Nikan Rebuilt: A steamy, emotional rockstar romance

Scarlett Cole

Jan 2018 · Preload Book 3 · Sold by Swerve

About this ebook

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 rockstar. 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?

Ratings and reviews

Scarlett Cole, every time you do this to me! For those who've not read the previous books in this series, Preload is a metal band formed by guys who grew up in a Canadian children's home. Because it's Scarlett Cole each of the guys has had a dreadful childhood, abuse of all kinds, witnesses to terrible acts etc and Nikan is no exception. The child of a mixed marriage between a First Nation man and a white woman he has always felt alienated and troubled by his heritage. His mother was brutally murdered, and Nikan badly wounded, by a jealous neighbour who couldn't bear the thought of her with another man. Nikan is in love with Jenny, another child from the foster home/ childcare system, who he met when they were young teenagers but he threw it all away when he slept with another woman on the band's first tour. Eight years later Jenny has returned to Toronto to act as temporary manager of the children's home that Nikan and his fellow band members last lived in while the current manager recovers from breaking her leg. She too has had a deeply traumatic childhood and has never forgotten Nikan. At first I had my doubts about this book, Nikan was soooo needy and so insistent that Jenny had to move on and forgive him for his infidelity, I just wanted to shake him and shout that it's not so simple. But as always Scarlett Cole draws me in and as Nik starts to understand how his past has influenced his present and how there are parallels between his relationship with the band and Jenny's relationship with him he became a more sympathetic character in my eyes. As the book drew to its explosive conclusion in true Scarlett fashion I was on the edge of my seat as the tension mounted. Once again, Scarlett packs more plot, more angst, more life into just 260 pages than some authors can manage with twice that much. I loved it! I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

4 stars — This review is going to be completely unstructured, because I can’t seem to make a nice coherent flow. So I’ll hit the highlights. As a Canadian, I understand how truly shameful our past is wrt the First Nations people. I appreciated that Ms. Cole tried to subtly address some things, but by her own author note acknowledged that she can only do so much with research, and encouraged her readers to search out #ownvoices stories. Seriously, that was fantastic. My heart ached for Nik and how at the end of the rope he was with being the patriarch. I don’t know if the resolution was enough. I still worry for him. But it was definitely a start at opening the lines of communication. I was surprised that Nikan’s alcoholism wasn’t really addressed — or rather, the alcohol addiction that was heavily hinted at in previous books. His addictive tendencies were definitely mentioned, but it was really only in passing. In that way this book was a lot more vague on what Nikan was going through, and how he was going to manage it. Similarly I felt like I wanted more from Jenny’s past, what she went through, how she got past it, etc. We definitely got some, but apparently I’m greedy like that. I felt like how Jenny and Nikan moved past Nik’s cheating rode that line between dragging on too long and giving it its due. I think it was just this side of the right amount of struggle and back and forth. Much longer though and I might have struggled with whether it was worth it for them to try. Their relationship felt a bit desperate and co-dependent or something. So much of Nikan’s future happiness was wrapped up in Jenny being there. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if that hadn’t worked out. I loved meeting the boys in Ellen’s group home that Jenny was running. I felt like we got a bigger glimpse at that life, and it was both fascinating and heartbreaking…mostly the latter. But there was a lot of hope too. Overall it was a solid book in this series, but I thought Jordan and Elliott’s books stood out more. I was wanting something more in this one… Still fantastically emotional and captivating though.

I could not be any more in love with the guys from Preload! Each one I have loved more than the one before, and Nikan definitely holds the lead! Years ago, Nikan and Jenny were everything to each other. Unfortunately, a quick thrust into stardom as well as life’s struggles, began to batter at Nikan and he made a decision and action that devastated Jenny and tore their relationship to shreds. Jenny’s history is steeped in darkness coated with memories she will never be able to forget. As a young girl, Nikan was her savior as he helped to shoulder some of the burden she carried just trying to get through her day to day life. When he ripped her heart out of her chest she ran. Now the opportunity to show she can do the job she’s dreamed of has arrived and with it the potential to see Nikan again. This couple broke my heart and at one point I felt sure the angst was going to shred me to pieces and leave me torn asunder. But Nikan never gave up. He knew what he wanted. He knew what he had lost. And he was determined he would never lose it again. Ms. Cole has written a beautiful story of heartbreak and finding redemption. The analogy of the title was so perfect because if anyone needed to recognize that they were made of multiple layers and were all the stronger for it, it is Nikan. This author did an outstanding job of making one of those layers his heritage. This is an amazing story and I absolutely loved how these characters grew stronger as well as all the Preload brothers. Each book has revealed a bit more about them even as their bond is solidified as they each face their own challenges. I’ve loved each of them, but I must confess, Lennon is the one I’ve been waiting for. And so, high on Nikan and Jenny, I settle back to wait. This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

About the author

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.