Contemporary Romance

Review: One Wicked Lick from the Drummer by Ainslie Paton

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Title: One Wicked Lick from the Drummer 
Author: Ainslie Paton
Genre: Contemporary romance, Rockstar, Second chance
Release Date: 18 June 2020

Author's links:

My rating: 4.5 Stars


Blurb

As the wildly exciting drummer in an up-and-coming band, Grip was at the top of Mina’s list of hot drummers to hook-up with.

She’d promised herself that after she nailed him, she’d quit her groupie life, finish her finance degree and become her own rock star.

Fifteen years later, she’s right on track, a polished professional investment advisor, her goth-look and the name she used back then a distant memory.

Except the new client in the boardroom is her old obsession, more sexy and famous than ever, and her promotion to partner depends on making him happy.

With her clothes on.

He’ll never guess who she was, so her secret was safe, until her obsession comes roaring back—and Grip remembers the one girl he could never forget.

Review 

This is the final book in a trio of standalones of contemporary deliciously tropey celebrities romances. I enjoyed a lot the first two, with the first one being my favourite. I was looking forward to the 3rd one and it turned out just as good as I expected it to be. 

It’s a second chance rockstar romance, sort of opposites attract. She was a groupie with a list of rockstars to bang, now is all prim and proper financial advisor. He is the same wild drummer, all heart and music. They meet 15 years later and BOOM! the attraction is instant and irresistible. 

I liked how they reconnect (while she keeps her true identity from him). Lots of sexy times, lots of music and I especially loved how it was presented as an integral part of his identity and his life. I liked getting glimpses of his band and best friends, the cameos of the MCs from the first two book were just perfect. Still, the story is very much focused on the MCs and their relationship, lots of inner conflict.  

What didn’t fully work for me was how she suddenly confided and sought the advice of her co-worker and not her best friend. It felt out of the blue and out of character for her but in the end it's a minor detail that didn't affected much my overall enjoyment of the story.

It's a quick, sexy read, perfect escape and reminder to let our wild side out even if it’s just once in a while. 

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Here are my reviews of the previous two books in the series which I can highly recommend as well:


Ainslie Paton

Review: One Kiss from the King of Rock

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Title: One Kiss from the King of Rock
Author: Ainslie Paton
Genre: Contemporary romance, Rockstar, Second chance
Release Date: 16 April 2020

Author's links:


My rating: 4.5 Stars


Blurb

Evie Tice won’t kiss her ex, Jay Endicott, ever again. But she wants to. Burns for it. Half the adult population of the world does, because he’s a rock god who can apparently light up the stage. She wouldn’t know. When he quit on her, she made sure to block him from her life and stick to easy breezy hook-ups.

But Jay is back, sexier than ever, with the first leg of his global tour and her brothers’ band opens for him. As their social media manager, Evie can’t avoid Jay, but she can use him, to get off and get even like he once used her.

There’s one little issue. No kissing, because if Evie kisses Jay, she’s going to fall in love with him all over again. 


Review

I loved the first book in the series and read this one right after it, well ahead of its release. I enjoyed this one very much as well though it has a different vibe than the first. It's an over-the-top angsty second-chance rockstar romance - tropey and sexy and very moving.

Evie and Jay reconnect 10 years after a nasty breakup of what they both saw as their once in a lifetime , first and last love. They start with lots of anger, a deep grudge that is eating them from the inside. But the chemistry is there leading them making a sex pact before risking it all to be honest with each other. 

We see some bits of the rockstar world, though the main focus was on the internal conflict. There was a lot about how they have changed, who they are now and what they want. 

I was happy to see both of them as successful, happy with what they do. She has her own business, she is good at what she does and is in no way dependent o him. His success is also well deserved and this put them on an equal footing which I very much liked. 

They managed to overcome the hurt from the past (outside forces were at play back then and now they they were grown up to forgive and move on). His betrayal at present felt huge though, monumental because it was a sign he didn't know her now and that was difficult to accept/overcome. But it also prompted her to be honest with herself and let the music back in her life, this time on her own terms.

