Twice as Nice: Shooting Scars by Karina Halle

KINDLE

Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2) by Karina Halle
Contemporary
Forever (August 20, 2013)

Rating: A
Heat: Hot

Heroine: Ellie Watts – Con Artist, On the Run 
Hero: Camden McQueen – Tattoo Artist, On the Run 

 

 

Synopsis:

Sometimes the right choice can be the deadliest.

When Ellie Watt made the ultimate sacrifice for Camden McQueen, she never thought it would be easy. But walking away with her ex-lover, Javier Bernal, in order to ensure Camden’s safety has brought a whole new set of dangers. With Javier’s plans for Ellie growing more secretive by the moment, Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game before her past swallows her whole.

Meanwhile, Camden’s new life is short-lived. Fueled by revenge and pursued by authorities, he teams up with an unlikely partner in order to save Ellie. But as Camden toes the line between love and retribution, he realizes that in order to get back the woman he loves, he may have to lose himself in the process. He might just turn into the very man he’s hunting.

Told in dual POV from Camden and Ellie.

Review:

I did not want to read Shooting Scars. That may sound odd but Sins and Needles and On Every Street gave me the mother of all book hangovers. I couldn’t read another book for two plus days. Ellie, Camden and Javier just wrecked me. I found myself so drawn into their story, their drama, their unlikely romances, that I couldn't bring myself to leave their world. I knew Shooting Scars would leave me reeling and unable to move on. I knew it would blow my mind and make the next book I read pale in comparison. And it did.

When we last left these three in Sins and Needles, Javier gave Ellie a choice: come with him and he’d let Camden go or things wouldn’t be very fun for Camden and his family. Considering that’s really no choice at all, Ellie left with Javier. What Javier has planned for Ellie... it’s everything she used to dream about and nothing she wants anything to do with anymore.

Javier wants... well, I’m not sure exactly what he wants. I’m not sure even Javier truly knows. But what he tells Ellie he wants is Travis Raines. More specifically, Travis Raines dead—and he’d like Ellie to do it. Can she? Will she? Being back with Javier stirs up old feelings and more than a little bit of resentment. Being around Javier brings out the Bad Ellie that’s she tried so hard to bury. With the threat of Camden’s continued safety hanging over heard, there’s not much Ellie won’t do.

Being with Camden, no matter how brief, brought me something I never had. He made me feel safe, whether I was in his arms or at his side or just in his presence. For the first time, I had a protector – and I never knew I needed one until then.

Meanwhile, Camden has – once again – been screwed over. With nothing left to loose and everything to gain by finding Ellie, Camden seeks out the only person who might be able to help him: Gus. Thrown into a deceitful new world, Camden’s going to need all the help he can get. He’s also going to have to go to dark places and do his fair share of dirty deeds in order to get Ellie back… All while wondering if she even wants him to rescue her.

“I don’t have a soul,” he said softly. “You make me feel like I do.”
We were just our bodies, our lust, and maybe, just maybe, only two tortured souls. Maybe I had to accept that I wasn’t good and I deserved some as bad as me.

Javier, Javier, Javier. Where to even start? Maybe by admitting I am drawn to him and scared of him in equal measures? He's not good, that's for sure, but a part of me wants him to be redeemable. Some men are dangerously handsome. Javier is deadly handsome. And he sure knows how to wreak havoc and wreck people’s lives—including his own. He is definitely not on his best behavior in this book. And yet there are still these moments, glimmers, of a better Javier—a Javier who actually cares.

Shooting Scars is raw and gritty and full of emotional upheaval. Ellie and Javier. Camden and Gus. Four lives, one complicated web. Halle has woven danger and intrigue together masterfully. She draws you into a world of lies, distrust, and mayhem. There are so many twists and turns that you never know what’s coming next. She makes you invest in each character. The reader’s relationship with Ellie, Camden, and Javier feels personal and intense. I don’t know where Halle is going to take us in Bold Tricks but you can bet I’m along for the ride!

 

Paula’s Review: Click here to read another take on Shooting Scars!

 

To celebrate Shooting Scars release, Karina will be doing a Facebook chat today, 8/20, at 6 PM EST / 3 PM PST! You don’t have to be invited to join, just click & join the event – easy peasy!

 

About the Author The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with). Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she's preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Find Karina Online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads