From the queen of
heart-pounding, sexy, emotional romance Scarlett Cole comes Nikan Rebuilt,
the next novel in the Preload series.
Does the past ever really stay in the past?
Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.
Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult led by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rock star. Before he destroyed it all.
A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?
Book 3
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Does the past ever really stay in the past?
Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.
Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult led by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rock star. Before he destroyed it all.
A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?
Book 3
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Kris – ☆☆☆☆☆
I've loved this spin off series! Nikan is the glue that holds the "brothers" of Preload together. He's been the father figure since they were little kids in the group home. After being unfaithful to his first love, Jenny, while on their first tour, Nikan has been drifting. He ruined his relationship and then went off the rock and roll deep end with booze and sex. Finally pulling himself together, the boys are back in their hometown to record the next album and Nikan runs into Jenny. These two may have had a tough break up but they still spark like wildfire. Nikan was all about showing Jenny he's changed and grown. She's leery after having her heart broken once. I found Nikan repentant enough, without being overly butt kissing, and thankfully Jenny didn't milk him dry. The story was well told and didn't drag at all. Thoroughly enjoyed!
Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
I love this series so much! Nikan has always been in the background of the series. He’s the quiet brother, the peacemaker, and the one who holds the band together. It’s probably fitting that there is much less drama in his story than in Dred, Elliott, and Jordan’s books. Nikan and Jenny’s story is one of childhood sweethearts reunited. They’ve never forgotten each other, but she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to trust him again.
Nikan’s childhood was as grim as his brothers’ and he has struggled to deal with his past trauma as an adult. Jenny is the first woman in the series to grow up in care with the boys. Her own story is awful, and she is still working through some of her own issues. I loved her strength and I love that she’s not just a survivor, she has returned to the care system as a group home manager.
As a foster carer myself, I love the focus on the care system in these books. But while the band members’ care stories resonate with my own experiences, there were times that Jenny’s kids were a little bit too well adjusted and some of their problems resolved far too quickly and easily.
I really liked the way the author approached Nikan’s First Nations heritage. While he is a few generations removed from residential schools and the Indian Act, Nikan struggles to come to terms with the impact these historic crimes have had on his life. It's a thoughtful exploration that adds to Nikan's story without dominating it.
I feel like this is a gentler, sweeter romance than the previous books. Jenny and Nikan’s connection is a simple one, forged in childhood. With less drama, there is more space for character development and both Jenny and Nikan felt wonderfully real and beautifully complex.
I can’t wait for Lennon’s story!
Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.
Nikan is the glue that holds the band and his brothers together. When there is an issue, they all turn and look at him. What he doesn't realize until midway through the story, is that perhaps he's let his brothers lean too much on him. How would they survive without him? He has a past that is less than shiny but a future that is full and bright.
Jenny is the girl that was left behind. She grew up with Nikan and his brothers and when they really made it, she was happy for them. However, with their fame came a heartache that she has never fully recovered from. She's shy around Nikan because of their past, however, she isn't willing to let that past rule her future.
These two have a slow burn of a romance. Nikan is trying to show that he's changed, and Jenny is trying to see Nikan's changes. There are other aspects of this story, like Nikan's heritage and Jenny's job and running of the house that they all grew up in, but the romance is the primary aspect.
I thought that Nikan's story was more of a simmer than the previous books. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the Preload series, and I think is possibly my favourite so far. As the other band members find their true loves, Nik is finding himself redundant in his role of nurturer and carer of the men.
He is still hankering after his first (and possibly only) love, Jenny. He is renovating a house to match their teenage dream home, and just wishes he could track her down. He is also questioning his music and his future with the band. Add in a request to do a show about his heritage, and the way his First Nation grandparents were ill-treated. and he has a lot on his mind. So, when he finds Jenny managing the group home he grew up in... his life spins a little out of control.
Watching him find himself, and his place, as well as rekindle his romance, is an emotional and fascinating read. I felt that Ms. Cole did an amazing job of giving us as much as we needed, but not overloading with sentiment. It was by turns hot, fun, sad, intense, and slightly crazy. It certainly had me turning pages late into the night, as I was so absorbed in the outcome.
As part of Nik's story, we inevitably got caught up with the rest of the band and Ellen and Maisy too. It is such a treat to know how they move forward with their lives, and to know that there is more to come for the still single members of the band.
Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆☆
Everyone has made mistakes, ones that cost them everything. That's what Nikan did when he was a just a young man, missing home and the love of his life. He slept with another woman and didn't have the guts to come clean. It didn't matter though, it still cost him the love of his life, his Jenny.
Ten years later and he's still in love with her. It kills him not knowing where she is or if she's okay. In the meantime, he's still playing the role of patriarch to his bandmates, his brothers. It’s a role he's played for years. Taking care of everyone, yet it’s tiring. He's tired of being the caretaker, he longs for the day that someone will care enough about him to want to take care of him.
When Jenny walks back into his life unexpectedly, he’s overwhelmed at the ferocity of love that he still feels for Jenny. It’s as if it was just waiting for her to come back to him, so that his world can be infused with brightness once again. He understands Jenny's wariness of him and his lifestyle.
Jenny still loves Nikan, she just can't forget the hurt so easily. As she gets to know Nikan again, she sees how he has changed, grown up, and is truly becoming the man she always thought he could be. What she didn't expect to see is how alone he is in a room full of his brothers, and that the only place he seems at peace is with her.
Fighting demons, both real and imagined, takes its toll on Nikan, and when he breaks, he shatters, and only Jenny can piece his world back together.
Also Available in the Preload Series
Book 1
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Jordan Reclaimed Blog Tour.
Book 2
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
B&N ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Kobo
For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Elliott Redeemed Release Blitz.
Born in England, Scarlett Cole traveled the world, living in Japan and the United States before settling in Canada where she met her own personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. She now lives with her husband and children in Manchester, England where she's at work on her next book. She is the author of The Strongest Steel.
Connect with Scarlett
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Nikan Rebuilt (Preload #3) by Scarlett Cole to read and review.
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