Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Scars
SERIES: Permanently Black and Blue #2
AUTHOR: C R Scott
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 1581Kb
RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2022
BLURB:
After a disastrous first kiss, Shaun is angrier than ever. He doesn’t want to be gay, and he’ll do anything to avoid talking about his emotions. Jesse, however, is intrigued with the new–secret–budding romance and he needs someone to talk to.
Against Shaun’s advice, he befriends Kyle, Shaun’s ex-best friend, and tells him a lot more than he should. When everyone at school finds out about them, Shaun quits the band to escape the embarrassment.
Depressed and struggling with his sexuality, Shaun is hesitant when his old bandmate comes up with the idea for him to front his own band. With Jesse’s encouragement Shaun figures he might as well give it a shot.
Jesse wants to support him as much as possible, but he’s got serious issues going on at home. They are talking about moving out, but Jesse still has one last secret he’s holding on to, and he wonders if Shaun is mature enough to handle it.
REVIEW:
As before, the author pulls no punches. In places it is brutal. However, it also has places where it is soft and tender. Sometimes even sweet.
Sadly, I am still not overly fond of Shaun. I understand him more. I appreciate why he is as he is, but he is not a person I would like to spend time with. He’s still unfailingly selfish and he treats Jesse like a possession. His absolute refusal to even look at the possibility of getting a job is inexcusable and very selfish. There’s one thing being single minded and confident in your goal but it’s another doing so at the cost of everyone else in your life.
The author is throwing hints at us about future issues with regard to Shaun’s fetishes and we’re watching Jesse fall deeper and deeper, knowing what he is ignorant of. It’s classic forewarning of troubles to come.
The book is well written, with well-thought-out story arcs and well written characters. My qualm about the author’s characterisation in this book is that it seems to be getting more polarised. Monica is a bad mother. Ben is a weak fiancée and his other half is irredeemable. Kyle is the devil and Kevin is a brainless, homophobic jock. In the midst of this, Jesse and Shaun are two sides of the same coin.
Apart from my own character biases, there’s little to complain about. There is an ongoing consistency through the first and second books that leads way into the next in the series. The characters are developing along with the story and there is already a considerable change to be seen, more in Jesse than Shaun, I think, in all of the main characters.
The bombshell dropped at the end of the book was no surprise to me as I picked up on the clues dropped here and there through the book, but might come as a surprise to some. It explains a lot and adds even more difficulty to the next step.
Now that Shaun and Jesse are properly together, the sex starts and oh boy is it hot. They turn into normal randy teens and are at it at every opportunity by the end. The author catches the moment perfectly and the sex scenes are brief but intense and increasingly deep. There is a satisfaction in them, but at the same time the sword of Damocles hangs over them and there is a growing fear of what is about to unfold and how both Shaun and Jesse will manage Shaun’s appetites.
I like the way the author has set up a trifecta of powerful, rich men – Ben, Kyle and Cliff. They are similar in that they are all rich and powerful in their own way, but their characters couldn’t be more different. I have a feeling that Cliff won’t be around too long but it will be interesting to see how things develop and whether the author takes the comparison any further.
Setting aside my own personal opinions of Shaun, this book is a gem. If you’re looking for protagonists who are smooth and polished, who make good decisions and behave in a well-rounded mature way, you’re best not looking in here. Shaun and Jesse are immature, raw, confused, messes, full of ping ponging emotions and full-on teenage hormones. They act out, make bad decisions, flip flop, fail and flounder, but they do it beautifully. If you want a no holds barred, well written, accurately pitched young adult book, filled with raw emotion, and strong story, fully realized characters and protagonists you must root for even when you don’t like them, then this is absolutely the book for you.
RATING: 
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