What looks like just a spoiled young man acting out soon becomes the basis for a gut-wrenching journey of revealing past abuse and working toward healing.Ĭheever clings to Blake for support and soon falls for the older man, but Blake still has a wealth of demons and old scars himself and can’t bring himself to trust that the feelings Cheever currently has for him are ever going to be something long-term and lasting. It’s Blake who is sent to help Cheever due to his older brother, Mackey, taking a fall during their concert and ending up in the hospital at the same time. Cheever is in his last semester, finishing his undergrad degree in Art, when a final class project critique destroys the wall that is holding him together and he crashes spectacularly with a drug overdose and attempted suicide.

With Mackey and Blake now drug free for nine years and the other brothers settled down with families of their own, the entire group lives together at a huge compound in LA while not on tour. The Sanders band, Outbreak Monkey, has hit its stride and is on track to be one of the biggest stars in rock band history. This second book focuses on one of those extended members, Blake, and the youngest Sanders brother, Cheever. While it could possibly be read as a standalone novel, I would recommend reading these in order primarily because there is a wealth of relationship information in the first that will help you smoothly transition into the second novel and understand how tight knit this group of brothers is and how their extended family fits in. Paint it Black is the long-awaited sequel to Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane.

Paint It Black by Amy Lane