The Darkest Link by Scarlett Cole Review
5 Smooches
Synopsis
When her car breaks down off the side of a lonely highway far from her sunny Miami home, tattoo artist Lia never expected her very own white knight to ride up on the back of a barely street-legal motorcycle…and she never expected to fall for her dark savior. After a string of failed relationships and a bruised heart, Lia is not looking for forever, and the hot mechanic, with his sexy scruff and shaggy hair, is simply impossible to resist and the perfect candidate for mind-blowingly-perfect, no-strings-attached one night stand.
Reid left his life in Chicago far behind him and hasn’t been back, but he’s never been able to escape the guilt he feels about his own painful role in inviting a monster into his baby sister’s life. A monster who almost destroyed her. Being with Lia is an unexpected gift, one he doesn’t feel he deserves, and their one night together has him wanting more than he should. Especially since she doesn’t know the truth about his past. However, when he finds Lia’s bracelet in his bed, he has the perfect excuse to drive down and surprise her at her tattoo studio, Second Circle Tattoos, in Miami. He’s in for an even bigger shock – and a fist to the face – when his past and present collide in the humid Miami weather when he runs into the last person he’d ever expect to see in a tattoo studio: Harper, the sister he betrayed, and the last link to his former life.
Review
‘Perhaps it was a good thing they lived a long drive away from each other. His very presence made it difficult to remember why she was taking some time off from men.’
In the past year Scarlett Cole has become one of my very favorite writers. This series and characters have stolen my heart and I both elated and sad to see it come to an end yet I am excited for the things to come. The Darkest Link could easily be read as a standalone but if you have read the other three books you will be happy that it brings some conclusion to all those storylines as well as being an amazing story all on its own.
‘Shame filled up the places remorse hadn’t reached. He would give everything he had to go and make different decisions. But he couldn’t. No matter how badly he wished it.’
Tattoo artist Lia is a strong and independent woman going against her conservative father’s wishes and doing what makes her happy. She is pinup beautiful and not afraid to go after what she wants. Reid Kennedy is a mechanic in the small town where Lia’s car breaks down and when he sees her by the side of the road he is drawn to her 50s pinup style and sassy attitude. Neither are looking for more than one night, Reid because he thinks he doesn’t deserve happiness after his bad decisions ruined his sisters life and Lia because her penchant for falling hard and fast in love has never got her anything but heartache. But one night was never going to be enough for these two and soon they are finding ways to seek each other out.
‘And yes, on a scale of zero to too-fucking-old-for-this-shit, he probably shouldn’t be making out with her on the street. But damn, she was sunshine in a perfect human package.’
If you have read the first book in this series you will remember that Reid is the estranged brother of Harper, the heroine from The Strongest Steel. There is so much hurt and the life shattering events that went down years ago have completely changed those two. The Darkest Link is a book about overcoming that pain and learning to heal. Both Reid and Lia have a lot to move past and in order to do that they have to tackle things head on but they learn that when they tackle them together they can survive.
“I need you to promise me that you will never let anybody dim your light. It’s the most goddamn beautiful thing about you. Don’t dim it for anyone. Ever.”
I absolutely adored alpha Reid from the moment I met him and his dirty mouth. He is protective and a bit crass but completely loveable and sweet two. The way he treats Lia is the way all men should treat the women they love. He adores her and while he likes to silly aggravate her, especially when he calls the modern and independent Lia babe, he only does it out of fun and is constantly trying to show her how he feels. Scarlett Coles writing is clean and her story is fantastic. While the series ending brings me a bit of heartache, knowing her writing plans for the future has me anticipating many more a days where she steals my heart and attention.
~miranda
