Synopsis

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction. 

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

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Excerpt

Fox hadn’t become the lead singer of one of the best-selling rock bands in history by being a shrinking violet. No, he went after what he wanted, no holds barred. And the raw promise he could feel between him and Molly? He had to know where it would lead, the need so strong he hadn’t felt anything like it since the day he’d figured out that music was his escape, the air in his lungs.

Which was why he was leaning against the wall beside Molly’s apartment at five that afternoon, a guitar by his side.

The elevator doors opened at a quarter after the hour, Molly going motionless two steps outside of it, the doors closing silently at her back. Yeah, she hadn’t expected him, but Fox was ready to work with that. Waiting patiently as she took a deep breath and completed the trek down the corridor, he drew in the scent of her, his gaze lingering on the fluttering pulse in her neck.

“How did you get past security?”

Fox smiled slowly at the blurted-out question, wondering if Molly knew how bad she was at hiding her emotions. He liked it, liked that he saw the real Molly, not an illusion she’d created to tempt him—not that she had to do anything but smile to tempt him. “I told you the security sucks.”

Unable to resist, he reached out to run his finger down one creamy cheek flushed with a mix of surprise, passion, and, he was certain, sweet, hot feminine anger. His guess was borne out when Molly unlocked her door with jittery hands and put down her handbag on one corner of the bench, her fingers trembling before she curled them into her palms. “You’re breaking the rules.”

“What rules?” Closing the door, he leaned back on it and willed her to face him. Much as he loved the shape of her from the back, he liked watching those expressive eyes whisper her mood to him.

Shoulders tight, she turned. “This was supposed to be a one-night stand.”

“Ah.” Folding his arms over the plain black of his T-shirt, he said, “How about a one-month stand instead?” He knew he had to play this exactly right. Molly was wary of him, and yeah, he could understand why. To have her in his life beyond a fleeting instant, he’d have to win her trust.

She jerked up her head. “What?”

“Why not? I like you. You like me.” He smiled—because the reason Molly had needed to jerk up her head was that she’d been staring at his chest. “Admit it.”

Sitting down on the bench, she began to unzip her boots, very obviously not looking at him. “You’re okay for a rock star.”

He wanted to bite her, then pet her until she was limp and languid in his arms. “We burn up together.” Deliberately modulating his voice—his instrument—for maximum effect, low and bedroom rough, he saw her fingers stutter on the zipper. “I’m here for a month. It’s an easy equation.”

When the words “Let me think about it” fell from her mouth, he thought she might’ve been as startled as he was, her lips parting on a slight gasp—as if to call back the declaration.

Additional excerpts can be found here: 

First Glimpse at Maryse / Natasha is a Bookjunkie / 
Vilma's Book Blog / Dear Author / 
Smexy Books / Heroes & Heartbreakers 

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NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a hot and wickedly tempting rock star. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Once Rock Addiction is out, swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the book.

Review

3 Stars

I love Ms Singh Psy-Changeling series. I love the romance, the suspense, the whole world building, the lyrical writing style, everything. I was excited and curious when I first heard she is writing a contemporary romance, a rockstar one at that. While I like the overall story and even loved some elements in it, I kept comparing it to her PNR series and it came short.

The story of Fox and Molly starts with instalust and very, very instalove on his part which works for me in a paranormal setting but I find it annoying in contemporary romance. The sudden cravings, possessive and protective instincts are so unrealistic and they take a lot off the authenticity of the story from the start.

The book itself is divided into two parts. The first focuses on the struggles the characters face in order to be together felt real and I was curious how they will manage to overcome all the obstacles in their way. Molly shied away from publicity and hid the effects of a painful personal drama which happened when she was a teenager. Fox, the lead singer of a super successful rock band, wanted to try a relationship, despite the media intrusion in his life and he also had painful secrets from his past making him reluctant to trust.

I like his perseverance, never giving up on them, always trying to find a way to make things between them work out. Molly, on the other hand, often acted immature, never really believed in them and it took some time and a lot of effort on his part and some gentle encouragement by her best friend for her to take risk of being with Fox.

The second part of the story shows us their struggles as a couple. There was a lot of drama and scandal and not much growth in both of them.In my opinion there was too much sex in both parts. There was just a few detailed scenes but it was constantly mentioned in passing and I felt took the place of a deeper, more honest relationship.

There were some cheesy moments and quite a few cliches which made the whole story seem rather New Adult and lacking depth and seriousness. I don't generally mind predictability in romance but not when I can guess every next step in the story.

On the positive side, I liked the secondary characters and especially enjoyed a lot the interactions between the Fox's bandmates and their acceptance of Molly in his life. The parallel romance plots were very interesting - David and Thea (whose novella is coming next) and Charlie and T-Rex. The titbits we were given into these relationship hold a promise for some exciting additions to the series.

Overall, it is a nice rockstar romance with somewhat NA feel and with some cliches for the genre, yet it opens the door for some more exciting stories to come in this series.

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