I am not happy with the reconciliation with her father and what he did, they all forgave him all too easily in my opinion, for something that affected his whole family and and in a way changed the course of their lives.

It's an intense, passionate romance that I can highly recommend. 

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Contemporary Romance

Review: The Inside Track by Tamsen Parker

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Title: The Inside Track (License to Love #2)
Author: Tamsen Parker
Genre/Themes: Rockstar romance, Mental illness
Release date: 26 Feb 2019

Author’s links: Website / Facebook / Reader Group / Twitter

My rating: 3.5 Stars

Blurb

Love might mean coming as you are, but staying is a different matter.

Nick Fischer is a screw-up; everyone knows it and they’re not afraid to tell him so. The only thing he’s got going for him is that he plays a reliable rhythm guitar for License to Game, and his big fat bulldog, Princess Fiona, is so ugly she’s cute.

Dempsey Lawrence is a former child star turned financial advisor, and while she’s curious about the hot mess of a man who’s her co-panelist for a presentation on financial literacy, she has no intention of pursuing anything with him. Too loud, too crass, too wild, Nick is altogether too much. Plus, he’s famous, and she is so over stardom and everything that comes with it.

Except that when Dempsey gives Nick an inch, he takes a mile, and she finds that she doesn’t mind so much. Until Nick brings the pitfalls of stardom to Dempsey’s doorstep, then all the attraction in the world might not be enough to promise a happily ever after.

Review

This was an engaging romance between a rockstar hero with ADHD and a former child star now financial consultant with agoraphobia.

I mostly enjoyed this romance and found both characters interesting. I liked the hero and the way his ADHD was presented, especially at the beginning. His POV become more challenging to read as the story progressed though I mostly enjoyed it. I wanted some more depth, a bit more seriousness/angst if you like. He was too accepting, too easygoing, to the point that it seem he didn’t care enough. 

The romance had a well done consent, a bit of femdom and was very sex positive (there is a male sex worker as a side character who was an awesome friend in addition).

The heroine had developed agoraphobia after traumatic sexual experiences as a teen. She was in a bad family situation no real support network apart from people who worked for her in one way or another. They have become her family over time and her only close relationships. Building a life that she can manage and feeling more or less happy. He brought new light into her world, stirred things up. But also cause her a lot of stress. His star status, the attention he attracted was really bad for her mental health. I found this aspect of the story the least convincing. She didn’t leave her house but had a celebrity boyfriend who brought his bandmates and friends over (with her consent but it caused her a panic attack), put her live on stage via chat, had a stalker attack him in her house. I feel it was all too much for her to deal with. 

We see them discussing it and trying hard to balance things out but I am not convinced how they would make it work in the long term. It was a matter of compromise and they both seemed committed to it and put a lot of effort and thought into it, but in the end I feel it was all much for her to be able to deal with it.

The second half was a bit messy, too many things going on, some over the top plot elements detracted from my overall enjoyment of the story. I loved how he worked out his grand gestured with the help of his friends and how fitting it was.

Overall it was a nice romance with interesting characters where I wanted some more depth and conflict and a little less drama. I'm not fully sold on their HEA but the HFN was solid in my mind.

CW: panic attacks, stalker, breaking and entering, knife attack

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Contemporary Romance

Review: Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh

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Title: Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss #3)
Author: Nalini Singh
Date of publication: 6 Oct 2015
Genre: Romance, Musicians

Author's links:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My rating: 3 Stars


Synopsis

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

Review

I love Nalini Signh's PNR series Psy-changeling - the world building and the plotlines are so complex and rich and imaginative and the romance always swept me off my fit.

The Rock Kiss series is a hit or miss for me - I enjoyed David and Thea's novella, Rock Courtship and Rock Hard (Gabriel and Charlotte's story) is my favourite in the series so far. This book, very much like the first, didn't work well for me.

