RAW RHYTHM (Found in Oblivion #6) by Cari Quinn and Taryn Elliott-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 29, 2017

Saving her was his addiction.

When Warning Sign drummer Malachi Shawcross first saved Elle Crandall, he put her in a box in his head—do not touch. Not that she remembered him anyway. Then he joined her band, and he got to spend every night behind the kit watching her shred on her guitar.

Hating himself for wanting her.

But that was before the night the band he’d never wanted to join became his family. The night he had to make a choice to save someone, and someone else was lost.

Of course he saved Elle. He’d do it every damn time.

Though she’s filled with guilt, Elle survived—with scars. With her reason to stay clean gone, even temporarily, she’s tempted to be bad.

Oh so bad.

Until Mal’s unexpected help as she recovers turns into something else entirely. She never expected him to offer her another kind of addiction, one just as dark and dangerous as the chemicals she craves.

Him.

But with the band under siege from a threat from the past, Mal is no longer fighting to keep from falling for the one woman he shouldn’t.

He’s fighting to keep her alive.

••••••••••••

REVIEW: RAW RHYTHM is the sixth instalment in Cari Quinn and Taryn Elliott’s contemporary, adult FOUND IN OBLIVION erotic, rock star romance series focusing on the rock band WARNING SIGN. This is Warning Sign’s drummer Malachi ‘Mal’ Shawcross, and guitarist Richelle ‘Elle’ aka Ricki Crandall’s story line. The FOUND IN OBLIVION series is a spin off from Quinn and Elliott’s LOST IN OBLIVION series. Several characters from LIO cross over including Nick Crandall, band manager Lila Shawcross and Ripper Records owner Donovan Lewis. You do not have to have read the original series to follow or understand the events of RAW RHYTHM although some of the events in the current time line are as of a direct result of earlier events in the original series. RAW RHYTHM can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion. Mal is the brother of Michael Shawcross (Bedded Bliss / Found In Oblivion #1), and step-son to band manager Lila Shawcross; Elle is the twin sister of Nick Crandall (Owned / Lost in Oblivion #5).

NOTE: If you have not read book five –PERFECT PITCH-there may be some spoilers in my review.

Told from several third person perspectives including Mal and Elle, RAW RHYTHM picks up immediately after the events of book five PERFECT PITCH in which an accident tore apart the rock band Warning Sign leaving our heroine struggling for her life, and grieving the loss of a close-member of their music family and crew. For three years, Malachi Shawcross has been both protector and foil to Warning Sign guitarist Richelle ‘Elle’ Crandall, a former drug addict whose rock and roll lifestyle was spiralling out of control. A deadly on-stage accident finds our heroine struggling to move forward as grief and survivor’s guilt weigh heavily on her fragile shoulders. Enter Mal Shawcross, adversary and enemy, and the man with whom Elle would fall in love. What ensues is the building romance between Mal and Elle as Mal helps our heroine through acceptance and recovery, and the potential fall out as the past comes seeking revenge against the people he believes have done him harm.

Throughout the series Mal and Elle have battled their apparent attraction and hatred towards one another as Mal continues to watch from the sidelines as the woman with whom he had fallen in love slowly destroyed what was left of her life. Elle struggled to remain clean but the rock and roll lifestyle fed the addiction that was to become the devil inside. But the accident brought everything into perspective including our couple’s sexual attraction and desire for one another. The $ex scenes are erotic, passionate, seductive and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including all of the members and their spouses of the rock bands Oblivion and Warning Sign; employees of Ripper Records; and Lila’s parents aka Grandma and Grandpa Ronson; and Elle’s friend Teagan.

RAW RHYTHM is the second to last instalment in the authors’ FOUND IN OBLIVION series. The romances are provocative and emotional; the characters are heartbreaking and real; the story lines are powerful and inspiring. RAW RHYTHM is a story of two people fated by circumstance pulled together by mutual grief and loss; battling the demons that all but destroyed their lives. The premise is riveting; the characters are animated; the romance is edgy and hot.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Bedded Bliss
Triple Trouble
Dirty Duet
Lost Lyric
Perfect Pitch
Raw Rhythm

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy