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Review

4 ‘Pumpkin-lovin’ stars

This is such a fun read! Anne and Mal are such a cute / hot couple, and I laughed a lot while reading this book.

“Life’s a song, Anne. Let’s play.”

Anne has lived a difficult life – caring for her mother and younger sister since the age of 13, she has lived her life for others, is a bit of a doormat, and has just been screwed over by her roommate. In an effort to cheer her up, her neighbour invites her along to a party at her best friend’s house – her best friend Ev, who just happens to be married to rock star David Ferris, guitarist for hot band Stage Dive, and the couple who featured in the first book of this series, Lick.

I absolutely adored Lick, and while reading it I totally fell for Mal, the drummer for Stage Dive. He was utterly hilarious, and Kylie Scott has thrown in a healthy dose of craziness in his own book. Mal is like a hyperactive puppy, and is all-in, full throttle all the way.

At his and Anne’s first meeting, he thrusts himself upon her, offering her advice, getting up close and personal and deciding that they need to be in a relationship.

“Your cheeks have gone all rosy. Are you thinking rude thoughts about me, Anne?”
“No.”
“Liar,” he taunted in a soft voice. “You’re totally thinking of me with no pants on.”
I totally was.
“That’s just gross, dude. A massive invasion of my privacy.” He leaned in closer, his breath warming my ear. “Whatever you’re imagining, it’s bigger.”
“I’m not imagining anything.”
“I’m serious. It’s basically a monster. I cannot control it.”
“Malcolm–”
“You’re pretty much going to need a whip and chair to tame it, Anne.”
“Stop it.”
“That okay with you?”

Anne is taken aback, but having fantastised about the famous drummer for years, and being wildly attracted to him, she is happy to go with the flow. And when Malcolm moves himself into her apartment, suggesting they enter into a fake relationship in order to make their lives easier, once again she accepts and they begin a relationship which blurs the boundaries between real and fake. But with the completely outrageous Malcolm butting himself into Anne’s life and making all sorts of declarations, it’s a very strange, but highly entertaining situation.

“Restrained?” Mal laughed softly. “Yeah. Why don’t you go check out her bed, then tell me how restrained she is.”
Footsteps followed by a gasp. “Fuck me. It’s totaled.”
“My pumpkin’s an animal when she gets going.”
“You call her pumpkin?” My sister’s voice was filled with awe. “Does she actually answer?”
“Well, she pretends to hate it. But secretly , I know she loves it. Her face goes all soft and everything.”

I was a bit confused about the state of their relationship at times, but so was Anne! And with Mal being Mal, I think that’s exactly how we were meant to be feeling! He is all over the place, and it’s hard to tell when he’s being serious amidst all of the joking and teasing, but there’s no denying the chemistry, and their steamy time is both hot and hilarious.

“Ah, man,” he sighed, shaking his head slowly, mournfully. “I’m not sure I can stick my dick in a woman who doesn’t even know who John Bonham is.”
“‘Stick your dick in’?” I asked, my brows probably touching. “Did you actually just say that?”
“Make love. I meant make love … of course. I would never just stick my dick in you. I would make mad, passionate love to this sweet, sweet body of yours for days, no, weeks. It would be beautiful, pumpkin. There’d be little angels, and birdies, and you know … all just hanging around, watching. Perverts.”

“Hello, Anne’s clitoris. It’s me, Malcolm, your lord and master.”

But it’s not all hotness and sexual innuendos, Mal is a positive presence in Anne’s life – he encourages her to be stronger and to set some much needed boundaries, while bringing fun back to her life, and in return Anne is like a touchstone for Mal, calming him and being a steadying presence. And when they both open up to each other about their personal lives and the secrets they have been keeping, the moment is beautifully tender, and I just wanted to give Mal a hug. And with all of the sharing come the feels, and they start to realise exactly what they mean to each other, and while it’s not uber-swoony or romantic, it’s very them, and it’s gorgeous.

“I feel like we should touch base about this relationship stuff. And I should probably say something profound here. But I’m not really up to it. Especially not this morning.” He exhaled hard. “You’re an awesome lay, a great girl, I fucking hate it when you’re sad, and I don’t like it when you’re not around. I’m even getting used to the fighting and drama now and then, because the make-up sex is rockin’. And besides, you’re worth it to me.”
The tip of his tongue rubbed over his top lip. “That’s basically it. Not necessarily in that order, though. Okay?”
“Okay.” I laughed, but only a little. He was, after all, being sincere.
“You’re my girl. You gotta know that.”

“It’s fate, Anne. Written in the stars. Leave it the fuck alone.”

Yep, he may be bat-shit crazy, but you’ve gotta love him!

We get to see a bit of David and Ev from the first book, and there is some beautifully swoony story progression for them. There is also some time spent with the rest of the band, and I enjoyed getting to know Jimmy and Ben and I’m looking forward to their stories.

I really enjoyed it – 4 stars.