Read my reviews of previous books in the Pretty Broken series:
Pretty Obsessed (#1) | Pretty Toxic (#2)
This book features the, to this point, least-known member of the band to readers. Gray sets us up to immediately care about Alister as much as the others, however, since this book opens with him close to rock bottom. My need to give him a hug warred with my desire to see band manager Alexander (and Alister’s nominal “boyfriend”) get his due. With Alister’s perspective, so many of the issues plaguing Pretty Broken came into focus as less about the band members and more about how intentionally broken outside forces have manipulated them into becoming.
At the same time, events conspire to bring Alister back in contact with Kingsley, a musician with whom he has enough baggage to make up an entire luggage train. We don’t spend much time on that past beyond glimpses of memory, and part of me would have loved to see more of their shared backstory. But though we don’t get much, Gray manages to still make the major conflict of this book as much about their shared past as their trying to move beyond it in a way that is best for both men.
Even as Alister and Kingsley reconnect, Alexander is still an inextricable part of the picture in his position as manager. The members of Pretty Broken finally communicating and working together as a unit, even if against a common foe, is as satisfying as the romance arc. Though this book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, it’s clear that the saga of this band is far from over. Gray has teased us with the dynamic between Caspian and Iris from book 1, and though they’ve regained a certain amount of control, Alexander has made it clear that he’s not leaving without a fight.