Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole

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Title: Elliott Redeemed
Author: Scarlett Cole
Series: Preload #2
Published by: Swerve
Release Date: August 29, 2017
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 380
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »child sexual abuse/rape, physical abuse « Hide Spoiler
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Quarantine Edition
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

A single mom and tortured musician find common ground in Scarlett Cole's Elliott Redeemed, the second standalone romance about the band Preload.

Elliott “Pyro” Dawson burns up the lead guitar like a legend. But the nickname Pyro isn’t just a clever play on words. It’s much darker. A past he's fought like hell to overcome.

Grocery store cashier Kendalee Walker is at her wits end and homeless. She's watched her fourteen-year-old son, Daniel, go so far off the rails, he can no longer see the tracks.

When the two are brought together, attraction flares, but the life of a badass rockstar couldn’t be more different than that of a struggling mom. Can Elliott find the family he never had with the sexy woman and her son, or will he fall back on dangerous habits?

My Review:

4.5 stars — Well, that was an emotional rollercoaster that I devoured.  I seriously ended up biking way past my goal time because I was so absorbed, gotta love that!

I don’t know what expectations I had for Elliott, but I don’t remember being as excited for his story as some of the others.  And yet I ADORED him.  I think I had this strange image of what a pyromaniac is, and he gave me a more realistic one.  As with all the boys of Preload, his childhood story is rather devastating.  I ached for the confused child he was in his flashbacks, and how much he still hadn’t dealt with over the years.  I was SOOOO proud of the way his journey progressed in this story, and how it turned out in the end.  I can’t give spoilers, but I was really satisfied with the decisions he made and the reasons.

I loved that he was drawn to helping other troubled boys just like him…what an admirable quality, and one I know doesn’t fit for everyone.  I hurt watching him struggle with wanting to help Daniel while being afraid of his own triggers.

And on the romance front?  OMG, he was sooooo cute!  I wasn’t expecting that at all, and I really loved it!  I mean, don’t get me wrong — he was also sexually filthy, but I adored his romantic side.

Kendalee was not at all what I was expecting either.  I didn’t anticipate her faith (or her struggle with it).  I also hadn’t anticipated how damaged she would be from her broken marriage.  It was a really interesting perspective, and it made me cheer for her when she started to wake up to the automatic reactions she had with Adrian.  She had her own journey to go on, but I really appreciated how her heart was generally always in the right place, and that she truly wanted what was best for her son.

And Daniel.  Oh poor Daniel.  He broke my heart, but he started mending it by the end.

I don’t know…I just really enjoyed this story.  I think I *might* still love Jordan’s more, but honestly I’m super happy with what the Preload stories are giving me — so much grit, but with beautiful lightness as well.