Review: Scars and Songs (Mad World, #3) by Christine Zolendz

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Review

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!
MORE MAD WORLD… MORE SHANE!!! WIN!!!!

I absolutely fell in love with Shane Maxton while reading Fall from Grace, and then Saving Grace – and why wouldn’t I? He’s a gorgeously hot, tattooed, man-whorish bad boy who is deeply tormented and the lead singer of a band. Perfection, right?! I have been waiting and waiting for the release of this book, and I am happy to say that it finishes the series off beautifully!

This book is a retelling of the first two books, but this time from Shane’s POV instead of Grace’s. And yep, it’s long! To be honest, I found it to be a little too long at times. It was pretty much the WHOLE story from Shane’s perspective, and as much as I appreciate the boy POV, I found that the first part of the book dragged a little. It picked up halfway through though, and by the end I was bouncing up and down in my seat like an idiot, unable to put it down. And the ending is sensational. There is a big, epic moment at the end of Saving Grace, that had me squeeing out loud when I read that book, and I got to experience that all over again. I seriously got chills… again! And then the story goes beyond that to give us even more awesome!

I’m not going to say much about the plot, because pretty much anything I say will be really spoilery, so make sure you read the other two books in the series before you get to this one – seriously, they’re awesome!

Shane’s backstory is tragic. Even more so than what we already knew! He has suffered so much, and struggles terribly with all that has been done to him, and where he is now. But his love for Grace is absolutely incredible. He feels for her so passionately, and watching him go through the drama and heartbreak as he falls for her, and then fights for her, is gut wrenching!

“It took all my restraint not to fall to my knees in front of her and beg her to love me.”

For those readers who struggled with Shane’s actions in the last two books – let me tell you that things are explained in a lot more detail in this one, and we get to see exactly why he did the things he did. Some of them are such massive twists to the story, I have to wonder by Zolendz didn’t include them in the original books. But never mind, they are there now, and give a lot more depth to the story, and should provide some reassurance for those who doubted him – and let me say, here and now – I NEVER doubted him!!! I proudly stayed faithful to him, and entered into hot debate with anybody who thought otherwise! Such is my love for this man.

While the story is pretty much a play-by-play of the first two books, there are additional moments there with the boys from Mad World, which I loved. I love the dynamic between the boys, and watching them tease and support Shane through everything is brilliant. And, of course, their banter is sensational!

“Maybe someone like Ryan is better for her than a piece of shit like me,” I mumbled.
His smile slipped and his eyes rolled. “Okay, Shane. What the fuck did you eat for lunch, a narcissist burger with a side of self-esteem issue fries and a whiny ass frilly beer? You sound like a freaking girl.”

Another highlight is Lea. Grace’s best friend, she is queen of the quip, and is utterly hilarious!

“Put a damn shirt on and cover up your eighteen pack or whatever you got going on under that skin, you are making me drool.”
“Lea, stop saying crap like that to me and stop gawking, awkward.”
Lea smiled down at me, “You, sir are a bit easy on the eye, so therefore I shall stare at you. If you feel at all uncomfortable, I could always knock you over the head with something until you’re unconscious and take pictures.”

“Holy Discovery Channel Sex, Conner, we are going to get caught in a porn storm between these two. Conner you better be coming with us too, because if I have to watch them making googley-steamy-nasty-dirty-sex-eyes at each other, there won’t be a vibrator in the world big enough to satisfy me.”

This book totally recaptures everything I loved from the first books. It’s funny, slightly crude, angsty, romantic and sexy, with heaps of UST. Plus, there is a great paranormal twist – which is pretty minor in terms of the day to day action, but puts a unique spin on the story. And of course it makes the romance just that much more epic. The swoon in this book is sensational! (I probably put this quote in my review of one of the other books, but it’s so beautiful, I have to use it again).

“Let me in, because I promise you, I will pick up every little broken piece of you, every single fucking piece, Grace. For the rest of my fucking life, I will put you back together…I’ll make you whole again.”

The Mad World books are among my favourites, and Shane and Grace’s story is beautifully romantic. And I loved this book! I loved the opportunity to be inside of Shane’s head, and see what was going on with him. His suffering broke my heart, his devotion had me cheering, and his blind love and need for Grace had me swooning madly.

“Tell me you love me … tell me I’m enough as the damaged man I am.”

The story does go slightly beyond the end of Saving Grace, and… there is an epilogue! WOOHOO!!! We get a perfect little look at Shane and Grace’s future that had me squeeing like an idiot.

I wish I could give it 5 stars, because the second half and the ending left me flying high and reeling over everything that I just read, but the slow start for me just slightly brings it down.

4.5 stars.

 

The Mad World series

Fall from Grace  Saving Grace  Scars and Songs

Fall from Grace (#1)
Review
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Saving Grace (#2)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

Scars and Songs (#3) (alternate POV book)
Review
Buy:  Kindle Ebook  |  Paperback

 

 

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