DEEP - Kylie Scott
Stage Dive, Book 4
St. Martin's
ISBN: 978-1-250-05239-1
April 2015
Contemporary Romance

Portland, Oregon and touring the U.S. - Present Day

The first time Liz Rollins met Ben Nicholson, she was immediately drawn to him, in spite of the almost ten year age difference, his aversion to dating, and her big sister Anne's warnings to steer clear of him.  Through texts, Liz finds Ben funny and charming even if he does keep telling her that he doesn't date or do relationships, and his best friend and bandmate Mal—Anne's boyfriend—has also warned him off Liz .  At Mal and Anne's wedding, the desire that has sizzled between them for a few months is too much for either of them to deny, but afterwards Ben panics and disappears.  Liz figures she'll get over him sooner or later even if she has to spend time with him thanks to her sister.  Then she finds out she's pregnant.

At twenty-one years old and in the middle of earning her degree in psychology, having children was not even on the radar for Liz, and even though she's a little scared at the reality of this, she's already bonding with her child. But how can she tell one of rock's biggest bad boys—someone even less prepared for parenthood than Liz—that she's carrying his child?  Even worse, how can she tell Anne and Mal?

After a bit of rebellion as a teenager, Liz thought all of her wild and irresponsible days were over, then she learns she's carrying the baby of a world-renowned rock star.  For many years, the only family Liz really has had is her sister, Anne, and both women have issues trusting men and love.  Yet as Liz watches Anne fall in love with Mal, the drummer for the rock band Stage Dive (in the second novel, PLAY), Liz can't help but wonder if love is possible.  Considering her strong reaction to Ben, the bass guitarist, she really hopes it is.  Ben, however, loves music above pretty much everything else, and has never taken the time for dating or relationships that last longer than the moment.  If Liz is a little afraid over becoming a parent, Ben is petrified, and while he tries to do the right thing, he keeps messing up.

The fourth book in the Stage Dive series, DEEP is a little more emotional than the other three—or maybe that was just Liz's pregnancy hormones.  The story is told in first person with Liz narrating, so you really get a sense of all of her ups and downs with the pregnancy as well as with Ben.  He is the quiet one in the band, not often in the limelight, and this carries over into the book as well, so we don't get quite as much insight into him.  This novel stands fairly well on its own, but I would recommend reading all of them, as it is an exciting series, full of fun and quirky characters.  Though all of the band members have found love, there are a few other characters readers have gotten to know, so hopefully sometime in the future we'll be treated to more of Stage Dive.  A compelling book, don't miss DEEP.

Jennifer Bishop