A rock star on the rise, a sassy, smart heroine, so many obstacles thrown their way and through it all they find the kind of love they both craved but weren’t really sure they’d ever get. I loved Next In Line, it exceeded my expectations and they were really high. ~ Slick – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Next In Line by J. Bengtsson is now live!
Quinn
Just six years old when my brother was snatched off the street, I grew up in the aftermath of tragedy. While other kids were happily playing in the sandbox, I was hiding under press conference podiums listening to my parents beg for Jake’s safe return.
People ask if I’m screwed up after what happened, and I never know how to respond. Life after the kidnapping is all I’ve ever known. Well, that and being the youngest brother to a rock star. Jake was the ultimate survivor. The prodigal son. My king.
But I’m not that worshipful kid anymore, and I’m tired of walking a step behind. I’ve got the talent. I’ve got the drive. And now I’m coming for Jake’s throne.
Jess
What to do with a runaway rock star in my passenger seat?
Jess of yore would’ve jumped at the chance. Hell, she’d already be in his lap by now. She was fearless and fun and sexy. She lived like there was no tomorrow… until tomorrow came calling and delivered her an ultimatum: repent or risk losing it all.
And so responsible Jess was born, the good girl who paid her rent and watered her plants and put others before herself. The new, improved version of myself represented stability and a roof overhead. Yet sometimes… sometimes I missed that reckless girl. Wild Jess. God, she’d been so fun.
And now Quinn was here, built like a god and asking me to play. One mindless afternoon of fun.
Surely I could spare that for a future rock legend. I could bring old Jess back for just one day.
What could possibly go wrong?
I’ve learned a few things from reading the Cake series by J. Bengtsson; never judge a character by their previous
actions, always expect an emotional ride, always expect the unexpected, trust Jill to deliver the happily ever after the reader craves and the characters deserve. Once again Jill delivers in Next In Line and she does it with two characters meeting by fate and discovering that having someone by your side who doesn’t judge, who understands your past and can sympathize, and someone who absolutely has your back no matter what is exactly what they’ve been missing and didn’t even know it.
Quinn McKallister was just 6 years old when his brother Jake was abducted at gun point by a serial killer, imprisoned, and tortured for a month. All Quinn knew was that his life changed in an instant. His mother was either screaming, crying, or sleeping drugged out of her head. His dad was always out looking for Jake. His oldest brother smelled funny when he was around but gone more than he was home. His big sister was busy trying to take care of his mother and while at times was there to help feed him and his baby sister, she wasn’t nice about it. His other brother looked like a monster and was upset all of the time. It was just him and Grace and at age 6, he had no idea what was going on because no one explained it just that Jake had left and everyone he loved was changed except for Grace. He was so angry and has always blamed Jake for the way his life changed and while he knows his musical talent is just as good as his brother, he doesn’t feel he’ll ever measure up. Quinn’s life just hasn’t panned out the way he hoped and he thought going on a reality talent show would get him recognized, little did he realize it would, but maybe for all the wrong reasons.
Little did Jess know when she turned on her RYde app, her second job after Angel Tour taking tourists on a tour of the stars homes that she’d meet someone who would change her life forever and for once for the better. She had her doubts, almost putted away more than once, but there was something in the man’s demeanor, in his eyes, in the way he spoke to the famous man trying to reason with her that made her want to take a chance and be his getaway driver.
There was something special in those first few chapters between Quinn and Jess and while they had chemistry it was more. It was the fact that Jess asked Quinn about himself, she asked him what he wanted from life, she made him felt seen and in that moment it was easy to see that the scars from his past began to heal. From that first day they both shared so much about their past, their feelings, the mistakes they made that there was no doubt this was going to be one of those couples that could get through anything and then one phone call and Jess was gone and it was weeks before Quinn found her again and found that she’d been hiding a pretty big secret.
I loved these two together; I think it was their open, honest, and frank conversations from the start as well as their quick retorts with one another that sealed the deal. There was no going back and while I knew something would happen to pierce the happy bubble they were living in, I was a bit shocked at first. I trusted Jill that it would be okay, but for a minute I was in disbelief that it happened.
The entire McKalliser family embraced Jess from the minute they met her, it was easy to see that while overwhelmed this was the type of family she always wanted and I was so happy for her and you could see her blossom. It was also easy to see Quinn grow when instead of wanting to best his brother; he worried more about how he could be what Jess needed in a partner.
A rock star on the rise, a sassy, smart heroine, so many obstacles thrown their way and through it all they find the kind of love they both craved but weren’t really sure they’d ever get. I loved Next In Line, my most anticipated release of 2021 and it exceeded my expectations and they were really high. I can’t wait to for Grace’s story.
5 stars
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Meet J. Bengtsson
J. (Jill) Bengtsson is the bestselling author of the Cake Series. She writes contemporary novels focused on love, humor, passion, and family. Her heroines are strong, nurturing, and quirky while her heroes are what dreams are made of – gorgeous, committed, and in need of a little saving. A native Californian, Jill’s novels are set under the glittering lights of the West Coast entertainment industry.
They are for the dreamer in all of us.
Jill resides in Ventura County, California. She’s married to the Swedish boy she met as an exchange student her junior year in college and they have three children, a golden retriever, and two ragdoll cats.
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