Rayne Matthews has a dance scholarship. Tyler Blackman has a shot as a walk on in football. The pressure is on and there’s no room for mistakes. Can they reach their goals, while holding onto each other?Love isn’t easy when the world is watching, and not everyone is cheering. The brightest futures cast the darkest shadows…so, what do you do when you’re falling in love in the spotlight?Be aware … in love in the spotlight?
Be aware that this book is the first in a planned seven about the same couple. It is appropriate for 18+ and includes sexually explicit scenes, adult language, cheating, and issues related to abuse, violence, and sexual assault. Please keep this in mind as you purchase for yourself or others.
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When Tyler sees a beautiful barista at his campus’ local coffeeshop, he can’t get her out of his head even though she, GASP!, rejected his half-assed pick up line. It’s not like Ty to obsess over one girl, no matter how beautiful, but there’s something about her. So he sets about pursuing her, and eventually they start up a rather sweet, fun friendship. And along the way, his team make her one of them.
Rayne is pretty much all alone in the world, and it’s made her really strong and independent. She wants nothing to do with the persistent hottie that keeps flirting with her. But there’s something charming about him and somehow they’ve become friends. But it’s only a matter of time before their obvious attraction is consummated even though she really knows better than to get involved with a manwhore like Ty, no matter how sweet he actually is. For one, she’s got her dance scholarship to worry about, and getting her heart broken really isn’t something she can deal with. Will these two young lovers be able to maintain a relationship in the face of all the obstacles?
I really liked Chaos & Love but only after I reminded myself that these two are seriously young (literally still teenagers), so angst is to be expected. And damn was there angst, A TON of it, but it didn’t bother me as much as it would normally. One thing to note is that Ty pulls a bonehead move toward the end, one I honestly expected, only I figured it would happen earlier in the story, so I wasn’t surprised, but I was pissed, and hurting so much for Rayne. And then there’s the cliffy. Yuck. Had I known that Chaos & Love was only part one of a trilogy, I wouldn’t have read it until all three parts were released, so the cliffy took me by surprise, and kinda made me mad, as there’s no warning anywhere that I could see. But aside from Ty’s asshole move, the neverending angst, and the cliffhanger, like I said, I liked Chaos & Love. It’s well-written, and I loved Rayne. She’s the best part of the story and I can’t wait to see how much more she grows in the next installments. I hope whatever happens, that Ty grows up A LOT, and does some serious groveling and begging to Rayne, and that she makes him work like he’s never worked before, for forgiveness.
***4 Stars***
Oh my. The angst got all kinds of real in this one, not that I didn’t see it coming, because I did, boy did I. But with the way things went down and that ending…let’s just say it’s a good thing I really did like the majority of the characters and am curious to see how things work out.
I liked Tyler and Rayne, I really did. Tyler is determined, hard working and pretty damn honest with himself and those around him with his goals and what he wants out of life at the moment. But some of that drive comes from the fact that he’s got a whole lot of expectations riding on him that, at times has him feeling like he’s suffocation. Rayne is sweet, sassy and has an honesty about her that draws you in. She hasn’t had an easy life, and there are things that happened in her past that haunt her, but she’s looking to make a fresh start and live the life she has always wanted.
Rayne and Tyler’s journey was a fun one, for the most part. I loved watching their friendship grow and how Rayne stood her ground on what she wanted. They were fun, flirty and it was easy to believe they could have a future together, but of course things don’t always go as planned. That lovely (though not so much) sinkhole in their road wasn’t so much a surprise, the build up was there from the start, but even I couldn’t hold back a “well that was just fucking stupid of you” when it all went down. If, you didn’t know already, this is only part one of their story, so there isn’t a resolution just yet, so I’m expecting a pretty intense redemption arc coming because that is one hell of a “mistake” to make up for.
This is the author’s debut novel and I think she did a great job on it. The writing was engaging, and though things did drag a bit for at the start because it felt like was in the midst of an information dump (I got why, but still) things did pick up after a while. The characters were all well written and there are a good handful I’d like to know about, but there are the same amount that I’d like to gut with a spoon, so it’s a good balance. There are triggers in this one, so be prepared for that. My one issue is that I wish I’d known going in that this was a ‘Part 1’ of Tyler and Rayne’s journey. I have no issue with duets/trilogies etc in any form as you can see by the books I’ve read, but I like a bit of a heads up because it prepares me a bit for the ending that’s not an ending. As for the ending, a lot is up in the air and nothing is going to resolved quickly or easily, so as I said before, the redemption arc is gonna be a big one, but I’m definitely curious to see where this all ends up.
~ Copy provided by Enticing Journey Book Promo & voluntarily reviewed ~
I need the next book STAT!!!!!! I don’t think I’ve read a book where I wanted to throat punch so many people over and over and over!! From Tyler’s dad to Gabe to Shaye to Wyatt and even Tyler! I really loved the dynamic between Rayne and the team and how quickly they took her in and became family. For someone like Rayne that means so much! The characters are are so well written and you’re emotions will be everywhere!! But serioulsy, I need the next book ….. like yesterday!