It's a friends-to-lovers story, with a bit of second chance romance - two tropes I quite enjoy reading. It's a slow burn, far too slow with a lot of angst and despite the HEA, I was left disappointed with a number of things.

Kit was nice but not great. I understood where she was coming from and I could accept her infatuation/love for Noah despite all the things he did to hurt her. She came off as too good to be true at times but I liked her overall until a specific moment towards the end when she made what a consider an irresponsible and  plain wrong decision.

Noah was a very interesting character - bad boy rocker, a player on the outside but a deeply scarred person, bitter and disappointed and scared on the inside. He tried to keep Kit at the distance, too ashamed of his past, unable to accept her love. His reaction to what had happened to him was heart-breaking and the way he went about his life because of that was not healthy or healing.

I felt the story showed that it was Kit who saved him, that (true) love had this all-healing superpower and the message that you only need love to make things right is not one I'm really comfotable with. What went like a very much realistic, more or less plausible story suddenly lost all conenction with reality for me. It became of fairytale of the power of love which I don't mind on principle, I enjoy reading it in fact. It's just that it didn't fit with the trauma Noah had suffered. The problems he's been struggling with for decades don't just disappear on their own because a nice woman has fallen in love with him.

I can see how their connection can help them both be happier, content but to refuse and totally disregard any professional help is not OK for me. I was a rather unpleasantly by this development of the story, furthermore, Ms Singh had already dealt with similar issues of past hurt/trauma in a much convincing way in the previous book in the series, Rock Hard.

It may appear that I'm fixating on just one aspect of the story but it really bothered me and it's the main reason why I didn't end up liking this story very much.

There was moments of the magically beautiful writing I've come to expect from Ms Singh and Noah could be great at times but it wasn't enough to make me like this story more than OK. 

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iTunes / ARe

My reviews of the rest of the Rock Kiss series: 

Contemporary Romance

Review: Softer Than Steel by Jessica Topper

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Title: Softer Than Steele (Love and Steel #2)
Author: Jessica Topper
Date of publication: 18 Aug 2015
Genre/themes: Contemporary Romance, Musicians

Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Add to Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis

As rock star "Riff Rotten", Rick Rottenberg has enjoyed all the perks that fame can offer, especially now that he's reunited with his former band mate, Adrian "Digger" Graves. But despite his success, Rick is a mess. Still reeling from the death of his wife years ago and terrified his demons will end his career, he agrees to seek help for his anxiety.

Burned by a musician in the past, Sidra Sullivan has closed her heart to love. So when Rick walks into her yoga studio, she wants nothing to do with him--until the bad boy shows an unexpected soft side.

As Sidra and Rick work through their painful pasts, they realize just how strongly opposites can attract. But when a crisis threatens the delicate balance they've forged, they'll discover if their love is strong enough to weather another storm or just too broken to survive...

Review


This is the second full-length novel in the Love and Steel series and there was a sequel novella to book 1, Louder Than Love. It can be read as a standalone though I recommend following the whole series, these are some fabulous rockstar romances and always have something more in them.

I'd describe Rick and Sidra's story as an engaging, a rockstar romance of its own kind. Ms Topper gives the reader a beautiful mix of the world of rock-and-roll and the curious spiritual and physical world of yoga, mixed with Indian  (Eastern) philosophy and some Irish exuberance.

The story is told from dual POV and the romance is lovely but it's not the sole focus of the story. It's a beautiful tale of overcoming loss, of dealing with stress and anxiety, finding inner peace and learning to love (again).

Ms Topper masterfully creates complex characters, modern-day people with modern-day problems and add the gentles touches of philosophy and music.

One of the things I really liked in the story was the strong presence of NY in it. The author literally takes you there on NY streets and cafes and parks and yoga clubs and music stores. As someone who has never been to New York, or even USA, it was a fascinating journey and felt totally immersed in the world of Sidra (and Rick) where the city and the neighbourhood where she lived made a lot of who she was.

