In Eliza Bates’ new novel Scars, when drunken hotel heir Luke Klein bumps into underemployed waitress Anabelle Cahill, he convinces her to help him out by briefly pretending to be his new PR hire to impress his father. But that unfolds into a very real job, even on less-than-real credentials, and suddenly Anabelle has no time to dwell on her part or her own problems. Without revealing too much of the plot, Anabelle’s problem drinking has led to terrible repercussions, so she has a special sympathy for Luke’s own problems.

Although there are still elements of romance, one of the nicest things about this book is that there isn’t a clear Good Guy / Bad Boy triangle. Steven is pretty honest about his feelings for Anabelle, he enjoys her company, with and without clothes, even if he doesn’t particularly want a girlfriend. This historian, academic, and flirt was exactly the kind of guy I wanted to have a beer with, but I wanted better for Anabelle.

And Luke? Anabelle could see his tortured bad-boy persona miles away, but she still seemed to have a special sympathy for his problems. Again, I wanted better for Anabelle, she deserves someone great,  but I did like how focusing on Luke and her new job helped her begin to move past her problems.

This is the first of a series, so not everything was resolved. I really enjoyed meeting these characters so I look forward to Anabelle’s next steps in the next book!