THE ROCKER’S MUSE by Penelope Ward-review tour

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Sandy

THE ROCKER’S MUSE by Penelope Ward-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Apple / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 26, 2024

No one but me knew why I was actually in the California desert that day.
Nestled deep within the desolate, rocky area was a recording studio.
When a door suddenly opened, a man mistook me for someone he was supposed to be interviewing for a job.
The next thing I knew, I was whisked inside.
The position? An assistant on the upcoming tour for one of America’s most famous rock bands.
Pretty exciting opportunity for a twenty-two-year-old, just out of college.
Not surprisingly, I bombed the interview.
When I ended up mistakenly walking into the men’s room on my way out, I struck up a conversation with a stranger—not realizing it was the lead singer, Tristan Daltrey.
He seemed to like the fact that I had no idea who he was, that I saw him as a normal person.
That night, I got a call offering me the job.
So began my complicated story with Tristan.
Millions of women loved him.
Yet for some reason, after the shows, he only wanted to hang out with me.
Late-night talks. Casual dinners in his hotel room.
I wasn’t supposed to be fraternizing with the band’s frontman.
Despite our fifteen-year age difference, Tristan and I had a connection.
But I had a secret.
One that would eventually lead to my leaving the tour.
And one that would lead Tristan and the band straight to the small town where I came from.

••••

REVIEW: THE ROCKER’S MUSE by Penelope Ward is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, erotic, rock romance story line focusing on thirty-eight year old, rock star Tristan Daltrey, and twenty-two year old, assistant Emily Applewood.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Emily and Tristan) THE ROCKER’S MUSE follows the building relationship between our story line couple. Emily Applewood was desperate to speak to Tristan Daltrey, a man she didn’t know, much less, didn’t have any idea about his music or his life but Emily finds herself interviewing for the position of the band’s assistant wherein she will discover the mutual attraction between herself and the lead singer. As Emily’s time with the band means more time with our story line hero, Emily knows that the secret she had so desperately tried to reveal is about to pull her away from the man with whom she is falling in love. Months will pass, each will find someone else, yet Emily knows it is time to confront the man with the secrets she has kept far too long.

The world building focuses on the band Delirious Jones, and the growing relationship between our story line couple but Emily has a secret, and suspects, her secret may destroy the man with whom she is falling in love.

The relationship between Emily and Tristan is an age-gap romance between band assistant and rock star singer. Tristan finds himself pull into the home-spun aura that is our story line heroine but Emily is about to break Tristan’s heart with the secret she knows. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate.

We are introduced to the members of the band:bass player Ronan Barber and drummer Atticus Marchetti, and tour photographer Layla, as well as Emily’s mother Terry Applewood. Here’s hoping the author has plans for every member of the band.

THE ROCKER’S MUSE is a story of secrets and lies, family and friendships, forgiveness and love. The character driven premise is emotional and engaging; the romance is seductive ; the characters are sassy and dynamic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

More Than a Feeling (Rock Star Romance #4) by Erika Kelly-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Sandy

MORE THAN A FEELING (Rock Star Romance #4) by Erika Kelly-Review, Book Tour & Giveaway

MORE THAN A FEELING
Rock Star Romance #4
by Erika Kelly
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, rock star, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / BAM / iBooks

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About the book: Release Date April 4, 2017

From the award-winning author of TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT comes the final story in her red-hot Rock Star Romance series, about a loner rocker finding his perfect duet.

When Cooper Hood left Snowberry, Montana ten years ago, he swore he’d never go back to the town that painted him with the same brush as his addict mother. But right in the middle of his band’s national tour he gets a call to come home: his mom’s got a whopper of a secret to reveal.

Daisy Charbonneau’s in trouble. The talent she hired for her resort’s annual Huckleberry Festival’s just bailed on her, and she’s desperate to find a replacement act. Luck turns her way when she discovers her high school crush is back in town—and he happens to be a rock star.