It's a slow-building romance, both Rick and Sidra have too many issues of their own to deal with. They don't really come together until late in the story. As I romance reader I wanted to romance to be stronger, more present, all-encompassing, but at the same time I appreciate how complex and multi-layered the lives the characters were and their slow coming together felt right and fitting. Like some of the other books Ms Topper, it's a very character driven story where the romance is strong and engaging but not the only focus. We experience the life of all the characters, including the supporting ones, in its richness and complexity.

I absolutely loved the mystic elements in the story - the Indian philosophy which means so much for Sidra, the restored Jewish faith of Rick, the intersections between them and how they fitted in the very much modern lives of the characters. It's a soulful journey for both Rick and Sidra (for different reasons) and it resonated deeply with my own understanding of love as the coming together of soulmates.

What worked well for me was the way Ms Topper brought the spiritual/artistic elements in the story - the process of making music, writing lyrics, performing, the elements of religion and philosophy of life, the intimate personal dreams and aspirations on the one hand and the routine, everyday issues - medical problems, alcohol abuse, social and work pressure.

Recommended read for fans of skillful storytelling and eganging romance with mature characters!

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / BAM / Penguin

Louder Than Love (Love and Steel #1) - 4 stars
Deeper Than Dreams (Love and Steel #1.5) - 4 stars

Nalini Singh

Mini Review: Rock Courtship by Nalini Singh

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Title: Rock Courtship (Rock Kiss #1.5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Date of publication: 30 Sept 2014
Genre: Romance, Rock stars

Author's links:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My rating: 3.5 Stars



Synopsis


What happens when the Gentleman of Rock decides to play dirty?


A drummer for the hottest rock band on the planet, David has a single, powerful weakness: Thea, the band's publicist and the woman who steals his breath away with her every move.

Only problem is, Thea doesn't date clients--or musicians. Emotionally scarred by a cheating ex, she's not about to risk her heart with a man who has groupies buzzing around him like flies. Even if his sexy smile ties her up in knots.

What she doesn't know is that David is a one-woman man...and he's madly in love with her. David's determined to prove he's worth the risk, and willing to court her, step by exquisite step. Thea's about to discover just how long and hard this handsome drummer can play.

Mini Review

It’s a short novella about David, the drummer for School Choir and their PR manager and Molly’s sister, Thea. I can say that I liked the little we saw of David and Thea in book 1 and I enjoyed their romance more than Fox and Molly’s. Despite its short length it was a well-rounded story with likable characters.  

David lived to his nickname the Gentleman of Rock and his courting of Thea was both cute and sexy. I especially liked how his persistent he was without coming off as intimidating and obsessive. The memo exchange served as a fun game of seduction and was a pleasant surprise.

David was an all-around good guy – with his bandmates, with his family, with Thea. He was even a bit shy, avoiding the spotlight and that made him even more attractive than your typical bad boy rocker.  

Thea had legitimate reasons to be hesitant to start a relationship with David – he is her client and a famous musician. Her resistance felt genuine and not contrived, yet it seemed too much towards the end. I loved the chemistry, their sexy times were really hot.

There was a slow natural progression of their relationship and it is presented at the background of their family and professional lives.

Intense, passionate,. She had some issues and there was some drama at the end related to David but they all served to add complexity their characters and to present their relationship as it grows and ultimates becomes the love of their lives for both of them.

A sweet, sexy story which I can recommend to fans of rockstar romances,. We see more of Molly and Fox, as well as bits and pieces of Noah and Abe and I’m really looking forward to their stories. Noah’s mystery is most intriguing. 

Purchase links: iBooks / Kindle / Kobo / Nook

Blog Tour

Blog Tour, Excerpt and Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

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Title: Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss # 1)
Author: Nalini Singh
Date of publication: 9 Sept 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance, Rockstars

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Purchase links: Amazon / iTunes / Kobo

My rating: 3 Stars





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.

**first seen at The Rock Stars of Romance**

Additional excerpts can be found here: 

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Meet the Author
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.

Stalk her: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads


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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Giveaway
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