Rock Bottom (Tristan & Danika) Paperback – November 13, 2013

I reviewed this at MustReadBooksOrDie with my friend Shelley!Shel: I knew when I started getting the F-bomb texts from Courtney that this novel was going to be emotional...because usually it's ME that sends obscene texts!!! Court: Yeah. Sigh, I think they started at 43%...so buckle up buttercup is my sound advice!Shel: If you've read the Up in the Air trilogy you know that something went terribly terribly wrong between Danika and Tristan. This book finally ...FINALLY gives us the back story to their awful break up/break down/broken-ness. The prologue warns us that this will be a sad tale and that was no lie. Court: ACK! More information is available for me out there. I apologize to the R.K. Lilley gods that I have not finished that series. I have such good intentions (about pretty much everything) and haven't. Let me just say that fever is revived. James Cavendish is delish.Shel: We begin the story with Danika and Tristan still reeling from Jared's death; they are both a mess but Tristan just cannot seem to get his shit together. He seeks solace in Danika, his friends, drugs and alcohol, the band...and nothing seems to alleviate the grief and pain that remains, except Danika...which we all know cannot be healthy. As their story progresses, Danika tries to soften the grief with love and sex and kindness and zero judgment. When Tristan's not around, she throws herself into work, dance, school, Frankie...she's determined to keep busy and work through her own sadness at losing Jared and watching Tristan self destruct. The bottom line with these two, though, is that as great as they are together they are in a place in their lives where they just seem to incessantly damage each other. From one major event to another, they are arguing, making up, sinking into their love bubble, and REPEAT but never really moving forward..and at some point even taking steps backwards. Co-dependent? Enabler/enablee? Unhealthy? You want them to work so much because they obviously love each other so much but sometimes ...is love enough to superglue the shards of a broken relationship back together again? We will have to wait to see since book 3 doesn't come out until early 2014.Court: Oh my gosh. Do they have the worst luck ever or what? But sadly, like you've explained...some of it isn't luck. It is seriously the free will of Tristan that keeps him sinking down into the black hole he finds himself in, and Danika just trying not to rock the boat and not talking to her support system (Bev & Jerry) and finding a resolution. They make some BIG damn decisions, and every time things seem to come together for them, they fall apart in such a big irreparable way. This story was absolutely beautiful in my opinion. It is dirty and sexy and what is it that Jamie McGuire says..."Not your mother's romance..." Yeah. It is definitely not that. I have seen relationships like theirs in action with friends in high school with the dysfunction and fights (Thank God no drugs) but it is real and it hurts and I think these two have to fix themselves before they can fix each other!Shel: I loved the way R.K. Lilley approached the writing in this novel. The melancholy undercurrent set the perfect tone for the events as they unraveled. The sense that this novel is Danika and Tristan looking back at what a mess they made..the hindsight...makes it that much sadder. I hated that Danika always had to be so strong and yet had so much respect and admiration for refusing to let the bad define her. And, I hated that Tristan was so grief-stricken that he continually disappointed us (even still I completely loved him too!). These two went through so much together--R.K. Lilley definitely put them through the emotional ringer--and I cannot wait to see how she resolves their story!Court: You'll notice that there a few words that Danika says throughout her monologues that clearly foreshadow the future. That made me sad. But I still hoped through most of the novel that it might not be as bad and as soul crushing as it was rumored to be. It was. Don't be afraid though. This is by far one of my favorite series of this entire year, because do you know how much it made me feel reading it? A lot. So much. I waited hours until Shelley was done reading and writing her review to put my thoughts together. I've had some weird emotional crap going on and yesterday I cried while writing a review. Today...I was laying in my bed having finished this book...I laid my kindle down...I thought about it...and just cried. Cried a lot. Because this is serious real life crap. And as I have said probably way too much in this review, I loved every single second of it. Tristan still has my heart, and I hope that the final installment will maybe not "gut me like a fish" as I so eloquently was tweeting Ms. Lilley this morning!We reviewed the first book in the series here so we hope that you will give these a try and be all sorts of masochistic with us.Shelley: 5 StarsCourtney: 5 Stars!

