A Perfect ending to a perfect trilogy!

Okay, I've tried writing this one half a dozen times. From day one I've wanted to start my blog with a review of one of Elle Casey's books. I wanted it to be special, perfect even but that's just not me so I'll just speak from the heart instead. I ended up reading this one twice in a row which is something very rare for me to do. I just couldn't help myself.

Trouble is the third and final book in the Rebel series and is my favorite (more on this in a little bit). It was a hard choice but there's just something about Alissa and especially Collin who really won me over in the first book: Rebel, when he helped save Teagan. I've been looking forward to seeing more of Collin and finding out what makes him tick and I was not disappointed. Elle Casey knows how to tell a great story and it's like she's a wish granting fairy when it comes to this series. After reading Rebel I wrote in my review that I really hoped that Quinn would get with one of Rebel's brothers. In fact here were my exact words: Actually I’m hoping maybe she’ll fall for one of Rebels brothers and vice versa, then they could be one giant happy family. And what happened? My wish was granted! Both of them! Quinn got with Mick aka Hellion and they all became one big happy family in the end. Then in my review for Hellion I said: I really hope she (Alissa) plays a huge role in Trouble. (hint, hint) And what happens? She plays a huge role in Trouble. The book is from her perspective. I don't want to skip right to the end but EVERYTHING I wanted from this series happened, maybe not in the exact ways I imagined them but that's awesome too. I love surprises but every single wish I had for the characters were granted. Honestly, the fairy godmother has nothing on Elle Casey :)

Okay so we met Alissa in the last book when Quinn and Teagan rescued her and invited her to come and stay with them. Colin (Trouble) seems to have some odd phobia of pregnant women. Maybe it's contagious? Hehe, the whole thing was pretty cute and he avoided her like the plague up until that road trip where Quinn went on a mission to get some info against Teagan's evil step mom who has control of her dad's company and cut her off in the first book. That trip was the first real bonding moment for Alissa and Colin. I wouldn't say it was their "first moment" but it played a huge role in what was to come. Now in Trouble we finally get to see Alissa's point of view and find out about Colin at long last and boy was it worth the wait.

Alissa has been moping around the house, refuses to interact with anyone and tries to keep her face hidden behind her ereader so she won't have to deal with or face anything in life since her pregnancy (and she actually has a very good reason for being like she is but I'm not even going to talk about that one. It's just something I don't want to ruin for anyone. She has no plans for after she gives birth, no plans for her future, no plans for anything. She's just content (or so she thinks) to float along and just be but there's one little hitch in her plans and that's Colin.

"You said you could do with something different. But maybe you say that because you just want to stay miserable. Maybe Quin and Teagan could help you to feel happy again, but you don't want to let them because you're too focused on punishing yourself." "What?" My blood is starting to boil. I'm not even sure I've fully processed what he's saying , or that I'm sure about what he means, but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it.

There's something about him that makes her pulse quicken when he's near even though they're from two different worlds plus he acts like she has a contagious virus and spends most of his time in his room trying to avoid her and after the two of them are forced to try yet another one of Teagan's inedible concoctions that she whips up in the kitchen (she's a horrible cook), Collin actually talks to her for a bit. Shortly after Colin gets conned into going to the store to buy tampons for Teagan and insists that Alissa goes with him so he won't have to buy them and during that trip they truly have a moment. Alissa comes out of her shell she's been hiding under and Colin finally seems to no longer fear her worse than the plague.

He's just a guy bringing you to the grocery store so you can buy tampons for a friend. It's no big deal. I keep saying that to myself over and over, but by the time we get there, the silence between us has stretched so far and so wide, it's almost suffocatingly stressful.

There are just so many things to love about this book. I really enjoyed the relationship between Colin and Alissa. I didn't really notice it the first time I read the book but the second time it really struck me how perfect the two of them truly were for each other. I mean, Colin is a passionate person, an artist and is a very sensitive person. He's protective and carries way too much burden on his shoulders. He blames himself for something that truly wasn't his fault and he finds a kindred spirit in Alissa. He truly gets her even when she doesn't understand herself.

