Author: RJ Scott
Book: Boy Banned
Publisher: Love Lane Books
Publication Date: May 25, 2016
Length: 380 pages
Cover Artist: Meredith Russell
Reviewed by Meredith
Synopsis
When the only way to win is to hide who you
are, how far are you prepared to go?
Reuben “Angel” Jacobs is one step away from giving it all up. Losing a place in
the live finals of Sing UK almost kills him. He has no choice but to go home
and work for the family business, even though it means giving up his dreams and
proving his old bullies right.
Corey Dixon is a rocker at heart. Being on the spectrum means that making sense
of other people’s ‘normal’ is hard in itself, let alone in the chaos of a
high-powered competition. Singing is his safe space, the only way he can think
through the noise in his head. Messing up his audition for the live shows means
his journey is over, and it’s the worst day of his life.
The judges throw them a lifeline and create a boy band from the near-miss
hopefuls. Angel, Corey, and three others are put together in a room and offered
the chance to sing as a group. Agreeing to become part of the new band means
Corey has to hide who he is and what Angel has come to mean to him.
Is winning worth the price Corey and Angel have to pay
?
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Excerpt
“Filming in five, four….”
Brianna was clearly the leader in
this particular choice. “Hi, guys,” she said strongly, her tone belied by the
fluttering of her hands around her face. She had assumed the “we have terrible
news” expression. Both the male judges had relaxed back in their seats.
All five of the contestants said
hello back; the other four were as worried and subdued as Corey sounded to his
own ears.
“Okay,” she began, “boys, boys, boys…
you all know that the auditions at boot camp weren’t so good. Mistakes, wrong
song choices, emotions getting the better of you….” She trailed off and looked
into the distance with a soft pout. She was acting out the whole disappointment
thing and was a freaking expert at it.
Corey shifted from one foot to the
other. His head was banded with the start of a headache, which he was convinced
would deteriorate into a migraine if he didn’t get some meds soon. That would
just be the perfect shitty end to the perfect shitty day.
“We’ve considered you a lot. You’re
the hardest group of singers, and it took us a long time to come to a
decision.”
Another dramatic pause, in which
Corey imagined music would be inserted for added drama. He stopped breathing,
waiting for her to finish what she was going to say. Maybe, somehow, they’d
been given the chance to prove themselves again, and she would say they were
through.
She shook her head slowly. “Sorry,
boys. We’re not taking you through as solo singers to the live finals.”
And there it was. Corey’s dream
gone. Finished.
He’d messed up worse than the worst
fuck-up ever, and the disappointment was visceral, unforgiving, heartbreaking.
Double K let out a harsh sigh and
then draped himself all over Angel, who didn’t push him away, simply held him
gently.
At least Double K wasn’t crying.
Corey wanted to cry.
Not at the fact he’d come this close to getting to the live shows,
but the fact it was all his own fault that he’d blown his audition. If only
he’d stuck to Kasabian, or maybe another old Bon Jovi, he’d have made it
through.
Corey didn’t cry, though. He let
himself feel the pain of disappointment, then looked to the stage manager as to
what they were going to do next. If the cameras caught him at that moment, they
would see a man who’d been dealt a blow but was stubbornly determined not to
give up.
“But—” Brianna was talking again,
saying something about wildcards and judges’ choice and compromise. “We have our wildcard choice, and all five of you made
the list as being just outside those we selected who made it automatically to
the shows. You’re all good, but you just didn’t raise your game enough to make
it through automatically.”
Corey tuned back in. Were they
going to make the five of them repeat their performance? Was he still in with a
chance? He was way better than Skinny, Puppy, and Double K. Only Angel was
anywhere near his skills vocally. Angel, who was still supporting Double K,
which made Corey’s skin itch with a prickle of resentment. He pushed it away.
Hope bloomed inside him at the
thought he might have another chance. He wouldn’t mess up again. He could do
this.
And then, as suddenly as hope began
to grow, Brianna dashed it by using her serious tone, the one that had viewers
falling for her all over again.
“We’d like you to consider grouping
together, becoming one band, and going through to the live finals as our
wildcard choice in the group category.”
Stunned silence.
Double K was quiet, and Puppy had
even stopped swearing quietly under his breath.
“Go,” Brianna said. “Take some
time. Talk it over.”
In a daze, his chest tight, Corey
left the stage, the last of them to leave, following Double K back into the
large room they’d just been sitting in. Cameras followed them in, and all of
them stood looking at each other.
“Okay, guys, this is a big
decision,” the showrunner said. “We’ll keep the cameras out of the room. Let me
know when you’re done. You have an hour before we offer this to our next
reserve.”
He turned to leave, but Corey
needed to ask one thing.
“If we say no, does that mean one
of us alone would become the wildcard?”
Hope sat in his chest, and he
willed the man to say yes.
The producer checked his clipboard
and shook his head. “No. It’s all or nothing, because we have a girl up on
second reserve if you decide you want to call it a day.”
Silence.
The cameras left; the door shut.
Angel shook his head, Puppy cursed
loudly, Skinny thumped the wall, and Double K burst into tears.
And all Corey could do was stand
there and use every available ounce of energy to focus on what the hell had
just happened.
Great.
Review
RJ Scott is a very talented author and this latest book Boy
Banned really takes the cake. Now, I have to say, the way this band comes to be
reminded me a lot of how One Direction was created. Each on their own didn’t
work but when these five guys are put together by the judges, they make
beautiful music. Of course that’s where the similarities end.
Corey… I want to talk about this character. He’s on the
spectrum and likely because of that I became attached to him. My son is
autistic so naturally I was going to draw parallels, going to relate. There’s a
saying, “When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.”
That means they are all different. So, it’s tricky to write an autistic person
because so many times I’ve read the SAME character. Too often they are carbon
copies and that’s just not the case with being on the spectrum. The fact that
RJ Scott understands that is apparent early on. She is a person who didn’t just
research autism, she lives it. No question.
Angel… His infinite patience and understanding not just for
the band but for Corey left me breathless. His name is really perfect for him
because he’s an angel. I loved him with Corey. Their interactions, moments, all
of it. It was written so brilliantly that I had tears in my eyes at the beauty
of it all.
This is a stunning story. Entertaining and touching!
About the Author
My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to
reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.
I've has been writing since age six, when I was made to stay in at lunchtime
for an infraction involving cookies and the mixing bowl. You can't tell a six
year old not to lick the bowl!
I was told to write a story
and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was
born.
As an avid reader myself, I can be found reading anything from thrillers to
sci-fi to horror. However, my first real true love will always be the world of
romance. I love my cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a
few) and love to write dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion
between these men. (Yum)
With over 90 titles to my name and counting, I am the author of the award
winning book, The Christmas Throwaway, which was All Romance Ebooks best
selling title of 2010.
I'm also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and
the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the
people it protects.
I'm always so thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please
contact via the following links below:
* * * * *
Full list of all books and works in
process
List of all print books
Reviews for RJ’s book
http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/reviews
Giveaway
Prizes: $20 Giftcard for Amazon or All Romance eBooks, 3 x
Texas books, 3 x Bodyguard books.
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