Inferno (Phoenix Rising Rock Band Book 1) Kindle Edition

Kathryn Kelly has amazing talent. I love her work. This book is no exception. Her writing makes you feel like you are really in the scene. You forget you are reading it. Sometimes the writing in books I read feels too simplistic and sometimes too flowery. Either way the writing style reminds you that you are just reading a book. Not Kathyrn Kelly, you are really there in the room with the characters. I would not call this an action-packed book but rather an intrigue-packed book. Wow, so many twists. Despite the fact that a lot of bad things happen to the characters this book does not leave you feeling down but rather empowered! The h of this book is a 16-year-old girl who drinks too much and is addicted to cocaine. The H is 9-years older than she. Yea, the author goes there. So many books try so hard to be taboo without really crossing any potentially offensive lines. Think of all the stepbrother and stepsister romances out now. That sounds so wrong but really almost all of them star over 18 H & h's whose parents just so happen to marry after the main characters are essentially grown. Really it is just the illusion of being taboo. Sloane and Georgie have a lot to overcome to reach the HEA found in the second book but I loved the journey! If you are like me and do not want your romance with a thick sugar coating then this book is for you!

4.5 stars
I don't know what to say about Inferno except that it was awesome.  The book does end in a cliffhanger (but I forgive the author for that since the book was so well done). I loved the ARC so much, I bought the book once it was released.  One of my favorite lines was "visit me in jail" and that entire conversation.  It says so much about them. Complicated characters without fake drama, the angst really works with the follow of the book (it fits with the story and not over the top).  Georgie, a 16 year old, just wants to be loved. While she comes from a very wealthy family and has an allowance of $1K for each year she has been alive, she has no real friends and her family ignores her. So her only "friend"- the person who pays any attention to her is her older brother's best friend. He supplies her with drugs, but instead of asking her to pay him with money, he makes her perform oral sex. The second time Sloane meets her is at her parents home after she has had oral sex with the bother's best friend. BTW, the drug supplier "friend" has a girlfriend. Therefore, giving her a complex that she is only good for oral sex and she can only feel good about herself if she is high. He manipulates her so badly that Sloane (main male character - rock god) just wants to save her. She has such an innocence about her. When they first met, Georgie tells Sloane she was 18.

I really like how the story did the flashback thing - it works.  Both main characters were so interesting and very realistic within the situations they are in based on their backgrounds/histories.  He knows saving her will be his downfall and he tries to save her anyway.

A couple of things to note (as some folks may be turned off by them/triggers for them): 1) he does start sleeping around once they "break up.". I don't read books with cheating (except Kathyrn Kelly books it seems now) or if I find out as I'm reading, I will stop. In this case, I wanted to know what would happen next and it worked within the context of the characters. It wasn't done to just add some fake angst. 2) The book does end on a cliffhanger, but the excerpt from the next book wets appetite and gives some hope. 3) the age difference - but Kathyrn Kelly does this so well and makes it believable. 4) there is a suicide attempt

I received an ARC for a honest review. Then did buy the book.

Sloane and Georgie aren't a couple made in heaven and their relationship is anything but peaceful. Throw in Georgie's mom Cassandra (now she's a piece of work). The term bat s*** crazy comes to mind when I think about her character. There's a lot of mothers out there that have those type of feelings toward their daughters and it is sad but that is what makes this story and characters so REAL. This book will take you on a emotional roller coaster ride. You experience the range of emotions from mad to heartbreaking with some laughter thrown in so please stay seated for the ride because there is more on the way.
There are some very dark secretes waiting for you in this book and some twist that make you go "Wow, that did not just happen."

I could give you a outline of what happens in the book and how the story unfolds but I believe it takes away the pleasure the reader gets from reading the book.

Sex, drugs and Rock n Roll you get it all in this book. There's characters you will love and characters you just want to slap silly. There was even a few I would like to bury in the backyard. But the one thing you won't want to do and that is stop reading. I couldn't put this book down. I HAD to know what happened next and can't wait for the next book in this series!!!!!

If you can handle underage sex, drugs, lies, secretes, betrayals and rock n roll this book is for you. Kathryn Kelly gives you that and much more!So be prepared to be shocked and surprised when reading this book. It's not a lullaby it is rock n roll people!

If you can handle underage sex, drugs, lies, secretes, betrayals and rock n roll this book is for you. Kathryn Kelly gives you that and much more!So be prepared to be shocked and surprised when reading this book. It's not a lullaby it is rock n roll people!

This book was so good. It was completely different than anything I have ever read before. I read it in one sitting and am buying the next one now to read. Doubt if I will sleep tonight.

Georgie and Sloane are two hot messes who find love, reason and purpose through each other. Yes, it is considered a taboo relationship since Georgie is only 16. However, the greater sin committed in this book is the treatment Georgie and Sloane suffer at the hand of their own families. The self-interest of both their parents and Sloane's siblings is incomprehensible. These two face true evil in the form of their parents.

This is another phenomenal Kathryn Kelly book. Inferno is a complicated, emotional read which will have you craving the next book.

***Four stars only because it was a cliff hanger which I'm not a fan of - I'm too impatient to wait.