Full Tilt Duet || Book Review

Series: Full Tilt

Author: Emma Scott

Publication Date: July 1, 2017

Publisher: Self-published
Links: Goodreads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble 

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis via Goodreads: "I would love you forever, if I only had the chance..." 

Kacey Dawson has always lived life on the edge--impulsively, sometimes recklessly. And now, as lead guitarist for a hot up-and-coming band, she is poised at the brink of fame and fortune. But she is torn between wanting to be a serious musician, and the demons that lure her down the glittering, but alcohol-soaked path of rock stardom. A wrecked concert in Las Vegas threatens to ruin her career entirely. She wakes up with the hangover from hell and no memory of the night before, or how she ended up on her limo driver’s couch...

Jonah Fletcher is running out of time. He knows his situation is hopeless, and he's vowed to make the most of the handful of months he has left to him. His plans include seeing the opening of his glass installation at a prestigious art gallery…they do not include falling in love with a wild, tempestuous rock musician who wound up passed out on his couch.

Jonah sees that Kacey is on a path to self-destruction. He lets her crash with him for a few days to dry out and get her head on straight. But neither of them expected the deep connection they felt, or how that connection could grow so fast from friendship into something more. Something deep and pure and life-changing…something as fragile as glass, that they both know will shatter in the end no matter how hard they try to hold on to it.
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All In

SPOILERS FOR FULL TILT....

Reeling from her loss, Kacey Dawson is grieving and heartbroken, her addictive demons hauling her back into the alcohol-soaked abyss she worked so hard to crawl out of. Kacey teeters on the edge of oblivion, and must fight her way through the pain, to build a new life for herself with her music, and somehow fulfill the promise she made to Jonah…one she feels is impossible to keep.

Theo Fletcher has a secret burning in his heart, one that he holds close, while he struggles to keep strong for his family that is falling apart. His mother’s health is fragile and his father’s disapproval is breaking him down. Theo is afraid if he follows his heart, he’ll fail, and not just himself, but his brother who believed in him when no one else did.

Drawn together by their pain, Theo and Kacey slowly build a friendship, re-forge old ties, help each other to heal, and give one another the courage to reach for their dreams. Together, from the depths of grief and guilt, they learn to laugh again, to trust again, and quite possibly find something beautiful and lasting amid the shattered pieces of their broken hearts.

SAY HELLO TO THE DUET THAT PUT ME IN A REVIEW SLUMP

For the past two and a half weeks, I've been attempting to find the words to describe how I felt about the Full Tilt duet. Attempting...and failing miserably because honestly, I don't think I could write a review that would do this duet justice. It's just that good. But in order for me to get out of my review slump, I need to get my thoughts out so please don't mind the word vomit that I'm about to spew as I make one final attempt to write this review. Also, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR FULL TILT AS I CANNOT DISCUSS ALL IN WITHOUT SPOILING FULL TILT. With that being said, let's get this review started...

The Full Tilt duet has been recommended to me numerous times over the past year by trusted blogger friends, but I never picked it up because EVERY SINGLE REVIEW I've read about Full Tilt started out with sobbing gifs and I knew I had to mentally prepare myself for that mess before I cracked open the first book. By the time I finished the second book, I came to the realization that no amount of preparation would've ever prepared me for this sobfest of a romance. I was so emotionally fucked by the end, I ended up crying in the fetal position for like two hours (no lie). But I'll tell y'all, the tears are worth it...every single one is worth it.

"Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They are in each other all along."

Full Tilt is the first book in this duet and it is told from alternating POVs of our main characters, Jonah Fletcher and Kacey Dawson. Kacey is a guitarist in the band, Rapid Confession, and they are currently on tour, selling out show after show and making a name for themselves. Jonah and Kacey cross paths when the band comes to Las Vegas for a show and Kacey ends the night in yet another drunken state. As her driver, Jonah is expected to get Kacey home safely, but circumstances lead him to taking Kacey back to his home where she sleeps off her hangover. She awakes the next day and decides that she needs a break from the band to think a few things over. She spends the next few days with Jonah and realizes that she no longer wants to live the rockstar life and decides to quit and start fresh. With the help of Jonah, she cleans up her act, kicks her bad habits to the curb and gains some sense of stability. But just when things were going well for Kacey, life comes at her fast and what happens next might make or break her...for good.

