Beneath The Stain by Amy Lane

In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers-- and their penchant for making good music when they weren't getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams--made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind. 

Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he's hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn't flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that's not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav's help--but Trav's not sure he's going to survive falling in love with Mackey. 

Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn't do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey's past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really have no idea how to do this book justice with a review. Amy Lane has outdone herself with this one.

I can't recommend this book enough. Honestly everyone has to read this, they need to go through the pain that this beautiful story causes.

Every character in this story will steal a place in your heart. When they are suffering - it's an Amy Lane book, they will suffer - you will want to pull them into a loving embrace and give them the comfort and protection they need. You'll want to knock out the characters that are causing them pain.

One character deals with cancer in this book and Ms Lane does a wonderful job of that. It is so realistic and anyone who has watched a loved one suffer through this terrible illness will be right back there beside that loved ones hospital bed.

This book with all its pain and angst will tear you apart, but it's love and beauty will glue you back together again.


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Star Promise (Wishes #7) by GJ Walker-Smith

After three blissful years of living in Pipers Cove, Adam and Charli head back to the bright lights of New York.
Taking on a position at a Manhattan gallery turns out to be Charli’s dream job, but just a few weeks after starting at his father’s firm, Adam realises that practising law is his worst nightmare.
Biding his time is the plan. Charli has wanderlust in her soul and he’s hopeful that sooner or later, she’ll want to go home.
Riding it out isn’t hard. They’re as close as they’ve ever been and every spare minute is spent hanging out with their precious little girl.
Life is good – until it’s not.
When fate throws them one nasty curveball after another, Charli’s confidence is shattered and her heart is broken. After weeks of trying to make sense of the grief she’s feeling, both realise she’s out of her depth.
Getting out of Dodge is Charli’s preferred MO and she doesn’t disappoint, finally deciding that it’s time to leave New York.
Returning to Pipers Cove is not the quick fix they were hoping for.
Some things just can’t be mended, and the way she deals with that is going to change everything.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Star Promise is the beautiful end to the most magical series I've ever read. GJ wraps everything up with nice little bow. I adore GJ Walker-Smith and her characters. I've followed Charli through her journey from the very beginning and I have loved every minute of it. I'm sad to see it end and secretly hope we'll see more from the Wishes world in the future... Psst, GJ, Alex is my favourite. ;)
Jean-Luc has been one of the hardest characters to like, always berating Charli for her tales and calling them none sense. He finally won me over in this story, which is good because I didn't want to hate him forever.
Adam had won me over in Secret North, because I was never a fan of him either, his early Jerk tendencies had stuck with me. It was so nice to see him win me over again in Star Promise. Star promise runs during the timeframe of Secret North. It was great to finally see what was bothering Charli and Adam through that time.
I've loved this series immensely and look forward to whatever GJ decides to write next.


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