*I received a free copy of Nikan Rebuilt from via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
on 2 January 2018
Pages: 368
Does the past ever really stay in the past?
Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.
Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult lead by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rockstar. Before he destroyed it all.
A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?
Nikan Rebuilt brought out all the feels. I cried a little. And I laughed quite a lot. I swooned more than once, too.
Welcome to my stop on the Nikan Rebuilt review tour – there is a giveaway, my review, and an excerpt from this fantastic story.
Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Chapters Indigo
Amazon → http://amzn.to/2yIWdAw
Amazon UK → http://amzn.to/2y3oLp1
B&N → http://bit.ly/2z5msRw
iBooks → http://apple.co/2A1Sc82
Chapters Indigo → http://bit.ly/2zl2C5Q
Story:
Second chances are just so deliciously tortuous. Nikan Rebuilt definitely proved that to me, as Nikan was still dreaming of Jenny, years after their split. Years after not even knowing where in the world she might be. Until a day when he helped a young boy who lived in the same group-home he grew up in. And bringing him back, seeing Jenny being the interim director.
Jenny had done her best to purge Nikan from her thoughts and her heart. And she was pretty sure she had made it, too. Until she saw him again, and her heart and body reacted as if they’d never been apart. However, Jenny knew better than to trust her heart again. And she knew she had to protect herself at all cost.
Nikan Rebuilt brought out the feels big time. Both because Jenny and Nikan both had a tough past, and because especially Nikan was still battling some of his demons. Half indigenous, Nikan has always felt like he didn’t belong in either world. Growing up first in foster care, after his mother’s murder, then in group-homes just made him think he was right. He always worked hard on making his friends feel good. Taking care of band-members and other people he loved, but not having many people who took care of him.
Between the darkness from the past, and the difficulty Jenny had to trust in the present, Nikan Rebuilt was an emotional rollercoaster. I loved how determined and honest Nikan was, how he wouldn’t back down until Jenny actually told him to stop.
Characters:
Nikan has intrigued me from the beginning of the Preload series. Reading his full story hit me hard, even if I knew what to expect – at least somewhat.
Jenny was a new character in this universe, and I loved her. Her integrity. Her hard work. Her soft heart that she would do anything to protect.
The other band-members showed up at times, too, and it always makes me feel good to see how they’re doing on their new journey.
Writing style :
Past tense, third point of view worked really well for Nikan Rebuilt. There were also plenty of dialogues to keep the pace up.
Feels :
All the feels. I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I got a little hot and bothered… Cole brought me right into the middle of her characters’ lives, and I had to hang on tight.
Nik shook his head. “Don’t do this, Jenny. We deserve a second chance to see what we’ve got. We are perfect together.”
It was fucking stupid. It was fucking possible.
Nikan Rebuilt Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Nikan Rebuilt Excerpt:
Copyright © 2017 Scarlett Cole
Nik took the towels out of her hands and placed them on the dryer. “Hey, come here,” he said as he reached for her hands. “Talk to me.”
She wasn’t ready to, not least because she didn’t understand the swirl of feelings sweeping through her. To put into words for Nik exactly how that felt was impossible. “I’m fine, I’m good. I just have a lot to do here now.”
Nik placed his finger under her chin and raised her eyes so she was forced to look at him. “I think we can safely say that lies have no place between us. So, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking, and then you can tell me what you’re thinking. Okay?”
Jenny sighed and nodded. “Okay.”
“I didn’t come here tonight expecting to kiss you like this. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, but I know I have a lot of work to do to prove myself to you. But seeing you laugh, and seeing you look at me, just for a moment, without the pain I caused you in your eyes . . . Well, I don’t even know how to begin to explain what that felt like to me—except that I didn’t want to be away from you for another moment, and that it felt like a new beginning of sorts. If there’s any doubt in your mind about what that kiss did to me, I’d encourage you to touch me and check, but I think that might be a step too far, given where we are. Now it’s your turn.”
His words made her stomach flip, and despite her best efforts she was filled with a warm and fuzzy feeling. She looked over to the staircase again to check that nobody was within earshot. “We’re coming at this new friendship . . . relationship . . . from two completely different places. I’m mad at myself for letting you get this close to me again. It’s reckless to fall for you all over again and I know it. But when you stand so close to me, I can . . .” Crap. How could she explain that the way the smell of him, and the heat of him, and the proximity of him, and the touch of him took her straight back to that time and place where she wholeheartedly loved him?
“You can what?” Nik asked, moving his hands to her hips.
“I can remember us. Before.”
About Scarlett Cole:
4.5 emotional stars to #NikanRebuilt Share on XThe tattoo across my right hip says it all really. A Life Less Ordinary. Inked by the amazingly talented Luke Wessman at the Wooster Street Social Club (a.k.a. New York Ink). Why is it important? Well, it sums up my view on life. That we should all aspire to live a life that is less boring, less predictable. Be bold, and do something amazing. I’ve made some crazy choices. I’ve been a car maker, a consultant, and even a senior executive at a large retailer running strategy. Born in England, spent time in the U.S. and Japan, before ending up in Canada were I met my own, personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. Both of us are scorpios! Yeah, I know! Should have checked the astrological signs earlier, but somehow it works for us. We have two amazing kids, who I either could never part with or could easily be convinced to sell on e-bay.
I’ve wanted to be a writer for a really long time. Check through my office cupboards or my computer and you’ll find half written stories and character descriptions everywhere. Now I’m getting the chance to follow that dream.
Connect with Scarlett: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Twitter: ailynk
a sweet romance in a dark past? Not too bad to start the new years with
I know, right? It was so, so good!
Awesome review, Lexxie. This sounds great. I loved the sound of it but choose to wait more feedbacks before jumping into it. Thanks for sharing. ❤️???
I love Scarlett Cole! Her romantic suspense novels are really well done, and her characters always make me swoon 😀
Twitter: nadz1809
I am intrigued. Sounds like you had a good time with this one.
I sure did, Nadene!
St. Martin’s Press always has great contemporary romance. I love the sound of this one.
I agree, I love them for that 🙂
I love books with great characters -and that can bring all the feels. Plus, yay to second chance romance! Thanks so much for sharing! It sounds like a really good read.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Second chance romances are the best! Especially when they are still a slow burn like this one was 🙂
This sounds like a very emotional read and you know how I love second chance romances! I really need to read more Scarlett Cole, wifey. Why haven’t I? *sigh* I’ll try to rectify that. I’m glad you enjoyed Nikan and Jenny’s story!
{{{BIG HUGS}}}