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the characters and the story, but I hated the characters and story at the same time. Sounds crazy, I know! I felt so discombobulated and emotionally strung out by the last page (which I predicted what would happen by the perfect title of the book). I just never expected to be punched in the gut over and over until I was left breathless.Rock Bottom picks up where Bad Things ended. Tristan and Danika are trying to move on with their lives after the tragic loss of Tristan’s brother. They are crazy, madly, insanely in love with one another, but they are flawed and damaged characters with issues that go skin deep. Tristan’s band is moving to LA to record their first album and Danika has stayed in Las Vegas to attend school, dance, and stay on as her friend’s nanny. Tristan and Danika are living separate lives but miss each other like crazy. But they do get to see each other and, when they are together, they are inseparable. Still, the distance is taking an emotional toll on their relationship. Tristan’s band is beginning to rise to the top of stardom and Danika supports Tristan every step of the way, even though it’s hard on her. She’s afraid she might lose him if she doesn’t hold on to him tightly. As the story continues, their relationship is put through the wringer - and tested repeatedly - when drugs, alcohol, groupies, grief, distance, betrayal, and tragedy continues to get in the way of their happiness. Will they be able to persevere through it all? Will their powerful, all-consuming love be enough to save them?Oh, Tristan… How I love thee. He’s one of my favorite tortured, possessive, wild, hard, utterly sexy, insatiable, and intense Alpha heroes. He loves Danika fiercely and would do anything, anything for her. But life has dealt him a bad hand when he lost his brother and the blows kept on coming. Slowly things get worse with Tristan as he continues down a dark path where he is drowning in his sorrow and guilt. He doesn’t know how to deal with his issues. With his savior complex, he wants to save and protect the ones he loves but, at the same time, he’s lost – so incredibly, undeniably lost, and can’t seem to save himself.Danika loves Tristan immensely, but loving Tristan is not easy – and maybe she loves him too much. She has a hard time saying no to him, which enables Tristan when he begins to go down a destructive path. When he starts to change, she would forgive him time and again. Danika fears she would push him too far and feared of losing him. And honestly, I understood why she felt helpless to the point she didn’t know what to do. If someone doesn’t want your help, then there isn’t anything you can do. Danika is not without her own flaws and insecurities, but she does relentlessly try to make things work between them.I’m addicted to messy, complicated relationships with imperfect love and deeply flawed characters, which is why I’m drawn to Tristan and Danika’s story. While I thought Bad Things was a whirlwind of crazy, it's mild compared to the emotional turmoil Rock Bottom put me through. This book shattered my heart. What Tristan and Danika experience was painful, sad… punishing. It was like watching a train wreck careening out control… in slow motion. The devastating mess that became Tristan and Danika in the aftermath left me feeling raw – which brings up the question: Does this book end in a cliffhanger? Sort of. You will be reeling from the series of events that happen to them. All of their bad choices finally catch up to them. Their lives will never be the same. But, before you stop reading on the final page, there is a little teaser for book 3, Lovely Trigger, which might console your broken heart. It also made me want the last book even more!Though this book is painfully heartbreaking and soul-shattering, we still get to see Tristan and Danika happy as a couple. When they are good together, they are awesome. And the chemistry between them is loaded with frenzied passion, desire, and love. The sexy times are explosive and there are tons of them. TONS. I love how they can’t keep their hands off each other – they’re insatiable."I love you," he rasped out. He said it all the time. He didn't hold it back, now that he'd admitted it, but it still gave me butterflies, every single time."I love you," I spoke softly into his ear."He gripped me harder. "I can't ever lose you, Danika. I'm not sure I'd survive it."Tristan and Danika are one of my utmost favorite passionate, dysfunctional couples. I love how R.K. Lilley doesn’t pull any punches with them. There is nothing fluffy and light about their story. It’s dark and gritty. Miz Lilley took a couple that is madly in love with a future together and then broke them down, until they were stripped bare and broken. Rock Bottom left me with a bleeding heart with all the crazy highs and lows, intense drama, shocking twists, and raw emotions. So, even though I said I loved and hated this book at the same, I genuinely loved it when it’s all said and done.Rating: B+Heat: Hot--Romantic Book Affairs

