Blake Carson can’t afford to have a life. Between working full-time as a tattoo artist and caring for his disabled twin brother Jacob, his plate is more than full – and he prefers it that way.But his meticulous planning is turned on its head when he meets the upbeat and beautiful Audrey Wright and her butterfly tattoo.Now, through a complicated maze of coincidence and fate, Blake begins to … Blake begins to question if maybe there could be more to his life than just work and Jacob.
That is, if the guilt doesn’t eat him alive first.
With the help of Dr. Vanessa Travetti and a girl he doesn’t think he deserves, can Blake convince himself that even the bad guy deserves a happy ending?
more
Warrior Blue by Kelsey Kingsley is a contemporary romance told entirely from the first-person point of view of the main character, Blake Carson. This isn’t a light, fun story. In fact, it’s rather heavy as it masterfully covers some very weighty ground in matters pertaining to grief, spirituality, faith, forgiveness, healing, and unconditional love.
Blake is a tortured soul who spends all his time either working or caring for his developmentally delayed twin brother, Jake, whom he loves fiercely. Blaming himself for Jake’s condition, Blake has given up on his dreams believing that he doesn’t deserve happiness. He is miserable and frequently lashes out in anger. When he meets Audrey, the girl with the butterfly tattoo, he wants nothing to do with her. But Audrey’s sunshiny attitude and refusal to be put off by Blake’s hostile demeanor make a lasting impression. It seems like no matter what he does, he just can’t shake her – and it baffles him to realize that he really doesn’t want to.
I loved Blake. He was frustrating and so broken, but experiencing the story entirely through his perspective was vital in understanding his suffering. His journey was gut-wrenching, and I shed many tears along the way, but it only made his growth and healing that much sweeter. Audrey was a breath of fresh air and the perfect ray of light to counter Blake’s darkness. This is a beautifully written, painfully perfect story of unrelenting love and hope. I absolutely loved it! Highly recommended for anyone looking for a thought-provoking read full of depth and heart.
*** I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. ***
I rarely am at a loss as to how to share my love for Kelsey Kingsley’s book worlds, yet I am with this one. She has a gift for creating entirely relatable characters who you just want to see succeed. She, however, doesn’t rest on her natural talent, and her growth and willingness to take risks shows in each book. Warrior Blue is next level literature and her best book to date.
Characters like Blake, whose pain is so pulpy and raw that you just want to wrap him in love. Brother Jake, an angel on earth, has such poignant honesty and goodness as a counterpoint. Audrey, who upon first glance is simple but grows into a heroine I respect. Even those I wanted to throw out a window are beautifully written (it wouldn’t be a Kelsey book without one). They exist in the mystical yet real Salem, where ghosts aren’t just in memories, but they inhabit us, our homes, and our present.
By nature I’m a pragmatist who deals in fact, so signs and ghosts and fate aren’t my currency. However, I spent the entire book hoping that it’s all true. Not only did I want a happy ending, a healing for each character but for myself as well. This book made me a believer, and that’s the highest praise I can give.
Spoiler-you will cry reading this book. It will break you and put you back together in the best way.
Loved this story! Got a say this is my favorite by KK!
Blake is a tattoo artist and care taker for his twin brother Jake. He has little time for a social life until he meets Audrey and her butterfly! Audrey shows Blake all things are possible!
The characters in this story really stand out. Jake will melt your heart, and Blake? Sigh…
This is one that will stay with you for weeks after.
Kelsey Kingsley’s Forget the Stars was one of my top reads for 2019, and her latest release, Warrior Blue, has just earned its spot on the list of this year’s top reads. This was a romance, but it was also so much more than “just” a romance. This was the story of a man who struggled with feelings of guilt and being undeserving of any sort of happiness because of what happened to his twin brother. He finds love and hope in the unlikeliest of women…or maybe not so unlikely. Whether it be because of fate or circumstance or both, life is about to shift for him forever.
Whatever I thought I was going to get from this book was surpassed by what lay between the proverbial covers. Kelsey Kingsley has penned a story that touches on love, family, and faith (not to be confused with religion) but never felt preachy to me. If anything, I found Blake’s story to be awe-inspiring, one that made me smile and laugh while also leading me to tear up and have my heart clench in my chest. It was a reminder that God–much like love–moves in the most mysterious yet life-changing of ways. Five-plus stars for the highly recommended Warrior Blue.
This is one of those stories which grab the reader from the very beginning and is worth so much more that the 5 stars allowed! This is tattoo artist Blake and Audrey’s story. This is a beautifully written story which has an in-depth and magical plot with realistic characters. This story is an emotional roller coaster journey throughout, as well as having angst, drama, fate, forgiveness, intrigue and love. I was totally captivated throughout this riveting and addictive page turner, and I highly recommend for all.
