Review: Afflicted (Battlescars #2) by Sophie Monroe

Synopsis

Fresh off tour Blake Potter, the sexy bassist for Battlescars, is in Smithville, Ohio to work on their next album ‘Coming Clean’. Still pining after Aubrey’s best friend, Piper, it’s going to be harder than he expected to see her back with her long-­‐ term boyfriend, Cole. He’s trying his hardest to forget her, but not matter how hard he tries to stay away circumstances keep bringing them together. Being burned before, he refuses to let it happen again. He’s still struggling to let go of Rowan, the girl that made him the way he is.

Piper is fighting an uphill battle of her own. She’s working her ass off trying to make a name for herself as a tattoo artist. Her long-­‐term boyfriend, Cole, was recently discharged from the Marines turning her world in a way that she never expected. When he begins leaving for days at a time Piper starts struggling to help him pick up the pieces. She calls the one person that might be able to help, Blake. He becomes the friend that she needs no matter how much it’s killing him.

What will happen when one phone call changes everything for both of them leading them in a path that neither anticipated? Pasts will come out of the shadows and threaten to ruin everything.

4 star review 

Afflicted is a sequel to Battlescars, but you don’t need to have read Battlescars first to enjoy Afficted.  This book involves secondary characters from the previous novel. 

Blake is the lead guitarist for a popular band.  Five years ago he and his band members left their hometown to hit it big.  He also left behind his girlfriend, Rowan, and despite the feeling of distance between the two while he was gone, he still proposed to her.  She turned him down, but they still maintained a sexual rendezvous.  He’s never been able to give his heart away again.
 
Piper is the best friend to the lead singer’s wife.  She is in a relationship that is ready to combust at any moment.  Her long-time boyfriend, Cole, is a time-bomb waiting to happen.  He has issues since returning back from war and those issues include drug use and bouts of anger.  He also disappears for days at a time without letting Piper know where he is at. 
 
Piper and Blake have a night of passion while Piper and Cole are on one of their many breaks.  What does this mean?  Blake wants more, but Piper doesn’t.
 
“What now?” I asked her.  She leaned in and pecked my lips. “I don’t want to think about what’s going to be after this. I just want to live for now.” 
 
This wasn’t what Blake wanted to hear.  Blake is caught up in the whiplash on/off relationship of Cole and Piper.  Cole says he is going to change for Piper and Piper keeps taking him back.  Ugghh… enough already…drop his ass.  Okay, finally she does.  It’s time for Blake and Piper to be together.   
 
“If we do this I need to know that you’re going to be mine, Pipe. This going back and forth thing isn’t working anymore. I’m done sharing you.”

But Piper never is able to remove Cole from her life completely.   He keeps coming back like an unwelcome rash.  Piper has too much  time invested in him to completely walk away.  When the call comes that Cole really needs her, she makes a choice to walk away from the best thing to happen to her.

“I didn’t want it to come out like this. I wanted to wait for the perfect moment to say it back, but since that looks like it won’t ever happen I might as well just get it off my chest. I love you, Blake. I’m so sorry it has to be like this. Maybe if things were different we could be together, but it’s just too much right now.”

Now we begin an emotional and angsty road to healing.  I had tears in my eyes reading their paths to forget and live without hurt.  I really enjoyed this book, in fact I can say with certainty that I liked it more than Battlescars.  The author upped the ante in the steamy sex scenes and there were more of them.  I enjoyed hearing both character’s POV throughout the book.  I loved hearing the male POV and Blake really lets us into his head.   This author has a wonderful sense of humor.  She had some classic lines in Battlescars, and new ones appear in Afflicted. 

“I’m going to bang you so hard we should probably exchange insurance information.”
 
Blake is a very good guy.  You’ll be in his corner the entire time and you will be relieved once he finds his happily ever after.
“…now he had another girl to be afflicted by.”