Review: Sentenced by L.L. Collins (Jaded Regret #1)


Sentenced is the first novel in bestselling author L.L. Collins's Jaded Regret series but I actually ended up reading this after I read the second book, Snared, which I actually thought was the series starter. Yes, clueless, that's me. When Johnny and Bex first came into the picture in what turned out to be the sequel, I was immediately curious about their love story. With a bit of digging around on good, ol' Goodreads, I realized their story was told first. Johnny and Bex were two individuals who were broken, both with pasts that left them jaded and unable to believe that love was something viable for either one of them. There are several triggers in the book, i.e. non-consensual sex, drug trafficking, and drug addiction, so be aware if these happen to be sensitive subjects. The story has a lot of trauma-induced, anger-filled moments as well.

Thirty-six-year-old Jonathan "Johnny" Gibbons would do anything and everything for his younger sister Julia. He doesn't trust anyone as much as he does her and, to a lesser degree, her husband, Carter, and he adores his niece. It's been two years since he was released on parole after spending a couple of years in prison, but his nightmare started long before that. He covers up his anxieties and fears with a cocky persona and a need to bounce from one woman to another. When he meets twenty-seven-year-old Bexley "Bex" Bryant, lead singer and guitarist for up and coming rock group Jaded Regret, he immediately wants her, but soon it becomes clear that she's just as damaged as he is. Theirs is supposed to be nothing more than a no-strings-attached fling, but it isn't only hot sex they're left craving for once their weekend is over.

My perception of both Johnny and Bex may have been different had I not read Snared prior to reading Sentenced. After all, these two did come as somewhat rude and crude in this series starter, but there are reasons why they are the way they are and learning their personal histories isn't an all too easy read either. Now, when I say they're "broken", it doesn't mean they aren't fixable, because it becomes a matter of wanting to piece everything back together, and even if they no longer wanted those old pieces, they were able to find newer and better pieces to replace the old ones. Johnny and Bex were falling for one another and didn't want to really fully embrace where their feelings were headed. There was also a point in the story where they both did unbelievably stupid, thoughtless things because of their lack of communication.

This is just my third L.L. Collins read but there's no denying how intense and emotional her stories can be. I've never failed to feel, at the very least, empathy for her main characters, and she's batting three for three, so far. Johnny and Bex's love story is different but I'm always one for something that's different but in a good way and that's the case here. I would have given this book five-plus stars, but I did read Snared before this one, and I can't help but compare the two books and that other was simply a notch above. Also, I was left wondering about Dr. Mia and her role in the overall story, because it's not as if she was all that significant in terms of Johnny wanting to break free from the shackles of his past. This book, though, is a reminder to finish the Twisted series and then read Back to the Drawing Board. Sentenced gets five stars. ♥

Date Read: 07 March 2016

Learn more about L.L. Collins.

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