Deep (Stage Dive, #4) by Kylie Scott Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Lick, Play, and Lead on my blog, now! Lick is now available to stream on Passionflix.

I should have read the blurb for this final installment - color me surprised when I was thrown into one of my least favorite tropes in the prologue / first chapter. Accidental pregnancy trope is already a top contender for gag-worthy plot points, but add in the fact that the female lead is twenty? Probably my worst nightmare. This series was already cruising the line of "do I like these books or are they just easy to read?" but this book truly takes the cake on me deciding that they were just quick and easy to read. I will say that the books did improve as the series went on, but that all went down the drown with Deep. That being said, Ben is definitely one of the better male leads and actually takes accountability for his actions, unlike some of the other band members.

Lizzy is so incredibly frustrating and just downright annoying during this entire book. I truly felt as though I was going to pull my hair out if she made one more ridiculous decision - yes, she is twenty and pregnant with no idea how she and Ben are supposed to coparent and embark on this journey together, but good grief the girl does not have a single brain cell floating around in her head. To make matters absolutely worse, she tries not to curse, which just results in the most annoying fake curse words known to man being sputtered every other page. Considering Lizzy was still working on her psychology degree, you would have thought that she would have been able to become more well-adjusted and maybe actually take the time to think about what having a baby at twenty would mean for her.

Ben is likable in the sense that he is in the running in being the best male lead of this series - Jimmy was no walk in the park, Mal truly had me second-guessing how much I originally liked him, and David was the most avoidant man on the planet. I was glad that he was actually taking accountability for getting Lizzy pregnant, and even though they were not in a relationship, he was still focused on making sure she was feeling well and had a support system from him as a coparent. He really wanted to provide for her even with the uncertainty of where their relationship stood, so I have to give him credit for being responsible.

The smut was a mildly redeeming aspect of this book - it honestly was the only thing keeping me going at one point because the plot was just not doing it for me. I truly wish I enjoyed this installment as much as I enjoyed Lead, but not every interconnected stand alone is built the same and unfortunately it shows in this final book. If you are looking for quick romances, this series certainly can be up your alley - they are easy to read and always tie up the relationships by the end of the book. I hope Passionflix decides to adapt the rest of the books into movies because I honestly think I enjoyed the movie of Lick more than the book.

You can add Deep on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Lead (Stage Dive, #3) by Kylie Scott Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Lick and Play on my blog, now! Lick is now available to stream on Passionflix.

Jimmy has also intrigued me as a character since his introduction in Lick, so I was excited to see how he developed in his own story and how he would welcome the idea of a romantic interest in his life. Since I am a sucker for the personal assistant trope, I knew this book would keep me hooked, especially considering Jimmy is not the picture perfect man - he has his ups and downs, which makes him all the more interesting to read about. When Lena ends up as his personal assistant, she certainly does not expect it to be as intense as Jimmy makes it for her.

Lena wants to keep everything professional between her and Jimmy, and seems to be the only person in his life that does not walk on eggshells around him when it comes to his past, and she is the only one able to put him in his place. They have pretty solid banter and while we only get Lena's perspective in the book, we can tell how much Jimmy cannot stay away from Lena, despite his somewhat idiotic actions he does in order to make her stay. Despite Lena's determination to stay professional is definitely put to the test throughout this book, and she has to deal with a lot personally as she manages Jimmy's professional life.

Of the three leading ladies that we have seen in the Stage Dive series, I have to say that Lena is at the top of my list - all of them have their own strengths and compliment their romantic counterparts, but there was just something about the characterization of Lena that was more compelling. Her relationship with Jimmy was one that seemed the most organic out of the other relationships, and as I have said before, I love the tropes in the other books, but this one really takes the cake for me.

Once again, the friendships in this book series really make everything work - the support systems they have solidify the characters and their personalities without sacrificing the romantic development between the main leads. It was nice to see that the other band members went to bat for Lena when she was being wronged, or even when Jimmy was not acting in the best light towards Lena when he was upset at the consequences of his own actions. These books are great when you just need a moment to have a low-stakes romance that you know will work out in the end, but there are still obstacles that keep the story moving.

You can add Lead on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Play (Stage Dive, #2) by Kylie Scott Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Lick on my blog, now! Lick is now available to stream on Passionflix.

