Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

Aug 3, 2016

Review: Wanderlust by Roni Loren

Title: Wanderlust
Author: Roni Loren
Publication Date: 7.19.2016
Series: N/A
Source: eARC from publisher
Purchase: Amazon

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
Restaurant critic Aubrey Bordelon is never at a loss for words to describe her meals in the fancy restaurants of New Orleans. But after her magazine’s high-profile music reporter falls ill, she finds herself out of her element and in a sea of screaming fans awaiting Wanderlust’s lead singer, Lex Logan. The sound of his voice gives her goosebumps, and the stage presence of the hard-bodied rock star takes her breath away. So when he pulls her onstage for a sexy stunt, she knows she’s in real trouble.
 
Lex doesn’t want to pretend that the sparks on stage between him and Aubrey never happened, but it certainly makes the fact that she’s writing a story on his band all the more dangerous. The last thing he needs is some nosy reporter revealing their problems to the world. But the sexy Southern belle doesn’t give up easily
, and soon he’s wondering if the best way to chase her off the story is to coax her into his bed… 

Review:
First off: Who do I need to coerce into making this a series? Because I needs me some more of dis.

Second: Who do I need to coerce to make this available in print? Because I needs it in all the formats it has.

WANDERLUST is just … perfection in a book. From start to finish, Roni Loren delivers in true Roni Loren fashion weaving a story with humor, heat and everything in between. It’s one of those books I wanted to just go on forever and ever because it’s so simply sweet and fun to read.

Aubrey is a fun heroine, but Lex is where it’s at. I loved every version of Lex: hot rocker Lex, hot hero Lex, hot asshole Lex, hot – you get where I’m going with this? There isn’t a scene where I don’t freaking love Lex in all ways. But Aubrey is a good balance to him and he to her; he challenges her when she shuts down and she grounds him when he gets a little intense. They work. There’s a give and take to their relationship that makes it believable.


This book has all the markings of the perfect springboard into a new series: a compelling and colorful cast of secondary characters and two main characters I need more snippets of in the future. So … Who do I have to coerce?

Aug 31, 2015

Review: Deep by Kylie Scott

Title: Deep
Author: Kylie Scott
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult, Musicians, Contemporary, Romance
Series: Stage Dive #4
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
Positive. With two little lines on a pregnancy test, everything in Lizzy Rollins' ordinary life is about to change forever. And all because of one big mistake in Vegas with Ben Nicholson, the irresistibly sexy bass player for Stage Dive. So what if Ben's the only man she's ever met who can make her feel completely safe, cherished, and out of control with desire at the same time? Lizzy knows the gorgeous rock star isn't looking for anything more permanent than a good time, no matter how much she wishes differently.

Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She's his best friend's little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he's not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he's always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible... but will it lead to a connection of the heart?

Review:

All good things must come to an end, including the Stage Dive series. I was so bummed when I started this because I knew there weren't anymore waiting behind it for me to grab. Sigh. Kylie Scott got me good with this series. She got me real good.

DEEP is Ben's turn, and holy crap. It starts off with a bang when Lizzy, Anne's little sister (Anne and Mal are in book 2, PLAY) gets pregnant. The lucky baby daddy to be? You guess it: Ben.

On the periphery of the series, Lizzy and Ben and have dancing around each other and we get more of that back story with old text messages and scenes that happened during books 2 & 3. DEEP ties all those books together and shows that Ben and Lizzy aren't just a random hookup. There's a lot more depth and layers there.

Lizzy has been my favorite since I met her in book 2. I love her spunk and sass and attitude. Ben I never really got a feel for because he was always in the background. He rarely did much besides play bass and crack the occasional one-liner. It was good to see a bit more of him.

I will say this book was the one that lacked the most substance (but it's also the shortest in the series by far). It felt a bit rushed in places, but it's still a great way to end the series (that epilogue.... <3 love="" series="" span="" ter.="" this="">

Aug 30, 2015

Review: Lead by Kylie Scott

Title: Lead
Author: Kylie Scott
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult, Musicians, Contemporary, Romance
Series: Stage Dive #3
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it's booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.

Lena's not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

Review:

JIMMY'S BOOK! was my first thought when I clutched this book to my chest. Jimmy is my favorite Stage Dive member (what can I say? I like 'em tortured and broken.), and I've been waiting eagerly to get into his book.

Jimmy, the recovering bad boy frontman for the band, is the big brother of the group. That got a little derailed when he was using, but now it becomes abundantly clear in LEAD that Jimmy is the leader of the group. 

Jimmy and Lena definitely have an antagonist relationship that slowly (very slowly) morphs into more. But with Lena trying to stay professional and Jimmy's intense need for total control, it takes a little while to get there. The banter between these two is the best foreplay. They had me cracking up regularly. 

