SNARED (Jaded Regret #2) by L.L. Collins-a review

Snared

About the book: Release Date March 1, 2016

BEAU has never known a good life, only the torment that lives inside his head every day. The only way to block out the darkness that shrouds him is through the rhythmic beat of his drums. Knowing what happens when he opens up to anyone, Beau buries his pain deep inside, keeping it all to himself.

APRIL has lived a life of wealth and privilege, full of love and support. Her only insight into what it’s like to have a rough life is through her work with foster children. When she meets Beau, it starts as a challenge to get through to him but quickly turns into much more than either of them bargained for.

TOGETHER, they are mismatched, ill-fated, and COMBUSTIBLE. But when their connection is challenged by the collision of past, present, and future, will they be snared by love…or circumstances?

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REVIEW: SNARED is the second installment in L.L.Collins contemporary, adult JADED REGRET romance series focusing on the members of the rock band Jaded Regret. This is drummer Beau Anderson, and social worker April Knight’s story line. SNARED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is imparted where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Beau and April) SNARED follows the building relationship between April and Beau, and Beau’s destructive fall into the abyss. SNARED begins with a look back at Beau’s earlier years-his father’s suicide, his mother’s rejection of her only son, and the mental breakdown of a young boy who would have a difficult time forgetting about the past. Beau is a broken man whose mental and emotional health is a house of cards waiting to fall.

Throughout the story line the reader is up front and personal with Beau’s slow descent into hell. The voices in his head are a constant reminder that he is worthless and imperfect, and in this Beau’s pattern of self-degradation and low self-esteem is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of psychological problems. But meeting April Knight finds our hero looking forward to a possible future until, once again, the proverbial rug is ripped from beneath his feet.

SNARED is an emotional story line filled with angst ridden inner turmoil and demons from the past. Beau is a man on the cusp of self-destruction, and it is only with the help of his band mates does our hero not implode on a daily basis. April’s introduction into his life keeps some of the demons at bay, but when the past, once again, begins to weave another path of destruction, Beau will be lost to an emotional and psychological fall out from where he may never return.

For those who take issue with story lines heavy on the angst, anxiety and despair, this story may not be for you. The hero’s constant negative outlook, his very low self esteem and inability to see any good in the world, and the turmoil about his past, is as depressing as the character’s mental health. Our hero has been destroyed; he is broken; and his mind is fractured in too many directions.

All of the previous story line characters (including the members of the band) play secondary and supporting roles. We are also introduced to April’s mother and father who know a thing or two about dark demons and emotional break downs.

The world building focuses on family dynamics, the foster care system, and mental health. Music and the band are secondary to Beau’s struggles with reality, and April’s battle to keep safe the man that she loves.

SNARED is a story about one man’s struggle with issues of mental health, emotional abuse, and the possible familial predisposition to pass on the affected genes. The premise is emotional, sensitive and gripping; the characters are heartbreaking and dramatic; the romance is impassioned and tortured.

Reviewed by Sandy