Review: Hartstrings by L.L. Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - Jaded Regret #3
Release: June 16, 2016
Length: 206 pages

Tanner Hart, the All-American bad boy bass guitarist of Jaded Regret, has one motto— play women’s bodies like he does the strings of his guitar— hard, in tune, and giving it his all until the show is over. The only strings he wants attached to him are the ones he plays on the stage.

He has quite the reputation, even with his own band, and he likes it that way. It keeps the truth of who he really is locked deep inside. But there's so much more to him than anyone really knows…

Now that he’s successful, he can afford to find out what really happened to the only girl who’s ever held his heart. The only thing is…will he really want to know the truth?

When Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Shepard finds herself in a situation she’s been in too many times before, she expects to do what she’s always done— cover it up, accept the apologies, and move on. She knows trying to get out is futile. What she doesn’t expect is for the world famous Tanner Hart to burst into her life like a knight in sexy armor.

When their lives collide and hearts get involved, can Tanner keep his hartstrings from being tangled up in his past, or can he make a new kind of music... with his heart?

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My Review

L.L. Collins really knows how to create a tortured hero. I've met three of them so far and I've fallen for each one of them.

I just wanna squeeze 'em. Three men with tortured pasts that ruled their present. Thankfully Johnny and Beau found their HEAs with Bex and April. I knew it was only a matter of time for Tanner and I couldn't wait to see what the author had in store for his story.

Hopefully this isn't a surprise, but Tanner came from a physically abusive background. At 18yo, he changed his name and reinvented himself as Tanner Hart, bass player and manwhore extraordinaire. His reputation among the ladies was solidified back in Snared, but this book showed a different side to him. A side that was kind, considerate and protective. At least when it came to Mackenzie.

Mackenzie found herself stuck in an abusive relationship with her high school sweetheart. Although her thought process was very frustrating (i.e. "He loves me" and "He's the only one who'll ever love me")...

Finally enough was enough. With Tanner's never-ending support, she found the strength to leave her abuser.

This book had a bit more suspense than the others and focused less on Mac and Tanner's physical relationship and more on their emotional connection. I love the friends to lovers trope and it was handled exceptionally well in this story.

I see there will be a fourth book, Exposed: A Jaded Regret Novel. Is this finally Natalie's story? And will it involve the mysterious Kai?

Recommended to those who adore closure with their romance