ROCK REDEMPTION (Rock Kiss #3) by Nalini Singh-Review and Book Tour
Rock Redemption
Rock Kiss #3
by Nalini Singh
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance, rock
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 6, 2015
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.
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REVIEW: ROCK REDEMPTION is the third full length installment in Nalini Singh’s contemporary, adult ROCK KISS romance series. This is “Schoolboy Choir’ rock guitarist Noah St.John, and actress Kit Devigny’s storyline. ROCK REDEMPTION can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Noah and Kit) ROCK REDEMPTION is a storyline about second chances at friendship and love. Noah’s personal life is spiraling out of control and there is nothing he wants more than to be loved and love but our hero (or lack of a better term) has a secret-a dark and heartbreaking past that controls his present, and in this, Noah sets about to destroy the woman who holds his heart. Noah is on a self-destructive path into the abyss; his man-whoring reputation precedes his friendship with Kit; the drinking, drugs and $ex barely appease the voices in his head. Noah is a man who doesn’t like to be touched; to kiss; or acknowledge the demons from his past.
Kit is an actress on the cusp of making it big but her love for Noah St. John finds our heroine walking away when Noah betrays both his friendship and love for Kit Devigny. The push and pull, and angst of Kit and Noah’s friendship borders on emotionally abusive, co-dependent, and obsession. Noah continues to push away the only woman he has ever loved in the hopes of keeping secret his past; Kit tries to keep her distance, letting go of the man with whom she has fallen in love, but she is unable to completely sever the ties that bind. ROCK REDEMPTION follows Kit and Noah as they struggle with their rekindling friendship and building love. Both Kit and Noah come from well to do families whose fame and fortune follow our leading couple wherever they go.
ROCK REDEMPTION is an emotional storyline both for the reader and the leading characters of the story. Kit and Noah’s relationship is akin to a psychological study in co-dependency while the world around them begins to close in and tighten the rope. There are moments of heartbreaking betrayal and family dysfunction, secret revelations and letting go of the past. The relationship between Noah and Kit is emotionally draining; the sexual attraction and anxiety is highly charged; BUT the romance is very, very slow to build. There are only one or two quick $ex scenes (late in the story) that leave the reader wanting more. ROCK REDEMPTION focuses on the rebuilding of a friendship before anything deeper can be explored. The lack of romance may be difficult for some readers especially with Noah’s numerous attempts to destroy his relationship with Kit. I think Nalini needs to write a novella that furthers Kit and Noah’s romance; the epilogue advances the storyline one year wherein we know nothing about the previous twelve months.
There is a secondary plot running through ROCK REDEMPTION that barely merits mentioning: Kit has a stalker whose identity and purpose seemingly come out of left field. For all intents and purposes, this particular scenario is more of a distraction; its’ purpose in the story is negligible and does nothing to affect the main storyline premise. It probably would have been better to remove this plot deviation entirely.
Molly and Fox (Rock Addiction #1) figure prominently throughout the storyline as our hero and heroine find emotional support from Rock Kiss’s introductory couple, as well as David and Thea (Rock Courtship 1.5), and Abe and his ex wife Sarah whose own rocky relationship may see a fresh restart. We are briefly introduced to Kit and Noah’s parents, as well as Kit’s friend Becca, and Terrence, a man vying for Kit’s attention.
ROCK REDEMPTION focuses on the struggles of a friendship destroyed by betrayal and mistrust. Noah is more of an anti-hero, and Kit’s emotional breakdowns are heartbreaking. There is no infidelity but Noah’s attempts to push Kit away involve other women, drinking and drugs. The characters are colorful, charismatic and honest; the romance is virtually non-existent due to the very slow rebuilding of Kit and Noah’s friendship. The sexual attraction and angst is palpable but our couple is slow to act on their growing feelings until a good portion of the storyline has elapsed. There are a number of scenes of self-reflection, and inner monologues with flashbacks that push the storyline forward (or back) revealing some of the backstory and history for our couple. The lack of romance between Kit and Noah may be a problem for many readers.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
It’d be fun and great for her career, her agent had said when recommending Kit take the superhero flick. Coming off two serious and emotionally wrenching projects, Kit had taken Harper’s advice and jumped on board the high-budget, high-octane venture. Unfortunately, Harper had forgotten to mention the four hours it would take to put her into the head-to-toe makeup required for the role. Daily.
“What?” she snarled into the phone without checking to see who it was.
“Hey, Katie.”
