Shooting Scars by Karina Halle Series: The Artists Trilogy #2
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing on August 20, 2013
Genres: Suspense, Romance, Dark, Adult
Pages: 265
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
Rating:
Heat:
A Dangerous Kind of Love . . .
When Ellie Watt offered herself to her thuggish former lover Javier to save Camden's life, she never imagined the twisted game Javier had planned for her. Trapped by him and his entourage of killers, Ellie is forced to commit a dangerous, heinous crime-or Javier will kill Camden. Now ex-con artist Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game . . . before it destroys her and the only man she ever loved.
Camden McQueen can't forget Ellie Watt. Seeking revenge and pursued by the authorities for a crime he didn't commit, the talented tattoo artist does things he never thought himself capable of to save Ellie. As Camden straddles the line between love and retribution, he vows to do everything in his power to get her back. But if Camden unleashes his dark side, will Ellie still love him?
At A Glance
Hell yeah!
The Good
I didn’t think this series could get anymore disturbing, but Halle pulled it off. Sins & Needles ended on a cliffhanger so I dived into Shooting Scars right away. I wasn’t even letting a second go by. I wasn’t even going to let a sneeze stop me from reading Shooting Scars right effing now! And it was as awesome as I hoped.
First, we get Camden and Ellie’s POV in this book. Oh how my heart could barely handle it. Camden is just so damn interesting. His feelings for Ellie are so strong and sometimes scary. Camden really tests his limits in this one, in that we learn he doesn’t really have any. He will and did do anything to get Ellie back. Even when Ellie kept ripping his heart out.
How Ellie became even more effed up boggles my mind. It’s crazy how easily manipulated she is. I get it though, her past (*cough* Javier *cough*) has messed her up beyond repair. She does things that seriously made me a little sick. She even knows how bad she is but she can’t help herself. And I love her for it…most of the time. I honestly don’t know if Ellie can ever be any semblance of normal.
Javier. I… What can I say? If Halle ever wrote a book in Janier’s POV, I don’t know if I would want to read it. He’s too far gone. Coo coo for Cocoa Puffs kind of crazy and twisted. I still don’t know what he is up to. Does he love Ellie or does we want to play with her intestines while eating ice cream? It could go either way really. Oh Javier, how you keep things interesting.
Halle takes our characters through dangerous parts of Mexico as Javier uses Ellie to gain power; Ellie uses Javier to hide from the person she wants to be; and Camden runs after the girl who can never be fixed. What a tangle web we weave.
We get action, suspense, romance, and that damn cliffhanger once again. And I loved every minute of it.
The Bad
Again, the choices made by Ellie, although entertaining and surprising, were hard for me to understand. I’m getting tired of her constant pity party and self-loathing. Fight, dammit! And grow up.
The Snuggly
There is sex and it is hot, but it’s also disturbing and I can’t say why because it would ruin the nasty surprise you all have coming! hehe, I’m evil.
Final Thoughts
Seriously, just read this series. I could say a million more awesome things about this book but it all comes down to that everyone should give this series a chance. There is just something about it. Highly recommended.
Quotes
“True love doesn’t have a sick desperation to it, and undercurrent of doom. People who burn that brightly still get burned in the end.”
“I’d be there no matter what she chose, even if she wanted another lover, another life, I would still be there when she fell. When she wanted to run. When she wanted to come home.”
“Even at her worst, she made me want to be a better man. To be good enough for the both of us.”
“He shut the door behind him and set about locking many dead bolts before finally sliding the chain across.
“Tough neighborhood ?” I asked. “I saw a girl on a My Little Pony bike outside ; she looked kind of nasty.”
kindlemom1
You are flying through these, I love it!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know. I just love them.
melliane
oh it’s nice when you read book 1 and 2 just after like that! I’m glad it’s a good one as welll!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Now I just need to buy book three.
Lekeisha
Okay, you have convinced me to start the first book. I’m glad you’re enjoying them!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
hehe, yay! Enjoy.
Braine
Wait what? 3 heat flames only? This book is sounding better and better!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I know, I struggled with the heat factor. I wanted to give it more but some of it was disturbing so I just couldn’t.
Jaclyn Canada
I was a little surprised to see you say that you wouldn’t want to read a book from Javier’s POV, but icecream and intestines? I think I’d pass too. I’m glad you’re still loving the series! Sounds like you’ll be jumping into the next book soon 😀
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Javier is just too creepy for me. I think my mind would melt with his POV.
Melissa (Books and Things)
I hate to say it, but you have me curious about a Javier book. Hm… I think that might be the most interesting one. LOL So glad you enjoyed this installment so much!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
A Javier POV would melt your brain.
Christy LoveOfBooks
Bwahahaha! Yep, love this series. Karina knows how to twist that knife with her characters and it feels so good. There’s a spin-off series starting with Dirty Angel that is Javier. And then the next book in that series focuses on another character you meet in the third S&N book.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Really? Well, that’s cool. I still need to read book 3. I heard meh things about it.
Olivia Roach
Sounds like this one really managed to live up to your expectations and that it was pretty disturbing… but in a good way! I hadn’t heard of this series before so I am definitely going to go look into it more now!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I hope you try it out. It’s crazy!
anna (herding cats & burning soup)
Ahhh yeah this series! They are crazy amazing. Totally with you on Javier. Whew boy! So glad to see you’re loving these!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
😀 I am just reading book 3 right now. So nervous.