As they work together, a crush deepens into so much more—but who falls in love in two weeks?

Especially when Cooper’s never coming back to town, and Daisy’s never going to leave it.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: MORE THAN A FEELING is the fourth and final installment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary, adult ROCK STAR ROMANCE series focusing on the members of the rock band Blue Fire. This is rock star Cooper Hood, and singer/coordinator Daisy Charbonneau’s story line. MORE THAN A FEELING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Daisy and Cooper) MORE THAN A FEELING is a second chance romance between rock star Cooper Hood, and Daisy Charbonneau. Ten years earlier Cooper Hood left his hometown of Snowberry, Montana and never looked back but to think about the girl he left behind. A childhood rocked by a drug addicted mother, never knowing the true identity of his father, Cooper had always felt abandoned, alone and one step behind the rest of his peers except for the life-long friendship between himself and Daisy Charbonneau. An urgent message from his mother brings Cooper Hood back to Snowberry, Montana and into the path of the woman that has always called to his heart. Enter Daisy Charbonneau, a woman on a mission seeking musicians for the town’s annual Huckleberry Festival when their biggest draw pulls out but a woman who loses her heart to a man who’s only in town for a couple of days. What ensues is the rekindling friendship and romance between Daisy and Cooper, and the fall out when issues of trust keep Daisy and Cooper from going after the one that they love.

Daisy and Cooper both have issues of trust. Cooper never knew who was his father, and Daisy’s father was in and out of her life for as long as she could remember. Cooper’s return to Snowberry brings too many bad memories, and it takes everything within him to stay behind to help the woman that he loves. Daisy refuses to acknowledge her love for a man who will never be ready to settle down thus forcing Daisy to push Cooper out of her life when he offers her so much more. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to a cast of great secondary characters including Daisy’s mother Hannah Charbonneau, Snowberry’s mayor Stuart Goff, the Blackstock family including Hunter and Crystal, Remi, Ethan and Nash, Cooper’s mother Ronnie Hood, and several townsfolk as well as the cameo appearances of the members of Blue Fire.

The world building focuses on betrayal and trust; Daisy’s need to rebuild the town in which she grew up; Cooper facing the family he knew nothing about, and his love for a woman who isn’t ready for life on the road.

MORE THAN A FEELING focuses on family and love; betrayal, lies and the truth; finding love and never letting go. The premise is heartbreaking and emotional; the characters are animated and colorful; the romance struggles with a lack of communication, preconceived notions, and the fall out of one woman’s need to remain in the small town in which she grew up.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
You Really Got Me
I Want You To Want Me
Take Me Home Tonight
More Than A Feeling

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Closing her eyes, Daisy bit into the crunchy drizzle, her teeth sinking through the buttery rich goodness of the bread. Oh, dear God. Her mom made the world’s best cinnamon rolls. With a sigh, she looked up to find someone heading toward her on the path.
Of course her childhood crush would show up the moment she’d stuffed her mouth full of pastry. Leaning against the hood of her car, Daisy chewed quickly—which sucked because, basically, time should stand still while savoring her mom’s desserts.
But Cooper wasn’t looking at her. Scowling at his phone, he stopped on the path, fingers furiously typing. Was he dealing with his mom?
Or maybe a girlfriend. Instantly her skin tightened, and her heart thudded. If Cooper had a girlfriend…God. Last night she’d gone on and on about how much he’d meant to her.
She looked away, mortification crashing through her system.
First, she’d bumped into him wearing waders and a fishing hat, and then she’d forced him to go out with her. Awesome.
He couldn’t have been clearer that he didn’t want to spend the day with her, but she’d gone and made an offer she knew he couldn’t turn down. Not if he wanted to get his mom’s house built and get himself back on tour.
Feeling a little sick to her stomach, she licked the sticky drizzle off her fingers and shoved the treat back into the bag.
As he paused on the path, thumbs working over the phone’s keypad, she took in his powerful physique. A white T-shirt strained across broad shoulders, hugging his thickly rounded biceps, and worn blue jeans cupped his hard, muscular thighs.
The colorful ink covering his body made him look like a total badass. She’d noticed a strange symbol on his inner wrist and a cartoon image on his forearm of a pin-up girl holding a barbell, a sexy slash of red for her lips.
The man he’d grown into made her soul wake up, and God, she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d felt this kind of fluttery attraction for a guy.
As if he felt someone watching him, he looked up sharply and found her. The worry lines eased. But he didn’t smile. “Hey.”
She pushed off her car. “You ready?” Forced or not, her plan was good for both of them. She was sticking to it.