Every cell in her body snapped wide awake. Lifting her eyelids, she just stared at the ceiling through gritty eyes. Her heart thumped, her throat moving convulsively as she swallowed. She hated that he could still do this to her, hated it, but her visceral response to Noah wasn’t something she could stop. She knew because she’d tried for the past two years and three months.
“Noah,” she said flatly. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Two fifteen,” he answered.
Kit should’ve hung up. God, he’d hurt her. So much. But there was something in his voice that had her sitting up. “Are you drunk?” One thing she knew about Noah: no matter his bad-boy rep, he was never wasted. He might give a good indication of it, but look closely and those dark gray eyes were always sober.
“Probably.” A silence, followed by, “I just wanted to hear your voice. Sorry for waking you.”
“Wait,” she said when he would’ve hung up. “Where are you?”
“Some dive.” He took a deep breath, released it in a harsh exhale. “I’m sorry for being an asshole. I wanted to tell you that. I don’t want to go without saying that.”
“Noah,” she said, a horrible feeling in her stomach. “Where exactly are you?”
“The Blue Flamingo Inn off Hollywood Boulevard. Far, far, far off.” He laughed, and it held no humor. “It has a neon sign of a blue—surprise!—flamingo that’s flashing right through my window. Looks like someone stole the curtains.”
Having already grabbed her laptop, which she’d left beside the bed after answering some e-mails before sleep claimed her, she found the Blue Flamingo Inn. But Noah was already gone, having said, “I love your voice, Kit,” in an oddly raw tone before hanging up.
He didn’t pick up when she called back.
“Damn it! Damn it!” She shoved aside the blanket under which she’d been buried, having turned the AC to ice-cold as she usually did at night. Shivering, she tugged on a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt over the panties and tank top in which she’d gone to sleep.
Pulling her black hair into a rough ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, she ran through the house, phone in one pocket, credit card and driver’s license in the other. In the kitchen, she grabbed her keys off the counter and shoved her feet into the tennis shoes by the door that led to the garage.
She was in her car and on the way to the motel three minutes after Noah had hung up, mouth dry and an ugliness in her gut. “Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay,” she kept saying, the mantra doing nothing to calm her down, but at least it kept her mind focused.
She wanted to call Molly and Fox, or the others in the band, but no one was currently in the city. Schoolboy Choir had completed the final show in the band’s hugely successful tour just over two weeks earlier. Day after that, they’d all gone their separate ways to recharge and regroup.
“Much as I love these guys,” David had said with a grin that reached the dark gold of his eyes, “I’ve been looking at their ugly mugs daily for months. We need to go blow off some steam separately before we start snarling at each other.”
At the time, Kit had nodded in understanding, having had that same experience while working on location for long periods. Tonight, however, she wished the others were all here, not scattered across the country, because something was very wrong with Noah.
“Noah doesn’t do drugs,” she told herself as she drove as fast as she dared, not wanting to risk getting pulled over and further delayed. “He isn’t the kind to—” She couldn’t say it, couldn’t even think of Noah ending his life. “No,” she said firmly, her hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. “Noah isn’t like that.”
If you’d like to read the rest of this chapter, as well as the next, click this link: http://nalinisingh.com/books/rock-kiss-series/rock-redemption/
Rock Addiction
Rock Kiss #1
by Nalini Singh
Genre: NA, contemporary, romance, rock
Release Date: September 9, 2014
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About the book: Release Date September 9, 2014
Click HERE for our review of ROCK ADDICTION
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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Rock Courtship
Rock Kiss 1.5
by Nalini Singh
Genre: contemporary, new adult, romance, rock musicians
Release Date: September 30, 2014
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About the book: Release Date September 30, 2014
Click HERE for our review of ROCK COURTSHIP
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.
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Rock Hard
(Rock Kiss #2)
by Nalini Singh
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic romance
Release Date: March 10, 2015
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ROCK HARD (Rock Kiss #2) by Nalini Singh
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 10, 2015
Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.
And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.
Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.
If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.
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 Nalini: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
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Great review, Sandy. I read the first book and the novella. A bit behind.
Great review Sandy. I have read all of the books so far. Looking forward to Noah’s storyline.
I have read the series so far and enjoyed it . Great review Sandy
Wonderful review, Sandy. I love everything Nalini Singh.
Terrific review, Sandy. I have to buy this book now.
Great review Sandy. I read the first and second book. I have to catch up. thanks for the review. Congrats to Nalini on the new release.