about their pasts. You get a wee glimpse of their stories,
enough to make me hunger for more...Scarlett's good at that!
I know I'm going to be torn up by each of their books, too.
These brothers by choice grew up in the foster care system. And we've all heard
the horror stories of what growing up in the system can be like. Not everyone
is lucky to end up in a home with caring adults...far from it. I can hardly
wait to walk along on their journeys.
This book was dark. No doubt about it. But there's always an
underlying feel of hope. One of my favourite things about this book was
watching Lexi and Jordan blossom. It was exciting to see them really embrace
life and fight for the happiness they wanted and so rightly deserved.
I have to have a happily ever after in my romance novels. It's a
requirement or I feel cheated and left hanging. Jordan and Lexi definitely get
that, but everything wasn't tied up in a neat bow. You know they're going to be
together, that's a given. But I loved that there was room and a need for more
growth, and most importantly, more healing.
I feel like these words I have written aren't enough. But until
you go on this journey with Lexi and Jordan, you won't understand the struggle.
They're love was beautiful, and that may sound hokey, but it was. It was a real
privilege to read this book and I hope you'll give it a chance. I hope you'll
let Jordan teach you what it's like to really live after a life in
darkness.
Rating: 5 Stars (A+)
Buy Links
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Scarlett_Cole_Jordan_Reclaimed?id=xARpDQAAQBAJ
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