Can love survive when life gets Reckless?
When the band hits it big, Kiera and Kellan must ask themselves: Can their love for each other survive the constant pressures of superstardom? The friendships they've formed, the new family they've found, and the history they've forged will all play a part in helping them navigate the turbulent waters of the band's exploding popularity.
A greedy executive hell-bent on success, a declining pop star looking for an edge, and a media circus that twists lies into truths are just some of the obstacles the lovers will have to overcome if they are going to remain together.
Fame comes with a price-but will it cost Kiera and Kellan everything?
When the band hits it big, Kiera and Kellan must ask themselves: Can their love for each other survive the constant pressures of superstardom? The friendships they've formed, the new family they've found, and the history they've forged will all play a part in helping them navigate the turbulent waters of the band's exploding popularity.
A greedy executive hell-bent on success, a declining pop star looking for an edge, and a media circus that twists lies into truths are just some of the obstacles the lovers will have to overcome if they are going to remain together.
Fame comes with a price-but will it cost Kiera and Kellan everything?
Title: Reckless (Thoughtless ~ Book 1)
Author: S.C. Stephens | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: March 5 2013
Publisher: Gallery Books
Length: 544 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK
Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Love. Love. Love.
Point of View: 1st person, following Kiera
My Rating: 5 Stars
How am I ever going to write a coherent review about this book? I can hardly put into words how very much I loved this series and Reckless was the perfect ending to the amazing journey I have been on.
I knew from day one that I was going to like this series. I had heard too many good things about it so I wasn’t even worried about not liking it. What I didn’t know and what I could never have comprehended is how much I ended up absolutely falling in love with these books... no with these characters. It has moved beyond love in my heart and I think I can easily say that S.C. Stephens has managed to write three of my favorite books and one of my favorite characters of all time. That character being the one and only Kellan Kyle.
“You'll never know how incredible you are to me, how desperately I love you. I would do it all over again if I needed to. I'd go back to the beginning for you.”
Kiera and Kellan faced so many obstacles in this book. But what was different from before is that this time they are able to face it all together. In Thoughtless they were apart because of the cheating and love triangle and in Effortless they were apart because of the distance put between them while Kellan was on tour. Now they are facing the future together. We still experience the angst and heartbreak but they are together and somehow that made it all much more bearable. I was never in doubt of their love for each other and I was never in any doubt that in the end everything was going to be perfect.
But this isn’t to say it was all clear sailing. I can without a doubt say right now that this book moved me to tears on several occasions and they were not all tears of happiness. At one point I was lying in bed at 1:30am (with me having to be at work the next day) and I was sobbing. We are not talking about the little hushed tears that one may have fall during a sad moment. This was a full on sobfest. My shoulders were shaking, I could hardly see the words on my Kindle and even after I put it away for the night I laid in bed thinking about it.
“Never again. I don't care what's at stake. I don't care who I have to let down. I won't ever do that to you again. You... or me. I'm done playing their game.”
Then the next day at work I was talking to a friend at lunch, who happens to also be reading Reckless, about the scene I was so emotional about and I started crying again just talking about it. I don’t know if this is just me being a big baby or if this just shows how much I love these characters. The scene in question is hands down the most painful scene I have ever read. Even now just writing this I can feel my eyes welling up again.
When my breathing returned to normal, his voice called to me again. “Kiera... please.”
His voice hitched, and I heard a sound I’d never wanted to hear from him again. He was crying. Wiping my hands dry, I opened the bathroom door. He had his head in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking. I immediately wrapped my arms around him. He buried his head in my neck, murmuring, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me... please don’t leave me.”
His voice hitched, and I heard a sound I’d never wanted to hear from him again. He was crying. Wiping my hands dry, I opened the bathroom door. He had his head in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking. I immediately wrapped my arms around him. He buried his head in my neck, murmuring, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me... please don’t leave me.”
Yes that snippet is from just after my little meltdown but please don’t read into that scene and think that Kellan has done something terrible. I do not want to give anything away so I’m not going to go into details but the situation was more or less forced upon them both, they both went into it knowing what was going to happen but that didn’t stop it from being painful for all parties involved, including me the reader.
But the aftermath of this and other events like it highlight just how much these characters have changed and how much they have matured during the course of these three books.
“We’d learned to open up to each other, to trust each other, to face the world together. I firmly believed now that there was nothing we couldn’t tackle together. No hurdle, no obstacle, no setback was so large that it would break us apart, and there was comfort and confidence in that knowledge.”
Let us start with Kiera shall we? She and I had a very rocky start to our relationship. In Thoughtless I really couldn’t stand her. In Effortless she grew up a bit and I ended up liking her a bit. But in Reckless... she has grown into a strong, confident and wonderful character. I now love her and after reading all three books it is amazing to realize the growth that she has experienced from start to finish. Honestly... love her.
“I will always love you, Kellan. Your heart is safe with me.”
Kellan pulled me into a hug and let out a long, shaky breath as he held me.
“Promise?” he whispered.
I squeezed him just a little bit tighter. “I promise.” Pulling back, I rested my forehead against his. “Not loving you isn’t possible. Trust me, I tried.”
Kellan pulled me into a hug and let out a long, shaky breath as he held me.
“Promise?” he whispered.
I squeezed him just a little bit tighter. “I promise.” Pulling back, I rested my forehead against his. “Not loving you isn’t possible. Trust me, I tried.”
Kellan Kyle*sigh* There are not enough positive adjectives in this world to describe Kellan Kyle. The man is simply perfect. If his little love notes from Effortless wasn’t enough to make every woman in the world swoon then surly his rose petal notes from Reckless will push them right over the edge. The man is a rock god with a heart of gold and a romantic streak a mile long... if not longer. There is no possible way for anybody to read these books and not fall in love with him.
Yes. Yes. I know he is fictional, yadda, yadda, yadda... But trust me when I say if you read this series you will be as enamored with him as I am. Fictional or not.
“I was remembering all of the reasons why I love you so much. I was appreciating everything you do, and everything you are. I was falling in love with you, all over again.”
I hope this review has been okay... I honestly feel like it has just been one big fan girl moment and later when I’ve come down from my Thoughtless Series high I may come back and think ‘What was I going on about?’ But for now this all I can write. And even though I am a bit gushy and it is probably all a bunch of rambling... it is all from the heart.
I want every single person who reads this review to get a small understanding of how amazing this series is. I write book reviews because I have always wanted to feel like I was giving back a little something to the authors that take the time to write the wonderful characters that we all fall in love with. I also write book reviews so that I can share my love of great books. And if I can get one person who was not planning on reading this series to decide to read it or get somebody to bump the series up on their TBR list because of my review then it makes it all worth it.
“Our lives are crazy. When moments to remember happen, you have to pause a second to appreciate them. Otherwise none of this" -he indicated the bus- "is worth it.”
I have to admit that I am really sad that this series is over and that I will be moving on to different characters now. I will wholeheartedly miss Denny, Abby, Anna, Griffin, Matt, Rachel, Evan, Jenny, Justin, Kate, Gavin, Hailey, Riley and of course Kiera and Kellan. I have fallen in love with all of these characters and they will forever stay with me.
“He would always want me near him. I would always be first in his eyes. We were a good match. A perfect match. Soul mates.
Passion, friendship, love, loyalty, trust… if you found the right person… you really could have it all.”
Passion, friendship, love, loyalty, trust… if you found the right person… you really could have it all.”
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