Each book written by Kelsey Kingsley just gets better and better. With Blake and Audrey, their story dives pretty deep into loss and heartache. Blake’s twin Jake is portrayed beautifully. The characters are so well written. Great emotional read to pull on your heart strings and have you rooting on Blake as he evolves. 5+ stars!!
I have read all of Kelsey Kingsley’s books to date and Warrior Blue is her most moving and inspirational book by far! Blake Carson is angry with the world. He is angry with fate, his parents, strangers and mostly himself. His only soft spot is for his developmentally disabled twin brother that he feels personally responsible for. Well Blake’s world is going to turn on it’s axis all because of a tattoo that he did and doesn’t remember. Audrey walks into Blake’s dark life like the ray of sunshine she is and from that moment on he can no longer live in the dark tunnel that he has been existing in. This is a story about fate and how seemingly unconnected moments can tie together to weave lives. Warrior Blue is told entirely from Blake’s perspective and is a story about faith lost and found, hope lost and found and love ever-changing. This is one of the best books that I have read and will be the highlight of your January 2020 reading list!
I know it’s early in the year, but I’m going to call it: this will go down as one of my all time TOP reads of 2020. There was so much going on in this beautiful, heartbreaking, captivating read. It’s so much more than the cliche of the “bad” boy falling in love with the sweet heroine.. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted or cried during a book so much before. I am in awe of the talent Kelsey possesses, and I’m so thankful I received an ARC of this book.
As soon as you start the prologue, you will be immediately hooked. This is a story of pain, or true unconditional love, what it means to be a family, and how even the most tragic of situations can have a silver lining.
Our hero, Blake, is a very talented tatoo artist, but because of an accident that he inaverdatley caused as a young boy that made his twin brother, Jake, mentally disabled, he believes he doesn’t deserve anything good in his life. His mom (who I could never, ever forgive) blames Blake for the accident that forever changed all of their lives, and because of the constant emotional abuse from both of his parents, and the fact that he believes that since Jake will never have a life, find love and truly be happy.. neither should he. *let’s pause to cry about that together, because GOOD LORD, that is just so, so much.**
Blake is obviously angry at the world, but when he meets the woman that is requesting him to do a tattoo that he has no desire of doing, he is immediately drawn to the beautiful Audrey, who is his opposite in every single way. Where she is light, he is dark. Where she has happiness and optimism, he knows the world is dark and bleak, and where she believes in God, he has no desire to believe in a higher power that would take away the kindest soul he’s ever known.
Watching him struggle with his feelings towards Audrey, all the while taking care of his brother basically full time (Even though Jake lives with their parents) and seeing his therapist, Blake has his hands full. And when that one butterfly tattoo becomes his beacon for hope, and catapults his career, will he be able to accept all the good his life now has? Or will he always be the Damned twin?
I barley scratched the surface, but just let me tell you, you need this book in your life. You need to really read closely, because all of the characters are connected with each other in some way, and there are some pretty crazy and amazing twists and coincidences, but good Lord is this book heartbreaking. The despair that Blake felt, what his parents put him through (which again, I don’t think I could ever, ever forget all they said and did to him) the pure soul that Jake was, how Audrey was the exact person he needed, and how Blake was exactly what Audrey needed.. if was just all more than I can say.
This is so much more than a boy meets girl love story, and it’s one that will stay with me long after I read it. Start your year off right and one click this amazing, heartbreaking novel as soon as you can!!!
**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions!**
I’m not a writer, so normally my reviews look like “Fun characters. Great book”, but this book was just too much to boil down to a few words. It deals with the idea of things happening for a reason, be it fate or God or whatever. I laughed, I cried, I cried some more. This book is so meaningful, and 4 days into 2020 I can say it is definitely in my top 5 reads of the year, no question!
To me this book wasn’t just a romance novel it was so much more!!
I don’t want to give away to much because honestly everyone needs too read this story.
This is a book about two unlikely people meeting and yet finding a way to help heal parts of each other and at the same time it’s the story about the purest form of love.
Watching Audrey and Blake’s relationship unfold was beautiful.
But I don’t think anything touched my soul as much as seeing the love between Blake and Jake. To me this was the most important and beautiful thing to see unfold.
The character development was on par, storyline was beautiful and the writing was brilliant.
I highly recommend this book to anyone!
*arc received for an honest review
This book wrecked me! I woke up this morning picked up my phone to finish reading it. Still laying in bed as a read the last page at 1045am. So raw and real! I feel like I crawled inside Blake and cried and yelled right along with him. The signs and how everything came together was so amazing! Kelsey Kingsley is so talented . After reading just one of her amazing stories, you will binge read the rest of her wonderful books!
Wow.
That was my first thought when I finished this book.
It is not your run of the mill romance novel, not even close.
Blake is an angry at the world tattoo artist, who has taken on the care of his disabled twin brother, who has been mentally a preschooler since an accident when the boys were 10. He has blamed himself for his brother’s injury since it happened, and as a result refuses to really live for himself.
