Stage Dive is the compilation of previously released novellas and short stories set as part of the Stage Dive series. 1001 Dark Nights (where most of these could be found) recently folded, and the authors all got their rights back. It's great to spend time with the Stage Dive members and their partners, who all feature prominently in these works. I really enjoyed this, and I wonder if the shorter length worked better for me in this universe. The full length books are no less insta-love and immediate commitment than the novellas, so the relationships in this universe seem made for this format.
Strong: In conversation with others who have read the series, two things are true: Everyone loves Sam the charismatic body guard and wanted to know more, and no one wanted Martha of money taking, cheating on David, trying to break up David and Ev, trying to run off Lizzy fame to have an HEA. Nevertheless, she's back nannying for Ben & Lizzy, starting a new career as a manager for new singer Adam, and getting involved with Sam. She's still prickly and abrasive, still controlling, I wouldn't say she *necessarily* undergoes the redemptive character arc we might expect, but she does apologize to Ev for trying to break them up five years earlier, and she and Ben and Lizzy seem like they are in a great space, so who are we top judge.
Closer: Mae Cooper is a supermodel, who lives in the same apartment building as the Stage Dive gang, and uses their security company when she gets a stalker. Ziggy is the bodyguard assigned to her. There's some great stuff here where she worries he is only attracted to her in her full model mufti, "he had to be reacting to the ultra-glamorous model Mae Cooper. Not the boring old clumsy forgetful real me who wanted to be loved." This is, of course, the core story of any celebrity/normie relationship, along with the inverse of "I'm never going to be able to..." of fitting into the celebrity glamor life. This is VERY insta-love, but I guess in the novella space a little fated mates level attraction moves things along. I like how Scott did a fake out with when will we make this relationship public, and that the path forward to making it work was on page.
Love Song: All the stories around Adam fell under the category of trying to Make Fetch Happen for me, he's the new singer Ben was producing, Martha is his manager (now that I think about it, she really nepo-babied into that job). He's been in the background of the other novellas living it up at the clubs with the ladies, and is a massive hit due to his "she done me wrong" themed album about his ex girlfriend and True Love Jill. One of the reasons the broke up was his reliance on her to support them and not committing to the relationship. So when he send Jill a "seven digit" check, she comes in person to return it.
Anyway, from there its a messy path to explaining why he never told her he loved her when he's telling everyone in song she was the love of his life, to her examining why she didn't say it to him (my hypocrisy meter was blaring at the "everyone knew the guy had to say it first" of it all). But with a declaration like "But it's not a totally bad idea. I mean, we had some good times. We worked well together for a while. Would getting back together honestly be so bad?" how could they resist.
There's an interesting thing that Jen said on the Fated Mates episode about this series, about the men using money and power as a weapon. I was thinking of this as Adam sent a check big enough to get a reaction, and offers to have Jill come on tour as hairstylist (so employee, not partner), paid by him. The second is a weird complication in the relationship, but I can see if he thinks he's not enough to offer then the cloak of making it about money might be. That particular aspect doesn't get resolved, but let's pretend it works out.
The Rhythm Method: This one is a doozy. Ev, a woman who is canonically slender, and has access to the best medical care on call, doesn't realize she is pregnant until she delivers the baby in the bathroom. There's some "blah blah tilted uterus, blah blah I did go up a size" but still. Fun fact, I didn't know I was pregnant until well after four months, but I had been assured it was medically impossible after several years of attempts. So I guess surprise? But I am a size 10 and it was four months. Also, in the Stage Dive universe, Lizzy was 15 weeks pregnant and they were talking like she had a bump and only fit maternity clothes, so....
Anyhoo, this novella is mostly about the giant whack this unexpected baby does to David and Ev's mental health. Ev has a lot of guilt and feelings of Bad Mother for not realizing, and David just has a full on freak out. He leaves the relationship "things had gone so badly that he had to step back form our life together" because he could not make the leap from their determined child-free state to having a newborn. Anyone with a less than absolutely supportive co-parent will resonate with Ev's feelings about David going out drinking without planning ahead, and the subsequent blow ups. Scott nails the difficulty and loneliness of breast feeding and caring for a new baby, while her body is so hormonal.
Listen. David absolutely having made this mess by not talking to Ev should maybe not try to solve it without talking to Ev. He's leaving her alone with a newborn for days (with the support group of the wags). It's great that they are on page seeing joint and individual counselors. And he does a great and fulsome apology at the end, fully recognizing the affects of his actions. I thought this novella was really compelling and also EW DAVID.
Just What I Need: Here we have Dean (of one date with Lena fame) and David and Ev's nanny Jude meeting, and having an instant fated mate level attraction to each other with "This is not love at first sight. It is like at first coffee." They immediately are together, there's very little conflict, it's all good. This capper to the novellas basically is what might be Kylie Scott's Core Story (at least for this entire series and all the ancillary works) of "I know we've only known each other for like a day and a half, but you inspire a lot of emotion in me. I feel like there's a real connection between us."
This read was a lot of fun, thank you to the author for the arc.