I'll admit, when I first started this book, I had a hard time with Kacey's POV. She's a bit all over the place with her excessive drinking and her insecurities. She's comes off as your "typical broken girl", but let me tell you, Kacey is the furthest thing from typical. The girl has layers and as I peeled back each one, I ended up loving her character just a bit more. We learn about her past and all the shit she's been through, yet she's still here and kicking as she tries to turn her life around. She's resilient as fuck and even though she may have doubted herself at times, I was rooting for her to pull through. She is flawed, probably one of the most flawed female characters I've ever read about, but her flaws make her perfectly relatable. 

Then we have Jonah, sweet, sweet Jonah who I instantly fell for. He's your all-around good guy. A supportive best friend and brother. An amazing son. A talented artist. But Jonah's days are numbered after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. But despite his prognosis, Jonah is still full of life and he doesn't let his illness stop him from completing his goals. My heart broke for him and yours will too.

"I would love you forever, Kacey, if only I had the chance."

Kacey and Jonah's romance is one for the books! Despite their unfortunate circumstances, these two continue to live in the moment and they both learn something from one another. Jonah helps Kacey start over and he shows her what love is, something she's never felt before, while Kacey shows Jonah that it's okay to let people in, even if it hurts because it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. My heart ached for these two because even during the happiest of moments, I still knew the inevitable was going to happen. Full Tilt broke me...but then I started All In and that's where the healing began.

"There is beauty everywhere, even in the things that scare you most..."

When I started All In, I was very pissed. Why? Because I already knew what games Emma Scott was trying to play. She was really going there and I was not willing to play by her rules. But just like with Full Tilt, she managed to pull me in and dammit I found myself rooting for this new player and the new ship on the horizon. I'll try to keep my thoughts about All In to a minimum so I don't give it all away.

Like I said before All In is all about healing...but before any healing could take place, you first have to grieve. AND I DID. A LOT. All In picks up right where Full Tilt left off as Kacey and Jonah's family mourn their loss. During this time we are introduced to Kacey's new love interest, Theo, Jonah's brother. Now before you go saying hell no, let me back track for a minute. Theo plays a big part in Full Tilt as Jonah's protective older brother. He's kind a pain in the ass since he doesn't approve of Kacey, but the two do eventually become good friends. Theo's feelings for Kacey aren't instant and neither are Kacey's feelings for Theo. Emma does a great job at developing this new relationship in a way that feels so natural that you'll find yourself rooting for these two to be together by the end, trust me.

"A man who told the love of his life, at the moment of goodbye, to love someone else. And to his brother, a promise to love her..."

It's funny because I actually hate this trope, the "keeping it within the family" trope where the main character ends up family for the decease's brother or cousin. I was very resistant to jump on board and I was throwing daggers at Theo, but once I got to know him better, I just couldn't hate him anymore. 

"Theo and I, a treasure out of the ruin."

I've talked about the characters and the romances, all that's left is the writing. Emma Scott is a phenomenal writer. Like, her words are literary art and I was rendered speechless by the end! I'm pretty sure I have more than half this book highlighted because there are just too many beautiful quotes. She is also a gifted story-teller. She managed to not only make me fall in love once, but twice. WHEN WILL YO FAVE EVER?!

There you have it folks! I finally managed to finish my review, even if it is a jumbled mess. I hope I've somehow convinced y'all to read this duet too if you haven't already because it's so worth it. It is more than just another romance series; it's a story about brothers, love, loss, and new beginnings. I'm sure you'll find a piece of yourself among these pages and maybe even end up with pieces of this story etched into your heart.

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