Lost For You: Sixth Street Bands Book 4, Jayne Frost

The dark side to fame, when given freedom, can never truly be relegated to the past.  Chase knows this better than anyone.  But darkness comes in different forms and the brand Taryn lives with is the loss of something she believes was meant for her instead.

Both MC's are struggling with the unhappier side of life while trying to function in the light.  Chase runs successful businesses and is, on the outside, a great success.  His music is in his heart and he's done with letting his demons control him.  Or so he thinks.

His demons are never far away from his mind and he's sure that he's got a measure of control.  And then he meets Taryn.  Something in her calls to him, captures him.  Before he knows it she becomes his new addiction and when his past and present collide his shaky foundation crumbles.

Taryn has never believed she could have more than what is gifted to her from her best friend and the sole survivor of an accident that tore her world apart.  With her love life in shambles and her professional life teetering on the edge of the unknown she has to make some tough decisions.  Guilt is her constant companion and she's constantly stifling herself for the benefit of others.  She's at the end of her rope even if she can't see it until Chase finds her.

Chase brings out something in her that she's denied for a long time.  Caught between her past and her present she's unsure of what to do or where to go next but for as long as Chase will have her, she's his.  Except there's something he's not telling her and his secrets force them into heartbreak.

This story was angst city from beginning to end.  I didn't see a lot of happiness here, mostly struggle and frustration at every turn.  There was also not a lot of getting to know one another as people.  Omissions aside, we see very, very little of them talking to one another as two people who want to be friends or anything deeper than sex-friends.

When Chase admits himself to get better I was glad for that.  The non-communication, not so much, but the desire to get healthy for oneself is much better than the alternative, having your well-being completely dependent on someone else is never a good idea.  The ending is a bit more open than I was expecting but the sentiments were honest and heartfelt and hopeful.  As a companion stand alone story in the Sixth Street Bands series, this was a good addition to the angst-filled, passionate, stirring stories.

So all those good things aside, here's a relatively small rant.  Taking partial responsibility for one partner's cheating because you prolong the hurt by constantly forgiving?  Hell. No.  You shouldn't be punished or at fault for someone else's hurtful behavior because of your forgiveness in the hope that the other person will see your pain and stop because of a deeper and more abiding love.  F Beckett's excuses for hurting Taryn over and over again.  And I'm pretty much over Taryn's martyr complex.

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