STONE (Daring the Kane Brothers)

This well-written storyline is an enemies to lovers romance. The main characters seemed to hate each other and a HEA would not be possible but backgrounds are revealed, chemistry abounds and a HEA seems more likely. The reader should start this series at the beginning due to multiple characters and connections being referenced. I liked this book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

STONE is the fifth instalment in Kelly Gendron’s contemporary, adult DARING THE KANE BROTHERS erotic, romance series focusing on the Kane siblings. This is former EOD specialist US army soldier / guitarist Stone Kane, and auto mechanic Amanda aka Jaggs Downey’s story line. STONE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary. Daring the Kane Brothers is a spin-off from the author's Breaking the Declan Brothers series. Told from dual first person perspectives (Stone and Jaggs) STONE follows the contemptuous relationship between former EOD specialist US army soldier / guitarist Stone Kane, and auto mechanic Amanda aka Jaggs Downey. Approximately one year earlier, Amanda aka Jaggs Downey arrived in Culver City, California, looking for a job at Crash Kane’s garage but in that year Jaggs’ relationship with Crash’s brother Stone started as a hate-filled, vitriolic, war of words that only worsened as time went by. Stone Kane rarely returns to visit his family, suffering the affects of his time in Iraq, a time he chooses to numb with alcohol and drugs but his last visit finds him spending the weekend at Crash’s house with Jaggs Downey, the woman with whom Stone will fall in love. What ensues is the back and forth, up and down building relationship between Jaggs and Stone, and the potential fall-out as Jaggs struggles with Stone’s rockstar lifestyle, and the potential for Stone to break her heart. Several years earlier Jaggs’ sister Jenny died in an explosion and Jaggs Downey blames Stone Kane. Stone is an addict and struggles with his sobriety, and in this Jaggs is looking to destroy our story line hero but Stone keeps secret that truth about what happened months before, a truth that once revealed changes the direction of Jaggs and Stone’s relationship, a relationship that is about to cross the line, and never return. The relationship between Jaggs and Stone is an enemies to lovers based upon mistaken belief and a need for revenge. Jaggs’ sister is dead and she is desperate to place the blame, seeking her vengeance against an innocent man, who himself, struggles with the death of so many in the past. When the truth is revealed, Jaggs and Stone take their affair on the road but our heroine refuses to loose her heart to a man who is capable of destroying her soul. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. All of the Kane siblings, and their mother Olivia Kane play secondary and supporting characters. We are introduced to Stone’s fellow band members Trigger, the drummer, Derrick, the lead singer, and their roadie Getty. The world building reveals both Jaggs and Kane’s heart breaking and soul-crushing backgrounds: Jaggs and her sister Jenny’s ten different foster families, and Kane and his brother Steele’s birth mother’s horrific death. STONE is a story of mistaken beliefs and a need for revenge; a story of revelations, acceptance, moving forward and love. The premise is captivating and heart breaking; the romance is seductive and provocative; the characters are energetic, broken but healing.

The story line was great, the character work was fantastic and the book had a smooth flow to it. This is the first book by this author that I've read, but it won't be the last. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.