The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and PLAY ON returns to the world of the arts in this intense and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both. AS DUST DANCES is now available on all retailers! Grab your copy today!

 

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  Google Play  |  Kobo

 

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Synopsis

Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.

Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.

Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.

Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…

 

 

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Review

4.5 “You’re mine. And I’m yours” stars

I love this book! A beautifully written, heartwrenching read that is dramatic yet hopeful, with a fantastically slow-burning, chemistry-filled love story. A rockstar romance with a difference, this is the story of a broken girl fighting to overcome her demons, and I was captivated from start to finish.

This is technically book #2 of the Play On series, but it’s a complete standalone, so feel free to dive on in!

Skylar Finch used to have it all. As the lead singer in an American pop-rock band she was beautiful, successful and wealthy, with the world at her feet. But despite having worked hard to achieve her dream, she was also miserable. A series of heartbreaking events saw her walk away from it all, completely disappearing from the life she had, and the lives of those who cared about her. It’s now 18 months later and she is living on the streets of Glasgow, busking to make enough money to eat and spending her nights sleeping rough, hidden away in a cemetery. But despite the hardships, she is happy to no longer be in the spotlight, and she exists with her guitar and her music and her quiet anonymity.

And then Killian O’Dea walks into her life. A broody, ambitious record executive, it’s his job to find new talent, and Skylar is his latest target. He approaches her with an offer, but Skylar wants nothing to do with what he is offering. She has already lived part of her life in the spotlight and hated being so exposed – a target of the paparazzi, with the whole world privy to her private life. But when the violently brutal danger of her lifestyle becomes all too real, Killian is her only option and she reaches out to him for help. But with his help comes a price, she needs to record an album for him.

It seems harsh, but with little other option, Skylar is hurled back into the world that she has tried so hard to avoid. After almost two years of hiding from everything, she is suddenly forced back into reality, finally facing her grief and her demons, and dealing with the prospect of the celebrity life that she has tried so hard to move away from. It’s terrifying, but by her side is the broody-but-gorgeous Scot with the hot accent, and his adorably perky sister, both of who seem willing to do anything to support Skylar and keep pushing her forward. And as Killian works with her to help her draw out her emotions and write the music that slowly begins to heal her, everything begins to change.

It felt like we existed on some lonely part of this planet where there was only music and creativity.

OMG, this book! I was sucked into Skylar’s story from the very beginning and I struggled to put it down. The full extent of all that she’s been through isn’t immediately revealed, but I could still feel her pain as the small pieces are unveiled and we are faced with the heartbreaking reality of her life on the streets and what drove her to it. And then the journey that she goes on once Killian comes into her life and turns it upside down once again is beautifully written.

Killian is such an intriguing character, and I love that the book is written entirely from Skylar’s POV because it gives him this air of mystery that I thought was fantastic! With his broody stand-offishness and cold looks, we never really know what he is thinking, and it makes the little glimpses we get of his softness something truly special.

What must it be like to be loved by him? I imagined it a heady thing, winning the love of a man who offered it so sparingly.

Killian and Skylar together are a beautiful thing to watch as they work together to create her album, slowly and reluctantly, yet surprisingly easily, opening up to each other. Killian has his own demons that he is trying to deal with, and just as he is there for Skylar when she needs him, she, too, helps him to face up to his past and the realities of his life, and the partnership that they develop is really sweet – though it’s fraught with tension as the two of them battle the sizzling chemistry between them, and I felt every single spine-tingling moment of it!

I wanted Killian O’Dea.
I couldn’t help myself.
I was tethered to him somehow and I didn’t think I’d be able to cut myself loose so easily.

The romance is a slow burn, and the build-up is delicious! The sexual tension simmers perfectly with hints of the intensity to come, and when it happens it’s all kinds of hot and beautifully emotional.

“I knew you cared about me.”
“What I feel is a little stronger than that, Skylar.” He stared at me with pure need. “You’re mine.”

But the reality of their situation comes crashing down around them all-too-soon. And when put to the test, both Killian and Skylar will need to figure out what they want and where their loyalties lie, and they’ll need to fight hard to get it.

This is such a great read. Samantha Young sucked me right in, and didn’t let go of my heart until the final page. I felt everything that Skylar went through and I thought that her journey back to herself was beautifully written. The love story is a big part of that, and I fell madly in love with the surprisingly swoony Killian who (eventually) opened his heart so beautifully to Skylar, and the two aspects of the story blended together perfectly to create something really special.

I loved the inclusion of the side characters. From the sweet to the fun to the evil and the heartbreaking, each of them have their part to play and each of them bring something meaningful to the story. I’m hoping that Killian’s sister, Autumn gets her own book. She’s such a fun character, and with hints dropped for her, I’m hoping that we get to see more of her soon!

I loved this book. It broke my heart, healed it, and made me fall in love, leaving me with a big goofy grin at the end.

Absolutely beautiful – 4.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Play On

 

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Excerpt

“The omelet is good,” I offered reluctantly when the silence felt too heavy.
But it was followed by more silence, the only sounds between us that of cutlery on plates
and the soft sipping sounds of us drinking. I could barely finish the omelet, not used to eating
something so substantial in the morning. O’Dea’s brows pinched together as he took my
plate, but he didn’t say anything.
“I need a shower.”
“There’s an en suite in the bedroom. Fresh towels, soap, shampoo and conditioner in
there too.” He reached into the carrier bag on the counter and pulled out a brand-new electric
toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. He offered them and feeling a little unbalanced by the
gesture, I took them. “There’s a hair dryer in the bathroom as well. Your backpack is in the
bedroom.”
I nodded, not quite able to thank him again after the last attempt.
“I’ll be out here when you’re done. We’ll get straight to the audition.”
And suddenly I didn’t care about thanking him. Throwing him a look of disgust, I
disappeared into the bedroom and slammed the door behind me.
Unfortunately, a few minutes later, I had to come out of the room again. I found him
sitting on the couch, drinking coffee, and scrolling through something on his phone. O’Dea
looked up at me with an eyebrow quirk. I hated that eyebrow quirk.
I lifted my wrist with the cast. “I need something to cover this.”
Without saying a word, he got up, put his coffee and phone down on the island, and
rummaged through one of the large drawers beside the range. He turned around with cling-
film in his hands and gestured me to come to him with an odious curl of his finger. Internally
huffing, I strode over to him and held out my wrist.
“This place is pretty well stocked,” I grumbled.
“We like to make sure every need is catered to.”
I harrumphed.
Then O’Dea triple-wrapped my cast with such gentleness, it stunned me silent.
I was still standing holding out my arm while he put the cling-film away. I frowned at his
back, puzzled by his complexity. That is until he turned around and gave me that eyebrow
again.
Just like that I was back to being annoyed and desperate to get out of his company.
My building resentment toward him only increased the moment I saw my reflection in the
bathroom mirror.
How the hell could he look at me like this and demand that I audition?
Bluish bruising covered my puffed-up, swollen eye and upper cheek. My lower lip was
swollen on one side where it had split. And underneath the injuries, my cheekbones cut
sharply against my pale skin. The shoulders of my T-shirt hung down on my arms because
my shoulders were too small for it.
I looked like a battered waif.
Skylar Finch was no more.

 

 

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Giveaway

To celebrate the release of AS DUST DANCES, Samantha Young is giving away three signed copies!!!

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway

 

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About Samantha Young

Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy.  Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us was published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook and hardback June 2017. Play On is an adult contemporary romance and the first in a brand new series set in Scotland.

Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal
Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.

Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.

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