What I like it wasn't instantly that they were together - in fact, there's no sexy times for the first ... 60% of the book? This just builds up the tension and makes their connection more real and true. At first I was as frustrated as Lena, but the payoff was worth it.

Kylie Scott did it again with the third installment of the series!

Aug 28, 2015

Review: Play by Kylie Scott

Title: Play
Author: Kylie Scott
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult, Musicians, Contemporary, Romance
Series: Stage Dive #2
Source: Finished copy from publisher

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast--at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl. 
Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls--especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

Review:

"Read Mal's book," the said.

"Mal is mine!" they said.

"PLAY is the best in the series," they said.

OK, OK. I get it. I get why everyone who has read PLAY proclaims Kylie Scott is a genius and their hero and why they stake ownership flags all over Mal's tattooed, muscular body. I GET IT.

But, to be honest, Mal wasn't the highlight for me in PLAY - Anne was. Anne with her unbreakable spirit, easy going nature and kindness was by far my favorite part. She wasn't a doormat, but she also wasn't a hard ass. I loved how protective she was of her sister and Mal and her friends. I loved the way she stood up for herself.

Don't get me wrong, Mal is hysterical. But I was exhausted for Anne by the end of this book. He's like the Energizer Bunny hopped up on ecstasy and crystal meth. And when he bottoms out, he hits the ground hard. His manic swings gave me whiplash; I just held on to Anne and rode the book out.

The balance of Mal and Anne is what makes the romance. She doesn't try to change him and he encourages her to be braver. 

This is a great follow up to LICK (book 1). I am all about the Stage Dive boys and their crazy lives and the women who wade through the mess to find their happily ever after. Love, love this series!

Aug 27, 2015

Review: Lick by Kylie Scott

Title: Lick
Author: Kylie Scott
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Genre: New Adult, Musicians, Contemporary, Romance
Series: Stage Dive #1
Source: Finished copy from publisher
Buy: Amazon

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
Evelyn Thomas's plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man in her room, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

In Kylie Scott's 
Lick, one thing is certain: being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride.

Review:

I discovered this book thanks to our PubbyLove adventures in July. I was told both by the publicist, Michelle, and another blogger, Stephanie, that this series was hot and awesome and fantastic and I walked out with a copy of it and promptly dove it.

You know how there are books you just love for no special reason? It's not ground breaking world building or artfully crafted sentences, but it's just a good, enjoyable book that sucks you into the world and you instantly fall in love with (almost) every character you meet? That was my experience with LICK.

From the first page, I was hooked on this unconventional, whirlwind romance. I was captivated by these two people - Ev and David - who were trying to sort it out. I love them together. I absolutely love them. Having now read the entire series, I can say that they're my favorite couple of the series and it stays that way throughout every book. They're amazing together.

If you want a fun, crazy, and sexy book, I can't recommend LICK enough. Kylie Scott is my new author crush and I love her. These books are perfect for fans of Jay Crownover and Lauren Dane.

Jun 18, 2015

Review: Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat

Title: Between the Notes
Author: Sharon Huss Roat
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: 6.16.2015
Pages: 400
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Issues, Romance, Music
Series: N/A
Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house—complete with her beloved piano—the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life.

And it isn’t pretty.

Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends—and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own—seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel . . . and there is no way to stop them.

As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were . . . including herself.

Review:
There is no better find than a book that pulls you out of a reading rut, and that's exactly what BETWEEN THE LINES did for me. I've found that after several years of blogging and reviewing books that a lot of times, stories start to blend. Deja vu kicks in - I've heard this voice before. I've read this plot before. I know what's coming next. But Sharon Hoss Roat's debut utterly blew me away with its originality and brilliant characters. I absolutely fell in love with this story that had me grinning and laughing out loud and even misting up a little. I loved every second I spent with these characters and told the world (well, the social media world I'm part of).

You know, I felt bad for Ivy. Her entire world is upended in the first chapter and sets her on a path for self discovery in the funniest of ways. She makes some insane choices and pays the price for them (nothing too crazy, but enough to teach the reader and Ivy a lesson). Her character development is such a joy to watch as she goes from a naive, somewhat spoiled child to someone who understands the value of family and money.

There is some fantastical romance in this book with two boys vying for Ivy's heart, each one harboring their own secrets. One I saw coming, the other I did not, but it never felt like a true triangle (if that makes any sense). I just enjoyed watching as Ivy learned more about herself while around each guy.

By far the best part of this for me as the family aspect. Unlike most YA books where parents are oblivious or missing, the Emerson's are front and center. When Ivy talks back to her mom? She gets in trouble. When she has a problem, she talks to her parents. It is refreshing to see a real family (that is not without its struggles) that at the end of the day loves one another.


I could go on forever about why BETWEEN THE NOTES is a spectacular book and Roat is on the fast track to becoming a big name in the YA contemporary world, but wouldn't you rather see for yourself?