Review & Giveaway: Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy # 2) by Karina Halle

Sometimes the right choice can be the deadliest.

When Ellie Watt made the ultimate sacrifice for Camden McQueen, she never thought it would be easy. But walking away with her ex-lover, Javier Bernal, in order to ensure Camden’s safety has brought a whole new set of dangers. With Javier’s plans for Ellie growing more secretive by the moment, Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game before her past swallows her whole.

Meanwhile, Camden’s new life is short-lived. Fueled by revenge and pursued by authorities, he teams up with an unlikely partner in order to save Ellie. But as Camden toes the line between love and retribution, he realizes that in order to get back the woman he loves, he may have to lose himself in the process. He might just turn into the very man he’s hunting.

Told in dual POV from Camden and Ellie.

AMAZON

Erica's Review:

First things first.....

TEAM CAMDEN ALL THE WAY. ALL THE TIME. FOREVAAAA!!

I'm a little ticked Javier's not dead.

"Will you burn with me?" she asked. "Or will you go free?"

 I grabbed her face as the heat pressed in. "I'll burn with you."

This series is insane. It's messed up! Everything I think is going to happen NEVER happens! Everything I think will NEVER happen, happens! Every freakin' time! This book pissed me off!

Sins & Needles left us hanging right where Shooting Scars picks up. There's no time lapse, so you'll get to live this nightmare right along with Ellie and Camden. The whole book alternated POV's, and I'm so glad it did because if it didn't, I would have HATED it! I lived for the Camden chapters. If I'm honest, most of Ellie's chapters made me cringe and very angry. The reason behind that is... Javier. I hate that man. If there was a stronger word than hate, I would use it. Hate, loathe, despise, resent. I really can't stand the man. He is all over the book. ALL OVER IT. The whole time. UGH! I'm just thankful that nothing was in his POV. I'm pretty sure his POV would be pretty warped. He's a lunatic.

Before all the insane Javier fans go crazy... Maybe Ellie is special to him. As special as anything can be to him anyway. I'll give you that, but it's not love. Javier doesn't know love. The most important thing to him in this world is himself. This is when you ladies need to learn to let go. LET GO of the man. It's never going to work. He'll never win this battle. Maybe she'll finally kill him off in the next book. ;-)

You know what pisses me off the most about him? I feel like he taunted me throughout the whole book!

"Such an angry little angel. Your wings are certainly dirty. They're black."

"Like your heart."

"The heart you once wanted. What does that say about you?"

Bastard.

Karina Halle is a genius. An evil genius. I think she loves taunting me! She's probably thinking...I bet you hated that. HAHA!  Yeah! I hated every moment Ellie spent with Javier. I just can't find it in me to feel all that bad for him. I feel bad that he was dealt a rotten hand. I feel bad that he grew up and was pushed into this life. It would be cool if he could find his way out of it, but he's not for Ellie. They are the most deadly combination I have ever seen. They are lethal to each other. What they felt was obsession. They both get something out of each other that is not healthy. I could rant about this all day, but, frankly, I'm tired of Javier. Get ready! You will be provided with more than enough cringe worthy Javier moments throughout the ENTIRE book.

Now for Camden! My Camden. WOW! He was definitely a little badass in this book. I am even more Team Camden than I was before. I wish everyone would stop taking my man for granted!

"I'm so fucking tired of being shit on."

I feel you, Cam. I feel you.  He was the best ever in this book. He fights for Ellie and he doesn't give up. I really hope he gets a happy ending because if anyone deserves it, it's him. He LOVES with his whole heart and I love him right back!

She'd embedded herself in my skin, like a tattoo I could never give myself.

The whole book is pretty much about Camden's fight to find Ellie and Ellie's fight to survive in the hands of her crazy ex-boyfriend that is using her to fight his own dirty battles. Ellie  teetered on the edge of really turning me off a few times. GROW A BACKBONE! She can be so badass one minute and so weak the next. That makes me feel for her, but she did some stuff that really made me mad this go 'round! I tried to understand and see things from her point of view, but I was MAD for 90% of this book. I still loved it though.  A LOT!

Shooting Scars is a riveting, action-packed, whirlwind story that kept me on edge the whole time! Karina Halle is a writing fiend and I am so envious of her talent. I can't wait to get my hands on the last leg of Ellie and Camden's journey (screw Javier)!

MY RATING 4+ Stars 

 

***GIVEAWAY***

 

Since NetGalley and the publisher were kind enough to give me a review copy, I'm paying it forward.  All you have to do is comment below and say either TEAM CAMDEN, TEAM JAVIER, or TEAM ELLIE AND WHY. I won't pick based on your responses. I'll have someone randomly select the winner. The winner wins 1 eCopy of Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy # 2) by Karina Halle.  COMMENT!!!