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I’ve been spinning romantic tales all my life–I just didn’t know it. Raised on the classics, I didn’t discover romantic fiction until later in life. From that moment on, I’ve been devouring the genre and have found my true voice as an author. Over three decades I’ve written poems, screenplays, plays, short stories, and all kinds of women’s fiction novels. Married to the love of my life and raising four children, I’ve lived in two countries and seven states but give me pen and paper, a stack of good books, and a steaming mug of vanilla chai latte and I can make my home anywhere.

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Hartstrings (Jaded Regret #3) by L.L.Collins-review and book tour

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Sandy

HARTSTRINGS (Jaded Regret #3) by L.L. Collins-review and book tour

HARTSTRINGS
Jaded Regret #3
by L.L.Collins
Genre: adult, contemporary, rock band, romance
Release Date: June 16, 2016

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 16, 2016

Tanner Hart, the All-American bad boy bass guitarist of Jaded Regret, has one motto— play women’s bodies like he does the strings of his guitar— hard, in tune, and giving it his all until the show is over. The only strings he wants attached to him are the ones he plays on the stage.

He has quite the reputation, even with his own band, and he likes it that way. It keeps the truth of who he really is locked deep inside. But there’s so much more to him than anyone really knows…

Now that he’s successful, he can afford to find out what really happened to the only girl who’s ever held his heart. The only thing is…will he really want to know the truth?

When Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Shepard finds herself in a situation she’s been in too many times before, she expects to do what she’s always done— cover it up, accept the apologies, and move on. She knows trying to get out is futile. What she doesn’t expect is for the world famous Tanner Hart to burst into her life like a knight in sexy armor.

When their lives collide and hearts get involved, can Tanner keep his heartstrings from being tangled up in his past, or can he make a new kind of music… with his heart?

••••••••••

REVIEW: HARTSTRINGS is the third installment in L.L. Collins’s contemporary, adult JADED REGRET rock star, romance series focusing on the members of the rock back Jaded Regret. This is bass guitarist Tanner Hart, and PI Mackenzie Shepard’s story line. HARTSTRINGS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: HARTSTRINGS is a story line focusing on domestic abuse and violence therefore the premise and some scenes may be triggers for sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person points of view (Tanner and Mackenzie) HARTSTRINGS follows the relationship between rock star Tanner Hart, and private investigator Mackenzie Shepard. While drunk and roaming the halls of a local hotel, Tanner accidentally gets caught up in a case of domestic violence. Mackenzie Shepard is found beaten and bruised, and Tanner refuses to accept what has happened and her inability to say no. What ensues are Tanner’s attempts to set Mackenzie free of her abusive boyfriend, and impotence in the face of future abuse and continued threats.

Like the previous installment, L.L. Collins takes the reader on an emotional journey where fiction becomes real in the face of violence and abuse. HARTSTRINGS looks at the battered spouse syndrome wherein our heroine is unable to walk away because of guilt, threats and proclamations of love further hindered by a father who is unaware of his daughter’s current condition. Our heroine is physically and emotionally abused; her psyche and psychological well being are threatened along with her life. Tanner Hart is a man determined to save Mackenzie Shepard in the hopes of atoning for the sins of his past. Mackenzie and Tanner are kindred spirits in that they have both experienced abuse and violence at the hands of someone who was supposed to have loved.