Wow! that's what I think!This was a beautiful story of love, with a whole lot of heartache thrown in. Danika and Tristan such a passionate couple, enjoying life and each others company. But there was too much interference on the periphery of their lives, he was still mourning the death of his little brother Jared, Danika has such a big heart, for such a petite girl! She was the glue that kept them together, but every time she was knocked down, she squared her shoulders and got on with the life they had.I loved the part where I thought was the turning point where they were going to get their happily ever after, then you threw a curve ball right in and we got back on the roller coaster that was Tristan and Danika.Oh how I detested Dean, if ever someone got what was coming to them, he certainly did, thank goodness my stomach was in knots with what he was describing wheat he was going to do n the desert.Poor Danika, she has been through so much in her short life and when her sister showed up pregnant I am ashamed to say I thought the worse about Tristan, when Dahlia finally revealed who the daddy was, I offered a silent apology to Tristan.She made the right choice and after reading the part at James wedding, I was / am hoping with a big smile on my face!This book gave me such a myriad of emotions, which was really hard to put down! Loved the sass is Danika and the sweet side of Tristan, I have my fingers crossed for their HEA!

I enjoyed book 1, book 2 is full of raw emotions and situations, things that you never expect to happen, Its well written, but for me there was to much going on to make it believable like book #1. Dont get me wrong, its another seriously sexy and incredibly erotic novel, but I think this time round, Danika let him walk all over her, i also think they let things go to far and get out of hand. A lot of the unanswered questions from book #1 are answered in this book, But for me personally, it was gutting and devastating to see a couple that was so much in love with each other put each other through hell, and then have pain added to it all. I wanted to give them both a bloody good shake in this book, and say your adults sort it, I felt like he took advantage at times, he ends up doing what he wants at times, yet she tolerated it? despite feeling sad and alone??? At time I didnt feel as if he put Danika as a priority at times when she should have been. It was almost as if as a couple they were powerless to overcome any obstacles hurled at them, My heart really broke for them both when they both lose something ver precous not once bt twice, and what happens to Danika is also heartbreaking. I gave this book 4 stars purely because, I did expect those to be the final book for Tristen and Danika as originally planned. I was sad to read that it isnt, and they still havent got that happy ending they deserve. I have to wait until the 3rd instalment (paying more money) to see if they finally get a happy ending!! I also am not a fan of books that seem to emphasise on raw sex, with out a condom, it seems to be the trend among writers, with out giving though to younger readers! Yes there are younger readers!!

I don't know where to begin...I don't know what to say...Fabulous writing...heartwrenching...sexy & hot...Tristan & Danika are meant to be...two parts of one soul but how much can one couple stand before breaking?Tristan is chased by demons...needing to block everything out to cope...you know how this May end up but the journey to that point is gut wrenching and when it's upon you you just feel almost destroyed by it.This book is very cleverly written giving hints as to what things may happen in the future especially in Danika's POV causing a sense of foreboding throughout this book...I could never relax reading this but that's kind of the point.I feel shattered by it...I feel as though I have lived it...I feel everythingSublime writing once again...it's not to be missed ...I promise it will be worth the read

Rock Bottom is the sequel to bad things, and this book is always what I feared when turning a page in Bad Things. I knew the decline was just around the corner, I just didn't know that I would have to wait for the free fall in the second book. Once again the passion between Tristan and Danika is all consuming, but jealousy plus drugs and alcohol does not make for a happy ending. I did feel the chapters from Frankie's point of view were completely unnecessary, in fact they are what prevented me giving this book 5 stars, S&M didn't need to be incorporated, and I found it rather detrimental to the book. The ending of this book definitely made me want to read the last in the series.

I came across RK Lilley via her Up in the Air series, which, barring the second book in the series which appeared to be written badly by someone else to meet a deadline, I thought was original and pretty darn good. I love Danika and Tristan's story even more - it appears that the author has matured as a writer and the characters and flow of the story is many times better. This book follows the couple as they come to terms with maintaining a new relationship in the face of many obstacles - Tristan's touring, jealous exes - all the ingredients to keep you turning those pages! Lots of wonderfully written angst and sensuality. I gave the book a high 4.7/5 stars because I felt that sometimes the bedroom scenes (and I use the term 'bedroom' euphemistically) were a teensy little bit clinically written - this worked in her Up in the Air series but for some reason didn't always feel the same here. They're still awesome (and there are a lot of them!) - I'm being picky given the high standard of this series. Highly recommended.