Audrey comes to see Blake for a tattoo. He dismisses her until his boss forces him to do the tattoo, and he gets an unexpected lesson from her on making snap judgments of people.
I could go on and on about this book, but would definitely get into spoiler territory too quickly. So here’s a brief list of what I enjoyed:
*Blake is openly in therapy, and I loved the honest, realistic exchanges with his therapist
*Lots of metaphysical and theological discussion
*Jake!
*How Audrey interacts with both Blake and Jake, and teaches Blake so very much
*Audrey’s family giving Blake the family experience he missed out on
This is a powerful, beautiful book of learning to love yourself so you can love others, of hope and healing on many levels. I am not remotely a crier and this book had me tearing up in parts. And it was so fun to get the little glimpse of Chad and his bandmates from Forget the Stars but if you haven’t read that (and you totally should) it won’t affect your enjoyment of this story in the slightest, just knowing who they are is an extra treat.
Warrior Blue (ARC) by Kelsey Kingsley: this book touched me on so many levels — I absolutely loved it!
This book pulled at every emotion. A tough subject, with real life impacts, and heartbreak. So hard to read, harder to put down, with a backdrop of poems that was emotional, honest, and touching. An amazing, emotional journey from darkness and pain, to joy and love that was wonderfully, insightfully written. This book absolutely gutted me and is not one I will forget… Highly recommend!
This is truly a touching, moving story. I wish I had the talent that Kelsey has in order to give a justified review. This book spoke to me on so many levels. I had laughter, tears, hope, sadness. This book brought all the feels! Totally loved it
It’s a simple client request. A butterfly tattoo. One he apparently designed, but he doesn’t remember it. He doesn’t do butterflies.
Blake’s life is full. Maybe not a happy, content full, but full nonetheless. His days are spent working and taking care of his twin brother, Jacob who is disabled. Until Audrey.
Audrey is led to Blake to replicate the tattoo he did for her sister before she died. Then fate, the powers that be, or some other force directing the course of life, put them together again.
Day by day, Audrey opens Blake up to see the “more” that’s around him. Between Jacob, Freddy, and his therapist, maybe Blake can finally allow himself to be happy and have a true “full” life.
And you will get to catch up with the guys from Devin O’Leary too.
Definitely one of my top Kelsey Kingsley reads.
I’m a firm believer in fate. That everything happens for a reason and how it’s supposed to. This story packs a powerful and emotional punch that has left me reeling. Words cannot be written to adequately describe how fantastic the storyline and characters are. All I can say is read this as it is of the best books I’ve read in 2019!!
This book is an absolute masterpiece. I have been contemplating what to write that would do this justice but I still can’t. The depth that Kingsley dove to explorer the subject at hand and how the dyanamic plays out is stunning. A true representation of the intricacies of the interwoven fabric of our lives. If you are looking for a fluffy glitter filled romantic beach read skip this book. If you are ready for a book that makes you fall in love with every word, that alternates between ugly cries and tears of joy, a book that grabs you by the threads of your very soul and sinks deep into your heart
..then hurry up read it now! Warrior Blue will absolutely be on the top of the charts for 2020 of that I have no doubt!
This book is good! Really REALLY good. I am sure I can’t do it justice with my review but I will try.
This is a story of love. Love between brothers, parents love for their children, love between a man and a woman and love of self. It’s a story of grief and hope, of darkness and light, of sadness and joy, of anger and forgiveness. It’s a story that ripped me apart and put me back together again, stronger than I was before. If I could give this book more stars, I certainly would. Thank you Kelsey Kingsley. Thank you.
This book was an emotional rollercoaster that I immediately wanted to get back on and ride again! As usual, Kelsey did an amazing job creating characters that you love, characters that you can empathize with wholeheartedly and characters that you want to reach through the book and slap occasionally. This book is not just a love story between two people who are obviously destined to be together. It’s a story of the rebirth of a man, a woman who has struggles of her own but is his lifeline and a shattered family who needs to find a way to glue back the pieces that don’t fit correctly together anymore. So gritty, so emotional, so beautiful.
And now I want another tattoo…
Kelsey Kingsley never ceases to amaze me with the vividness of her characters and the depth and honesty of her words. Warrior Blue is so much more than just a story about twin brothers, loss and HEA’s. After reading this book I think for me the overwhelming feeling I had was hope….this book provides hope that even the most broken lost soul is still worthy of being loved. Blake is a broken hero and Audrey truly is his saving grace and you can feel the darkness of Blake softening with the light of Audrey. Audrey’s way of looking at life is a life lesson in itself….she is a glass half full person and her way of looking at what Blake sees as a negative should be a lesson to us all. Many times in our lives things happen that we never really understand and every so often we get a glimpse of the “why” and we realize our journey, though painful at times, led us to exactly where we were suppose to be. This book is full of life advice, wisdom, and hope. 5 stars doesn’t seem to be near enough.