GREEN JEWEL (The Painted Daisies #2) by LJ EVANS

‘Heartache and sorrow hung over her so deep it bled through every vein.’

We fell in love with the girl band, The Painted Daisies in book one: Sweet Memory, which featured Paisley and Jonas and set this suspenseful rockstar romance series up so well. Each book in this series will feature a different band member. Well, let us tell you, LJ Evans really cranked it up in this follow-up: Green Jewel, which is the second book in this series and follows Fee, the feisty bighearted Irish singer and the standoff-ish and ruthless record label owner, Asher. Wow. We were blown away and bloody loved it! This is how you write an enticing slow burn enemies to lovers romance! This Author nailed it!

‘Asher had never witnessed a love that had been perfect or lasting. He wasn’t sure it existed beyond a figment of imagination that chemistry-filled lust created in the human mind.’

Whilst in some respect this series can be read as interconnected standalones, we really wouldn’t recommend it. Not only have both books stolen our hearts but there is also a continual storyline of an unsolved murder. Getting to know these girls, their past, and their struggles makes this series so very special. As a reader you feel a part of their entourage, you get protective, and you want them to each get their happily ever after whilst at the same time uncovering who killed one of their own.

“The cruel reality of grief is that it is unique to each person. A solitary journey. Some people demand to be cocooned in warm embraces, while others rant and rave and storm.”

Fiadh (Fee) is a wonderful character, we felt for her, and saw her loneliness and her immense need to protect the only family she has left her bandmates. She has this intensity about her, ruled by her heart and her fierceness. Sometimes it’s difficult to see through layers of hurt and easy to see what we want to see, and Fee learns this the hard way. We fell in love with her and Asher’s story.

“Don’t hold back, Asher. I can take it. I can take every inch and every secret. Every dark wish and forgotten promise. Don’t hide any of it. Don’t keep even one piece, and I promise I won’t either. We’ll trust each other with all of it.”

Asher was an enigma until he too began to shed his layers of armour. What an amazing man. How anyone could not fall in love with this hard, grumpy-arsed man, well we dare you to go meet him for yourselves. Be still our hearts, his story really broke us. A single dad of a sweet nine-year-old daughter, he’s been through an incredible amount of heartbreak it’s no wonder he guards himself and his heart so well.

‘The harsh, desperate truth burned through him. A truth that couldn’t be denied. He didn’t just desire her. He wanted every last piece of Fiadh Kane to belong to him, even if it left him cracked and bleeding in the end.’

We are completely invested in this emotional, beautiful, heartbreaking, and well-written series, and we say that despite not being fans of third person, so this is huge for us! We ended up loving Green Jewel even more than Sweet Memory, we just couldn’t put it down. We simply can’t get enough, and with the next book: Cherry Brandy releasing next month, we’re counting the days! If you’re a reader who loves enemies to lovers, single dad rockstar romance with suspense, heat, and angst then you’ll love this too. It looks as if this series will cover a plethora of tropes which makes it even more exciting!

“You’ll never have to doubt you’re loved again. I’m going to cover you with it until you almost can’t breathe.”