PLAY (Stage Dive #2) by KYLIE SCOTT

“Life’s a song, Anne. Let’s play.”

Gitte: Oh wow, how much were we gagging to get stuck into Mal Ericson…uhh I mean Play! Mal’s been teasing us for a while and we were so ready for him and he DID NOT disappoint.

“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s bigger.”

“I’m not imagining anything.”

“I’m serious. It’s basically a monster. I cannot control it.”

“Malcolm -”

“You’re pretty much going to need a whip and a chair to tame it, Anne.”

“Stop it.”

“That okay with you?”

This dude is without doubt one of the funniest blokes; his wit is sharp and quick, his banter and dialogue hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times my jaw ached. Mal Ericson is like a child a times, manic even, a filthy talker and a dirty humoured comedian. He left me completely shattered and reminded me of the Energizer Bunny.

“You know, you can be kind of intense sometimes, Malcolm Ericson.”

Not only that though, he’s gorgeous, he plays the drums like a demon and he’s sexy as!! For me, this story was all Mal, he is what kept me reading and unable to put Play down. The writing and humour was brilliant too, I want to take Kylie Scott down the pub and listen to her all night as we get bladdered because this woman ROCKS!!!

Jenny: Nice save there Gitte!! It seems like forever ago when we got our first glimpse of Mel in Lick (Sage Dive #1) and we’ve been dying to know more about this cheeky, sexy and very, very amusing man in greater detail and he most certainly did not disappoint.  His antics and his brain farts regularly had me smiling throughout Play and his manic exuberance, his naughtiness, playfulness and  his sheer childlike qualities constantly had me in fits. OMG! Those text messages…he was such a man-child with a touch of ADD – he cracked me up repeatedly and yes, I absolutely LOVED him!

“I’m the drummer from Stage Dive.I don’t get kept awake by other people having wild sex. I keep them awake. I keep entire fucking neighbourhoods awake.”

I have to agree with you about Mal ‘being’ the story because that’s exactly how I felt too. He was such a fun, funny and imposing character that I found myself eagerly flipping the page awaiting the next Mal’ism. He really did try to be the romantic and although he didn’t quite pull it off you had to give him A for effort and to be honest, he would have won me over regardless!

‘He played with abandon and he looked like a God.’ – Anne

Oh geez yes! Wouldn’t you just love to share a tipple or two with Kylie Scott because anyone who can produce a character like Mal has to be a bit off the wall, funny and our type of person haha!

Gitte: For me, what was lacking in the story Mal Ericson made up for, as did the snippets we got with the much loved characters from Lick namely David and Ev. I loved when the whole crowd was together. Sadly though, the story line and development was just okay for me. The build-up was too long where nothing really happened resulting in the conflict and crux of the story being over way too quickly. It didn’t quite work for me as for so long nothing really happened except for funny banter; it didn’t seem as if we were getting anywhere really. I also found the sweet and unsure Anne hard work to begin with, though she did have me smiling at times and she grew on me as the story built. However, despite these concerns, the class writing and the humour had me reading Play in one sitting and Mal and Anne did turn out to be perfectly perfect together. I swooned!!!!

“It’s fate, Anne. Written in the stars. Leave it the fuck alone.”

Jenny:  I must admit Gitte, I did get quite a way along into Play when I found myself questioning just what the story was.  Don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying it, or I should I say, I was enjoying Mal…how could I not? But I did wonder where it was leading and although I was having fun and my stomach was in knots waiting for the “other shoe to drop” I did feel the build-up lasted a little too long.  When we finally did reach the climax it seemed to be over a little too quickly for me as I was really settling in and knuckling down for some gritty “afters” at that point.

Meeting up with David, Ev and all the guys was absolute magic. Ev and David certainly have my heart and yes, the banter between them all was so much fun and I embraced the times they bonded and even the times they fought, as a unit. These guys really do have unique relationships that transcend so well in Play and have you wanting to know more!  Like you, I did find Anne a little bland at first but she shone when she started finding the girl inside and standing up for herself as she began to understand Mal on another level.

“Word to the wise, next time when it comes to us, try talking to me instead of Davie.” – Anne

I was fist bumping her big time when she started to speak her mind. But one thing Anne….who is John Bonham?  Really?  Shame on you woman!!

Gitte & Jenny: So whilst we enjoyed Play, specifically Mal Ericson we didn’t fall in love like we did in Lick. It was missing something for us. The emphasis was on Mal and yes, we admit he is what had us inhaling this story and kept us entertained throughout.  This crazy arsed drummer with a wicked streak and a blinding sense of humour had us in stitches and falling in love with his character all over again. Malcolm Ericson; you give us ‘Crazy eyes’!!

“I’m your boyfriend now, which means there’s no room for your hipster admirer. He’ll just have to lick his wounds while we lick other things.” – Mal

We love this Author and her writing; especially her stellar ability of injecting timeless humour and creating some amazingly endearing and off the wall characters, so no question we’re now gagging for the next book in this series. Excuse us while we go swoon some more over our fave drummer; Malcolm Ericson.

“Hello, Anne’s clitoris. It’s me, Malcom, your lord and master.”

“Oh, God, no.” I covered my face with my hands. “Please don’t.”

“Shh. This is a private conversation.”

We love those Stage Dive guys, we love this author’s work and we can’t wait for more!! Jimmy’s book promises to be something else!