The Words by A. Jade

Author: A. Jade

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: N/A

Publisher: Self-Published

Source: Digital, KindleUnlimited

Rating: 4.2 Stars

He was the talented bad boy everyone wanted.

I was the irrelevant geek everyone hated.

He was the sun... drawing all of us in.

I was a black hole... taking up space.

He was destined to be a star.

I was destined to remain an insignificant no one.

Until he made me believe I was special...

And then he destroyed me.

I never thought I'd see Phoenix Walker again after he broke my heart, but fate had other plans.

One tour. Eight weeks. Forty shows.

Countless opportunities to make him pay.

The world thought he was a God...

But I knew the truth.

---

The Premise:

Lennon Michael is a high school geek who is bullied by popular kids for being overweight and unattractive. What Lennon may lack in appearance, she makes up for in intelligence. As a star student, Lennon is asked by her English teacher a tutor the quiet, rather prickly, fellow student, Phoenix Walker.

Much like the other students, Lennon is attracted to Phoenix and his piercing blue eyes. Lennon has a rather low opinion of herself and doesn't consider her attraction to Phoenix to be anything more than teenage infatuation. That is until she's forced into his orbit.

Phoenix grew up in a very abusive household to a drunk father whose wife left when Phoenix was very little. Lennon's upbringing was a stark contrast. As someone whose mother died not long after she was born, Lennon was raised by her upper-middle class, famous songwriter, father, and supportive neighbor.

Through much stubbornness and banter, Lennon and Phoenix fall in love in their youth, regardless of neither of them wanting to voice it. During a gig one night, Phoenix not only lets Lennon believe he cheated on her with the school bully, but he also steals the song Lennon wrote and sang to him in a moment of rare openness.

Spring forward four years and Phoenix is an international rockstar while Lennon is caring for her demented father, the only person she has left in the world. After Phoenix experiences a fatal car accident with a bandmate, who dies, he spirals down a dark pit of grief and self-loathing. Lennon is hired by the band's manager as Phoenix's sober partner for a step sum of half a million dollars. Enough to pay her father's medical bills and set him up for the rest of his life. She didn't expect the eight weeks she was on tour with Phoenix would reveal years of pent-up resentment and unbridled passion.

This book was well over 500 pages, and full of so much, it would be hard for me to fit it all into one post that doesn't make you want to rip your hair out to get to the end.

The Message for Me:

There is beauty in darkness and a softness amongst the thorns.

Lennon and Phoenix both cradled their demons very close to their chests; Lennon with her self-esteem and Phoenix with his abandonment issues. Both of them had to learn, in order to heal, you have to tear away the necrotic tissue so the healthy pieces of you can breathe.

I think at times, for those of us prideful individuals in relationships, it is very difficult to bare our souls in moments of vulnerability because there is so much hurt we're afraid it will cripple us. What we seem to forget is that at times it it is not a sign of weakness to be vulnerable and admit our faults. It is a sign of strength we barreled into the thorny darkness head-on and came out stronger for it.

The Genre:

Most definitely a spicy romance.

Any time a book gives you a scene of the female main character getting woken up handcuffed to her bed and being eaten out by a random woman while the main male character watches, you know you've hit spicy book territory.

What was good?

The character development and growth of both Lennon and Phoenix was ABSOLUTELY phenomenal. Their flaws were something I feel like the vast majority of readers can relate to and see a small piece of themselves in. I stan a good character-driven novel... ALL DAY!

Why not a higher score?

Due to the length of the novel, and even though it was split into two parts, I really wish it would have been a duology instead of a standalone.

Overall:

The Words was an emotional ride and tore at my heart and caused my face to flush. Would HIGHLY recommend it to those who love a rockstar, spicy romance with characters you love to hate.