3.65/5
So far, this was my favourite book in the series.
I loved how we finally got some closure on Seth's side of the story of his addiction. I also really loved how he was portrayed in this book, broken but putting himself back together.
Elle wasn't my favourite character in the previous books, particular in book one, but she really redeemed herself here. I liked how the author explored how heartbreak feels and how moving on isn't a linear path for everyone. I liked how Elle was a bit obnoxious and sometimes annoying, because instead of making her character unlikeable (like it did in the previous books) it made her human. We got to see what she was actually thinking in this book and why she struggled so much with her breakup with Jesse.
Elle being a skinny, pretty, blonde girl was a lot less irritating than I anticipated it to be. She wasn't as vain as she came across in the previous books.
I did think that the book could have been better. As with all the previous installments in this series, I truly think that Diamond has some serious potential, but she keeps leaving the readers with stories that don't feel complete. For example, with this book, I wanted more of an exploration of Elle's development as a musician and how she ended up with Dirty in the first place. I also felt that there wasn't enough grovelling done on the part of the band towards Seth after everything they put him through. Diamond doesn't elicit the same "sated" feeling from me that I get with other books (like the Twisted series by Ana Huang or the Kingmakers series by Sophie Lark).
Seth and Elle were cute together, but Elle didn't show enough of the love that Seth deserved to be shown. I think that a couple more chapters of Elle really describing WHY she loves him and WHAT she loves about him would have made this book a whole lot better.
Overall, not bad, not incredible, but good enough to be rounded up instead of down.
SPOILER:
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The FMC becomes pregnant, but I didn't mind it because it wasn't the catalyst to the relationship, nor did she try to hide it. Sort of accidental pregnancy, but without the drama.