All of the members of Jaded Regret play secondary and supporting roles. We watch as the band struggles with their inability to understand the trauma that is currently claiming one of their own-a trauma they know very little about because Tanner has revealed very little about his past or his connection to the woman with whom he is falling in love. What the band members do know is that Tanner is a manwhore, a player, and worry about his involvement with a woman so fragile and broken.

HARTSTRINGS continues to follow Jaded Regret on the road, behind the scenes, and into the hotel rooms and bedrooms of the members of the band. With all of the members now married or falling in love, that leaves Beau’s – SNARED book 2– sister Natalie Anderson, the band’s manager, as the lone single member of the group. I am hoping for a story line for one of the security guys -A.J.-maybe he and Natalie will get together 😉 .

HARTSTRINGS is a story that runs the gamut of emotions from heartbreak to sorrow; anxiety to frustration; despair to relief. The premise is powerful and dramatic; the characters are affecting, courageous and tragic; the romance is comfortable and slow to build. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive. L. L. Collins pulls at the ‘hartstrings’ with her emotional subject matter and happily ever afters.

Copy supplied by the tour operator.

Reviewed by Sandy

*PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES: *

*SENTENCED (Jaded Regret, #1) *

Amazon US
Amazon CA
Amazon UK
Amazon AU

*SNARED (Jaded Regret, #2) *

Amazon US
Amazon CA
Amazon UK
Amazon AU

L.L. Collins loves spending her days in the Florida sun with her husband and two boys, reading, and writing. LL has been writing since she was old enough to write. Always a story in her head, she finally decided to let the characters out made her lifelong dream of becoming an author come true in the self-publishing world. She’s the author of the Living Again Series and the Twisted Series, plus a new standalone, Back to the Drawing Board. Visit LL on her WEBSITE

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Take Me Home Tonight by Erika Kelly-Review, Book Tour and (2) Giveaways

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Sandy

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT (Rock Star Romance 3) by Erika Kelly-Review, Book tour and (2) Giveaways

Take Me Home Tonight
Rock Star romance #3
by Erika Kelly
Release Date : April 5, 2016
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance, rock stars

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 5, 2016

Calix Bourbon might seem like a free spirit, but that’s all a front. In reality he’s just trying to keep his fractured family together while working as a session musician. When Blue Fire hires him to replace their keyboardist, Calix is determined to make the most of the opportunity—but he can’t help being distracted by the band’s sexy personal chef.

Mimi’s temporary gig is great, but she has her heart set on auditioning for a televised cooking show. There’s just one problem: she only has a week to acquire the skills necessary to survive the competition. Luckily, the band’s new keyboard player can teach her exactly what she needs, in the kitchen and in the bedroom.

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is the third installment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary, adult ROCK STAR ROMANCE erotic, romance series focusing on the members of the rock band Blue Fire. This is keyboardist Calix Bourbon, and home cook Amelia ‘Mimi’ Romano. TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Mimi, her mother Francesca, and Calix were introduced in book two-I WANT YOU TO WANT ME.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Calix and Mimi) TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT looks at family, grief, loss and moving forward. Three years earlier, Calix’s family was caught in the trauma of the unexpected death of the youngest sibling whose overdose destroyed their once tight knit family. Fast forward three years and no one in the Bourbon family has been able to move forward or get on with their lives. Enter Mimi Romano-Blue Fire’s temporary chef-and the woman who would push the Bourbon family out of their comfort zones with the possibility of taking the first few steps in a new direction. What ensues is a slow building romance between Calix and Mimi, and Calix’s inability to let go of the past.

Calix blames himself for his brother’s death, and like the other members of the family, has hovered close to home in order to keep an eye on their grieving mother. Calix comes from a musical family- a high profile rock family, and with it comes the guilt of the past-sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I did take issue with Calix’s ‘hot and cold’ treatment of Mimi Romano-on some levels, his lack of maturity was a bit much with his ‘too quick’ to run attitude. Many times Mimi was left alone struggling to find a way home or to heal her broken heart.