I had a mixed review of Lick, and while I truly enjoyed the film adaptation, my experience reading Play felt like I was reading a different series. As much as I love interconnected stand-alones, it read as if it was still David and Evelyn's story - they are present for a majority of the book, and a decent amount of events occur that are centered around them as a couple, with Mal and Anne suddenly taking a step to the side. Mal was the highlight of Lick for me, but in his own book, I found myself questioning how I considered him a favorite. His light-heartedness and comedic relief were present in the beginning of this book, but died off and he became a different person.

Anne... where do I even begin with this girl. I do not understand the way she thinks approximately 60% of the time. She gets mad at something one minute, then does not care the next, and considering the way people constantly treat her like a doormat, you would think she would learn to grow up and stand up for herself. I understand that she wants to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it often lands her with the short end of the stick, and she is always surprised with that outcome when it just happens over and over again. It would have been great to see her become more developed through this book - you could tell the author attempted to strengthen her character in the second half of the book, but the process felt abandoned and short-lived.

I wanted Anne to have more friends - instead, she had a boss that was jealous of Mal the entire book, reporters wanting to learn every detail about her relationship, and people in her life that just took advantage of her. Evelyn's friend group was at least more established and she had a lot of support, and while Anne did interact with a lot of the band members, it still felt like she was isolated from others in this story. Mal was pretty involved with Anne - you could tell that he enjoyed her company and actually liked her - but with him as the only constant, it made their agreement feel more contractual than real. While their feelings did mature and they were able to work through everything, their bedroom relationship was wild and definitely complicated what they had started.

The spicy scenes were definitely better than the ones in Lick, and they felt more intimate than David and Evelyn's scenes - not that they were poorly done, but I do think Anne and Mal had more tangible chemistry than Evelyn and David. I found the balance of actual plot and spicy scenes to be pretty well established, and the pacing of this book felt much smoother compared to the first installment. There were definitely some questionable actions throughout the book, but overall, I did enjoy the book and will continue on with this series. If you are looking for a fake relationship romance, this will certainly satisfy that craving.

You can add Play on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Lick (Stage Dive, #1) by Kylie Scott Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Lick is now available to stream on Passionflix.

I will admit that I watched the movie before reading this book - sue me!! I had a great time watching the movie, and when I saw Lick available on Libby, I knew I had to give it a read. Accidental marriage trope will always be famous in my house, and I was eating this up. Maybe I am biased because I watched the movie first, but this book was fun to read and I had a blast the entire time. I am an absolute sucker for the "he falls first AND harder" trope, and this hit the spot - David is a true yearner, and it was actually hilarious to see how serious he took everything from the very beginning, even when Evelyn was utterly confused on what was going on.

After an accidental, drunken marriage in Las Vegas, Evelyn finds herself married to David, the guitarist of a popular rock band. I will say, I wish that she did remember what happened the night they had gotten married, and not have had to have it pieced back together for her throughout the book. While it did give bonding moments between Evelyn and David, it made David's feelings toward Evelyn seem much more genuine compared to Evelyn's feelings for David. You could literally feel his demeanor shift when he realized she did not remember anything that morning, and he held it against her for longer than was necessary, especially considering they knew each other for about four hours before getting hitched.

A five year age gap and they are acting like this man snatched her from the playground. Mal's nickname for Evelyn being "child bride" was funny though, and honestly endearing, considering everyone seemed to have their opinion on her and David's unconventional nuptials. I really enjoyed Mal's presence throughout this book - he was a great supportive character, and someone that Evelyn really needed in her corner as she navigated her unexpected marriage to a rockstar and being away from her family and roommate. David's protectiveness of Evelyn definitely came through anytime he felt threatened by literally anyone with a pulse breathing near Evelyn, and I ate it up.

The friendships and relationships in this book really tied everything together for me - it was well-rounded, and allowed David and Evelyn to have support systems in various places without having to constantly turn to each other. Since we only get Evelyn's perspective in this book, it was a treat to still be able to see how David interacts with other characters. I would have loved for him to have his own chapters, especially with the whole "he remembers, she doesn't" feelings realization the author created for them. I wish Evelyn's family was more supportive of her and her decisions - it felt as though they were never in her corner.

This was a quick read that is able to wrap up Evelyn and David's story nicely while setting up for the next character for their own relationship developments. The Passionflix adaptation is super true to the book, and is essentially a word-for-word recreation of Scott's story. If you are looking for a fun, mildly spicy read for a rainy afternoon, Lick will fill that void.

You can add Lick on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!