He stands up and faces me. "Nobody in this place understands that mindset more than me, okay? I wrote the fucking book on it. You don't need to hid your shit from me."

Colin is the perfect badboy and the kind I like reading about. Yeah he gets into fights Hellion winded up in the hospital after one of those fights. He's mean when it comes to fighting and exactly the kind of guy that you want on your side. All the women find him sexy, he totally knows how to turn on the charm and he's Trouble. But what he isn't is cruel. He's not a jerk. He doesn't go around talking down to people or doing bad things outside of fighting that is. He is a good person. He came to Teagan's rescue and he barely even knew her. He has issues, he's not perfect but he's a good person. He went out of his way to help Alissa and was there for her. He stood up to bat and knocked the ball out of the park when it counted. I also love the fact that he never lies. Except for one lie that he told on behalf of Alissa. That says something not only about his character but also his heart. He broke his own rule of never lying and told a lie just to help her out. He is a complex character and getting to find out more about him just totally blew all of my expectations for his character out of the water. I liked him way more than I thought I would. I loved his character just as much as I loved Alissa.

Also I really enjoyed how the pregnancy was handled especially once Colin got over his initial fear of the unknown. I loved that he found her attractive. Poor Alissa was so worried about looking like a whale with a big tummy, rear, swollen ankles, etc. I think she just wasn't able to see the beauty in herself and motherhood for a while but Colin did and its just another thing I liked about his character.

If you love a good HEA then this is the series for you. All of the loose ends are taken care of. We get to find out what happens to Teagan's evil step mom, if Teagan finally gets the money that is rightfully hers and what happens to her dad's business. We get to see some more of Jersey and where he and Quinn's family are at after that horrible accident in the last book. Nobody is left out. Teagen, Rebel, Quinn and Mick are all taken care of and we even get to see Roach again and find out what happens to him. I've purposely left out one character that I really wanted to talk about but just couldn't do it without giving anything away. Let's just say it's so awesome the way things work out for everyone. Sometimes all it takes is a random encounter over a burger and a bit of kindness to make such a huge difference in someones life.

Every single one of Elle Casey's books makes my heart leap with joy. It was an awesome story and the ending was brilliant. There's just no other author out there who's stories make me feel quite this way. There are so many reasons why Elle Casey is my favorite author but this....this feeling is chief amongst them. It's hard to describe. Happiness, joy, content, love, hope, beauty, joy, yeah I know I said that one twice but every single one of her books make me feel like this and Trouble was no exception. I would say it's the best in the series. I loved all of the characters in each one of the books but finally getting to find out what happens to everyone mixed in with Alissa and Collin just put this one over the top for me. I rarely ever read a book twice in a row but I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to experience it and relive that same feeling all over again. It was even better the second time. I came away with some new emotions and thoughts. I saw a few things I missed the first time.

I literally cried at this part. If you haven't read the book yet then you might want to skip this as it could be a bit of a spoiler. Not a big one but still, I'd hate to ruin any of this for you.

[spoiler]
Someone comes in and gives me some stitches in my nether regions. But none of it matters to me much. I can't take my eyes off of my daughter. She's drinking from my breast. A real live itty bitty person, perfectly formed, is lying in my arms, staring up at me with dark blue eyes like she's lost.
"I'm here, baby girl." I say, stroking her fuzzy down-covered cheek. "I'm here. You don't need to worry. You're not alone." She closes her eyes and falls asleep, and I join her a few minutes later.
[/spoiler]

Just an excellent book and the prefect conclusion to the Rebel series. If you haven't read Rebel and Hellion yet then do so. The dialogue is always fun and each character has their own sense of humor, especially Teagan. Her stories always read way too fast but that has absolutely nothing to do with the page count and everything to do with the excellent pacing and storytelling of the author. In fact Trouble was a bit longer than the previous books by at least 40 pages. It's just so good that it's over with before you know it. Time flies when you're having fun and I had so much fun reading this book. I give it five stars but I truly think that all of the book sites need one extra rating above the fifth star that says "Awesome like Elle Casey!" I can't say enough good things about this book and the Rebel series in general and cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next :) ( )