Book Review: Camden by Xio Axelrod

Camden 

by Xio Axelrod

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Sometimes there’s a moment when you know you’ve screwed up. For Camden Skinner, it’s the night a dead pop star walks into his pub.

As one-half of Skin, an agency which specializes in cleaning up behind the ultra-rich and infamous, Cam has gotten used to getting his hands dirty. A little too used to it. After the young singer at the center of a client’s controversy is found dead, Cam decides he’s out. He walks away from Skin in search of a simpler life. Maybe even a shot at redemption.

Redemption arrives in the form of Yara Bujold.

The singer’s meteoric rise to the top surprised no one more than Yara herself. All she ever wanted was to make music. Caught up in the dark underbelly of the industry, Yara is forced to fake her own death. But she can’t hide forever.

Yara tracks down one of the principals at Skin, the very people that helped to tear her down. She’ll force Camden Skinner to make it right, whatever it takes. What she doesn’t expect is remorse from the man that helped to ruin her. And she certainly doesn’t expect to lose herself in him.

Cam finds himself sucked right back into a world he’d hoped never to step foot in again, but he can’t walk away. He has to fix this. Not only for himself, but for her. For Yara. Because she might just be everything he didn’t know he needed. She just might be everything.

4.5 Stars!

When singing sensation Yara disappears in a tragic boat accident in the ocean, Camden Skinner feels the weight of his guilt crushing him for whatever part his company, Skin, might have played on her presumed death as he realizes they might have been duped by her manager. When the woman he’s been unable to stop thinking about reappears at his bar one night determined to force Camden to help her clear her name and her image, he jumps at the chance to redeem himself.

I absolutely loved Camden! It was great to see how different he was from his twin brother, Pierce, right from the start, even if Pierce grew on me later on. Cam was strong, reliable and sweet and I just adored how affected he was when he realized their part on Yara’s plight and how he wanted to make it right for her.

I loved Yara, too. She definitely wasn’t a timid wallflower, she was determined to get her life back from her manager no matter what and did what she had to do to achieve her goal.

The chemistry between Camden and Yara was electric! From the first moment their eyes lock to the first kiss and to every steamy encounter between them, I was captivated by them. I loved how their relationship progressed, it was a very natural, smooth transition from sort of enemies to allies/friends to lovers.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t too fond of Pierce at first, but I ended up loving him. His moral compass was a bit skewed, but I have a weakness for characters that need more work to be redeemed. I hope Ms. Axelrod will write his story and maybe Rory’s too? Pretty please?

As for Marcus, he was an awful man, and unfortunately, I imagine there might be some guys that prey on young girls that want to make it big in the music scene. I was really satisfied he got what he deserved. 

Overall, I loved this book! It was fast-paced, well-written and very entertaining! The suspense portion was well-balanced with the developing romance and the very lovable, kick-ass main characters. The ending felt a tad abrupt, I was all happy reading and then there weren’t any more pages. I wanted more Camden and Yara! *pouts* Still, this is a book I can definitely recommend!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***