Mimi is a strong female character; an only child who has done everything to please her father but believes her father cannot see beyond the past. Hoping to make it on her own Mimi enters a reality cooking competition but lacks the skills necessary to make it to the end. When Calix, and his family offer to ‘teach’ Mimi the skills necessary to survive, Mimi jumps at the chance to be near the man with whom she is falling in love, but a man who is unable to give Mimi what she wants.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT has a large ensemble cast of characters including the entire Bourbon clan; Mimi’s parents Dino and Francesca; all of the members of Blue Fire and their significant others; as well as a number of groupies and wannabes who make life miserable for everyone involved.

The world building focuses on the band and their struggle with membership, management and moving forward. The relationship between Mimi and Calix is a slow build to a happily ever after but was lost in the family struggles on both sides of the couple’s relationship, and Mimi’s appearances on a television show similar to CHOPPED™. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive. Again, I had an issue with the believability of one of the judge’s discriminating and derogatory comments-I don’t think the attacks against the competitor would have been allowed.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is a fascinating story line about grief and loss; family and love; falling in love and looking forward to the future. The premise is spirited and moving; the characters are emotional and intense; the romance is passionate and heartbreaking. We can never set a time line on grief or over coming a tragic loss; while one person is able to move forward, others are caught in an unending spiral of emotional pain. Erika Kelly’s TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT is an engaging look at one family’s struggle with loss and moving forward.

Reading Order and previous reviews
You Really Got Me
I Want You to Want Me
Take Me Home Tonight

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

NOTE: Excerpt is recommended for ages 18 +

She started to pull away from him, but the loss of her touch made him tighten his grip. When he didn’t let go, she lifted her head to look at him. They’d never been this close. Close enough to see the pale nick of a scar right at her cheek bone, that expressive mouth, and the question in her eyes. Need burned through him, sending electrical impulses down his spine and through his dick. He needed her bare, warm skin against his. Needed the wet heat of her mouth, the slick tangle of her tongue. He needed…oh, fuck him. His mouth settled over hers, and sparks fired in his blood. Her body turned toward him, fingers gripping the back of his shirt. The hunger took over, and he swept his tongue across her lips, licking inside her mouth. With a sharp intake of breath, she was kissing him back. And, holy fuck, this wasn’t some gentle exploration. This was mouth-fucking. She clutched the back of his neck, her tongue stroking his, and raw desire streaked though him, setting him on fire. Keeping his arm firmly around her waist, he set her down. But if she thought he was letting her go—not a chance. He just repositioned her so he could lift her against the wall and spread those legs around his hips. Nothing could stop his body from pressing into her and taking that mouth he’d fantasized about for months. Her tits, her hands, the way she writhed against him, made him frenzied. “Jesus, Mimi.” And then she was making noises, hot, hungry purrs deep in her throat. He ground his cock against her stomach. Heat blistered through him. “God.” The back of her head hit the wall, and she fought to pull her legs out of his grip. It took him a moment to shift gears, but he slowly lowered her to the floor. She looked as shaken as he felt. His knees barely supported him, so he braced both arms against the wall to hold himself up. He needed a moment to cool down. Jesus, he’d never had a kiss like that. *About TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT:* *A rocker gets a taste of unexpected passion in the latest red-hot Rock Star Romance from the award-winning author of I Want You to Want Me.* Calix Bourbon might seem like a free spirit, but that’s all a front. In reality he’s just trying to keep his fractured family together while working as a session musician. When Blue Fire hires him to replace their keyboardist, Calix is determined to make the most of the opportunity—but he can’t help being distracted by the band’s sexy personal chef. Mimi’s temporary gig is great, but she has her heart set on auditioning for a televised cooking show. There’s just one problem: she only has a week to acquire the skills necessary to survive the competition. Luckily, the band’s new keyboard player can teach her exactly what she needs, in the kitchen and in the bedroom…

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THERE are TWO (2) chances to WIN !!

