.{ ink.eaters }.: "Rellik" by Teresa Mummert

“Rellik Bentley is to die for.“ - Oh hell, yes, he SO is! That tagline couldn't be any more spot-on... his picture should be in the dictionary, right next to the definiton of hotter than hell, bad boy rockstar.

Mummert's style of writing and her ability to set a tone and atmosphere that make it impossible to not feel the story takes you to a whole new world in her bad-ass novel Rellik. A world full of heartache, pain and broken characters that will have two people find love in the most unexpected of instances. And just when you think you know what's going on, Mummert does what she does best – she throws a plot twist at you so hard, it'll knock your reading glasses off your nose. She is my absolute favorite when it comes to those, to plot twists... if there was a plot twist kingdom, Teresa Mummert would be its Queen, its Goddess.

I really liked the characters - especially the band members, and I wish there was a book about each one of them and their individual... history. I also absolutely loved the story itself, even if it was a bit too fast-paced at times, especially when it came to the development of what was going on between Rellik and Ella. The use of lyrics and the definitions in the beginning of each chapter were also very enjoyable, and it was great learning about Rellik's past by getting a glance at it via flashbacks.

Overall, judging only the story and general way of storytelling, I am dying to give this novel a five star rating. The editing, however, made me cringe far too many times - had this been an unedited pre-publication edition, an ARC, I would be jumping at the opportunity of throwing my 'five' at it, assuming that all errors would be corrected by the time of release... but seeing this was a purchased published paperback, I can't just go and ignore all the misspelling, missing apostrophes and other errors that I got caught on without even being on the lookout. I am not going to lie - the editing, or at times rather the lack thereof, made this an occasionally utterly frustrating read, and the love-hate-relationship I've had with the book made me debate between a three and a four star rating. In the end, I will be settling for four - because my love for Rellik and the story told in the novel are winning over my frustration with the editing - without which, this would have definitely been a five star read!

4/5

Rellik Bentley is to die for.

He can have any woman he wants and they will do anything to be with him. He uses and abuses them like drugs and tosses them out with the trash. The only thing he gives a f*ck about is his music. That is, until Ella Leighton walks into his life and stumbles upon one of his darkest secrets. In the midst of doing damage control, he begins to obsess over the mysterious woman who wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

Rellik won't take no for an answer.

Full length (stand-alone) novel with bonus sample of Pretty Little Things.