Amanda's Blog

I had such a high expectation for this book. Had been counting down the days since I read Sins & Neddles and Karina Halle definitely didn't disappoint. I'd conjured up many scenarios in my heads of how this is going to pane out and nothing, nothing turn out to be what I expected. If you are looking for a heartwarming romance with flower, roses and chocolate varieties, this is not the one. This is a thrilling, passionate and ugly love story about three flawed characters Ellie, Javier and Camden. One is a man of her past, another is her future. But who is her past and who is her future?

*contain spoiler from book 1*

Shooting Scars take us back to the scene right after the ending in Book 1. Ellie sacrificed her freedom for Camden's family and left with Javier. Ellie was scared shitless of what Javier was planning to do to her. What is his agenda, the ulterior motive, the grand scheme of things?

To say that Javier is a complex and fascinating character is such an understatement of the year. One moment he is this larger than life cruel drug lord with an agenda, and then another moment he is this normal lovestruck guy who wants Ellie back. I'm so conflicted with him. I'm so scared of him. I had no idea what he is capable of doing. He is such a manipulative bastard, keep playing mind games with us.



Meanwhile, Camden was trying to keep his wife and son safe from his wife's own mafia brothers. But nothing seems to go well for Camden and he find himself running for his life, while trying to save Ellie at the same time. He seems like a fish out of water, totally out of his element. He is just a tattoo artist, for god sake. But for all his lack of skill in kicking ass, he make up for it in his determination and persistence. I had whole load of admiration for Camden. When being shoved and pushed, he can create whole loads of havoc. This guy is not someone you wanna messed with.

Ellie is another kind of messed up. I blame Javier for playing tricks with her mind. But she herself need to stay strong, no? I'm so afraid she will never be free from her old life. She though she love Camden and wanted to keep him safe, yet at the same time she felt drawn to Javier's magnetism. One moment she is determine to follow her heart, and another moment she started to question herself. She definitely still had a lot of growing to do.

I love the introduction of Gus, Ellie's old friend who worked together with Camden to track down Ellie. We were still unsure of their history, but he had such a great chemistry with Camden. I loves all their funny/awkward moments together, the old hand and the rookie. LoL.

With so much going on, there isn't any down time for a breather. There isn't an awful cliffhanger, thank god. It make the wait for Book 3 Bold Tricks slightly more bearable. Karina Halle is totally brilliant in a way that I can see both Team Javier and Team Camden will love how things pane out in Shooting Scars.