Play by Kylie Scott
The much anticipated follow up to Lick and the 2nd in the Stage Dive series, this is the story of the bands drummer Malcolm Ericson- Mal as you will come to know and love!
Mal is a machine, both behind the drums and with the ladies – living by his own rules – the world is yet to come to terms with Mal – the other guys love him and the ladies definitely love him but there is something underneath it all that screams of wanting more. Wanting something he doesn’t have, wanting normal!!
Mal has a complete disregard for convention – he has no desire to bend his will to accommodate normal convention – until Anne. And even then she doesn’t stand a chance when trying to figure out exactly how he has managed to ensconce himself in her life so quickly and so fully.
One things she is sure of because he states it quite clearly – he is always honest and when Anne broaches the subject his response is just down right beautiful.. No matter their start – he has his forever.
“Mal, I can barely tell when you’re being serious as it is.” He rolled onto his hands and knees, then crawled over to me, eyes full of mischief. “If I’m talking to you, I’m serious.”
We were introduced to Anne in the first novel – she was the roommate of Eve. A studious hard working, normal singleton who can’t seem to catch a break despite being one of the good girls! Eager to please and always happy to help – Anne has always put everyone else first and while attending a party with her friends, Mal overhears he on the phone and makes his opinions clear. Not that she takes that very well but having been his biggest fan she is more than a little star struck.
I actually thought that Mal had a little ADHD the way he acts, he is sort of manic but he is controlled – and I don’t think we get a true reflection of him until later in the story.
Deciding that he is the man to help her with her problems – Mal takes the unusual step of moving himself into Anne’s apartment – without telling her first … surprisingly she didn’t go bat-shit crazy and kick him out and so…..from there the story unfolded.
Starting out as a fake relationship (don’t they always) the two of them settle into a crazy sort of normal that just fits them beautifully. Mal and Anne are a conundrum that defies logic but on the other hand makes perfect sense. Anne falls hard but Mal fell long before her – Ahhhhhhh!!
“Life’s a Song, Anne. Let’s play”
The banter and rhetoric between not only Mal and Anne but the supporting characters in the book is just fabulous and there are too many stand out quotes to mention.
But by the end of the story it had me wishing that I could just spend a little longer inside the head and head of this delightfully deranged but ultimately divine man
Rating 4.5 out of 5