WICKED WHITE (Wicked White #1) by Michelle A. Valentine-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway

Wicked White
Wicked White #1
by Michelle A.Valentine
Genre: adult, contemporary, rock romance
Release Date: June 23, 2015

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 23, 2015

After his mother dies, rock star Ace White—lead singer of the red-hot band Wicked White—is done with the celebrity game. The phony people, the meaningless one-night stands: he doesn’t want any of it anymore. Quitting in the middle of a sold-out tour, Ace sets out to find some place—any place—where he can be alone.

Aspiring singer Iris Easton’s life has never been easy. First, her mother walked out on her when she was a kid. Now she’s buried in debt, weeks after losing her beloved grandmother. When a mysterious and sexy new guy moves in next door, Iris can’t help but be drawn to his soulful gaze. She can tell there’s something from his past haunting him—something he’s not telling her.

Just as Ace starts falling for Iris, the media go on a worldwide hunt to find the missing rocker. Will true love conquer all, or will the truth be the very thing that tears the couple apart?

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REVIEW: WICKED WHITE is the first installment in Michelle A. Valentine’s new, adult, contemporary Wicked White romance series. This is lead singer for the band Wicked White, twenty six year old Ace Johnson-White, and aspiring singer Iris Easton’s storyline.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Ace and Iris), the storyline follows Ace White as he spirals out of control. Tired of the phony celebrity lifestyle, one of which he has no personal or professional control, Ace walks away and goes into hiding following the death of his beloved foster mother Sarah Johnson. With no place in mind, Ace finds himself in a low rent mobile home park where he will meet the woman who calls to his soul-Iris Easton –the trailer park manager and a wanna be Broadway star. What ensues is a slow building relationship as Ace keeps his distance knowing that at any time, he will be on the move without looking back.

The relationship between Ace and Iris begins tempestuously. Ace wants nothing to do with making friends, and his attraction to Iris is immediate and visceral. In the beginning, Iris isn’t aware of Ace’s true identity, and in this, Ace is able to relax knowing that not everyone is out for his fame and fortune. But Ace has a bit of a temper, and when he steps over the line, one too many times, Iris knows her only recourse is to push Ace away-to protect the man with whom she has fallen in love.

We are introduced to Ace’s controlling manager Jane Ann- a woman who is all about the PR and bottom line. Ace’s Wicked White band mates-JJ Kraft White, Luke White and drummer Tyler White are but a blip on the radar wherein the reader learns very little about the other members or the history behind the band’s success. There is a definite dissenting vibe between the trio, one that adds to Ace’s already negative view of fame and celebrity. Just to note, each member of the band is assigned the last name of White as per the record company’s contract.

Iris’s friend and co-worker Birdie is a welcome addition as Iris struggles with her emotions and her need to distance herself from the man that she loves. And Birdie’s grandmother Adele is a force unto herself when she witnesses the fall out of Ace and Iris’s relationship.

WICKED WHITE is a simple storyline without any major complications or anxiety except those brought about by our leading couple. A distinct lack of communication between Ace and Iris leads to misunderstanding, broken hearts, and fallen tears. Unfortunately, I did have some issues as it pertained to the simplicity and lack of angst ridden moments as I did not feel a connection to the characters, or between one another. Their attraction to one another did not have any of the palpable energy as felt in other storylines; it was as though they were going through the motions, taking the reader along for the ride.

I am a big fan of Michelle A. Valentine’s Black Falcon rock series –the quality of writing and world building in the Black Falcon series far outweighs what I found in the Wicked White introductory storyline. It is as though someone else wrote this story; it didn’t have the ‘Michelle A Valentine’ intensity I have come to expect from her writing. The ‘oomph’ factor in Wicked White was missing; there was no frenetic energy to the building romance; and in all honesty, I wanted more information regarding Wicked White’s inception and how they came to be-after all, this is a series title Wicked White. Hopefully, as the series progresses, more history about the band will be revealed.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Michelle A. Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Rock the Heart. Wicked White is the first novel in her Wicked White romance series. She attended college as a drafting and design major, but her love of people soon persuaded her to join the nursing field. It wasn’t until after the birth of her son that she began her love affair with romance novels, and she hasn’t looked back since. When she’s not writing, she feeds her music addiction, dabbles in party planning, and expresses herself by working with arts and crafts. She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, son, and two beloved dogs.

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