Jordan Reclaimed by Scarlett Cole Review
5 Smooches
Synopsis
Jordan Steele’s life began when he was ten. When he was taken from his parents and a house that was never a home. When he met his brothers, the other lost and abandoned boys in his group home. When he learned what friendship and family and love looked like.
Now he’s made good, touring the world with the band he and his brothers formed in that crowded group home. No one but his found family really knows the man under the fame and fortune, the scars he hides behind the rockstar lifestyle. Until he sees her through the windows of the National Ballet, dancing, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem so dark.
Aleksandra Artemov ticks all the ballet boxes. Father a legendary Kirov dancer. Check. Prepping since birth for classical ballet. Check. Compulsive control over the food she eats. Check. Principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada. Check. But what she craves is freedom.
She craves Jordan.
Everything about him should terrify her. His size, his tattoos, his edge. But he doesn’t. He stirs her very soul. Jordan has nothing but himself to offer her, and he’s never been good enough for anyone. Can he figure out how to face his own demons before he loses his light for good?
Review
I have been a fan of Scarlett Cole since her debut novel and every book I read I am reminded as to why I just love her and her stories. They are unique and different. Dark at times without being depressing and full of hot moments and swoony scenes. Jordan Reclaimed is the latest of her stories to renew my love for her.
Jordan Steele is the base player for the metal band, Preload. He is possible one of the most tragic characters I have read which has caused him to grow up to be a man with major dependency issues. He is frozen in time as the boy with abandonment issues and the thought our his foster brothers/ bandmates moving on with their lives and out of their shared house causes him intense anxiety.
“I’m sorry. I’m out of my depth. I don’t date. I don’t share. I don’t do small talk and bistros and ballerinas.”
Lexi is living the ballerina dream but with that dream comes untold pressure. Especially from her father who is cold and demanding. When a stranger walking by on Christmas night stops and watches through the window at her practicing she is drawn to him even though they have never spoken a word. Over time they come to know one another and while both damaged and flawed to the point where it is hard to turn around they both want what they could have together desperately.
Jordan Reclaimed had me tearing up over and over but also had me smiling and hopeful in the same chapter. It was a perfect balance. While my heart ached for the pain these two have been forced to endure watching them come out of the flames of it all and find their way made this story for me. Scarlett Cole has succeeded in writing a book unlike any other and I am desperate now to get my hands on the next in the series, Elliott Redeemed.
~miranda
