Nikan Rebuilt by Scarlett Cole

NEW ADULT ROMANCE

Publication date: 01/02/2018
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

Rockstar romances are usually a tough sell to me. I mean, sure, there are tons of authors who do a great job with them, but so many others (*cough*Picture Perfect* cough*) trip over tropes I absolutely loathe and force me to tag them as DNFs, allocating them to the What Not to Read shelf for life. But when it comes to a Scarlett Cole book, I don’t read blurbs or look at covers anymore. I just 1-click, because she’s never let me down. Nikan Rebuilt was no different.

First of all, it must be said that I adore all of Scarlett Cole’s work, but I’m a particularly huge fan of this series. If you don’t believe me, feel free to check out my review of Jordan Reclaimed. These books are a perfect creamy blend of resilient heroes who rose above dark, twisty backgrounds to reach damn-near unreal levels of success, strong heroines who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside, angsty, deeply emotional interplay between characters, and holy-crap-pass-me-some-ice-water-’cause-that-was-so-hot sex scenes. The names and plots and situations may vary, but those are things you can count on when you pick up any book in this particular series.

The story of Nikan and Jenny is a second-chance romance lover’s catnip. (And I do ever-so-much love a second chance romance) Nikan was a stupid kid who predictably did something really stupid and wrecked his young relationship with Jenny. (Hey, that’s what stupid kids do, you know?) But by the time they meet up again, 8 years later, Nikan is a much more mature guy who knows exactly what he wants--and that’s a life with Jenny, the one who got away. I loved that he went after what he wanted so wholeheartedly, and that he never got frustrated with Jenny for not immediately trusting him after so many years and such a huge betrayal. He knew he’d done something stupid, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make it up to her. My heart ached for him, knowing how much he wished he could go back and make different choices.

Jenny was a good believable heroine, too. I’m sure there will be some readers who will be irritated with her for not forgiving Nikan quicker (he is, after all, a hot, rich rockstar), but I thought she was 100% right in holding out. He made a stupid mistake that she didn’t have to forgive him for. Like any smart woman in the same position, she made logical choices and wasn’t too quick to hand her heart back over to the man who’d stomped on it years before. I totally respected her for not caving too quickly.           

I will warn, y’all, though. This isn’t a light, fluffy, easy read. This one is angsty and highly emotional. You’ll tear up a time or two (or ten) reading it. But if you can handle a little crazy rush of emotion every now and then, you’ll be glad you gave this one a read.

Long-story-short...why are you still reading this review? Go 1-click!!! You’ll thank me later.

Full disclosure: we received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley free of charge.
  
Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Crushes it! This one’s clean and sober. No rehab needed.

Other reading suggestions
Definitely check out the author’s backlist. It’s all gold. Not a stinker in the bunch.

You can also check out our 5-star review of Under Fire.

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