The Reading Cafe and Erika’s publisher are offering a paper copy of TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page (at the top of your computer).

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8. Giveaway open to USA only

10. Giveaway runs April 7-11, 2016

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour promoter.

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I Want You To Want Me (Rock Star Romance #2) by Erika Kelly-a review

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Sandy

I WANT YOU TO WANT ME ( Rock Star Romance #2) by Erika Kelly-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 7, 2015

Derek Valencia finally has the success he’s worked so hard for. His band is touring its debut album and great reviews are rolling in. But when pictures of him tossing naked groupies off a balcony go viral, it’s damage-control time. He’s assigned a “babysitter” whose sole job is to keep him out of trouble.

Violet Davis swore she’d never work in the music industry again, but being a minder for a rock star will earn her enough to pay off the mortgage on her wildflower farm. And for a girl brought up in the foster care system, owning her own home means more to her than anything.

Though at first the two bang heads, the rocker and the farm girl soon grow close and realize that they make sweet music together. But can a girl who craves the stability of life on a farm really make it work with a man whose life is spent on the road with his band?

••••••••

REVIEW: I WANT YOU TO WANT ME is the second installment in Erika Kelly’s adult, contemporary Rock Star Romance series focusing on the rock band, now known as, Blue Fire. This is Blue Fire bassist Derek Valencia, and professional ‘minder’ Violet Davis’s storyline. I WANT YOU TO WANT ME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous storyline is revealed where necessary. Derek Valencia is Emmie’s brother-Emmie is the heroine from book one YOU REALLY GOT ME.

Told from third person perspective I WANT YOU TO WANT ME focuses on Violet Davis as she is hired to ‘mind’ the members of the band of Blue Fire. Verging on stardom, the band begins to implode as the musicians begin to succumb to the excesses of fame including sex, drugs and alcohol. Violet is a minder- a professional baby sitter-of sorts-who must get the band on the straight and narrow before they become headline news in the gossip papers and paparazzi rags. What ensues is a building relationship between Derek and Valencia, one that began acrimoniously, and filled with spite and mistrust.

Derek is the twenty eight year old son of a famous jazz musician, whose own star is beginning to fall, and with it comes betrayal and heartbreak as the father tries to ride on his son’s burgeoning success. As a minder, Violet is practiced in the art of intervention, and her responsibility finds our heroine having to run interference not only between the members of the band and the media, but between a father and son whose history is filled with pain and neglect. While Violet tries to save one member of the band, Derek finds himself falling in love with a woman whose own past is filled with abandonment and regret.

The relationship between Violet and Derek is slow to build as Violet continues to push Derek away. Her own personal history is dark and heartbreaking, and with it comes the inability to trust. But Violet also sees herself as an employee of the band, and in this, she isn’t willing to risk her job for a temporary affair with one of rock’s ‘sex gods’ as the media has come to call him. There is an expiry date on Violet’s current assignment and with it an expiry date on her relationship with Derek Valencia. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative. The attraction and need for one another is tangible but the constant misunderstandings, and push and pull of the relationship is a bit heavy. Violet’s lack of trust is fueled by the actions of the man with whom she is falling in love; and the belief that she is just another number in his long list of women and conquests.

The secondary characters include the members of the band: Cooper, Ben and Peter, as well as Slater Vaughn and Emmie from book one YOU REALLY GOT ME. Violet’s co-workers and friends at the wildflower farm-Francesca, and her daughter Mimi –Francesca has caught the eye of the band’s A&R manager Irwin Ledger. We are introduced to a new member of the band-Calix Bourbon-whose vocal pipes may give Slater a run for his money. The requisite evil comes in the form of Ray Montalbano, and Derek’s ex ‘Gen’ who still considers herself in the picture. There is another man vying for Violet’s affections-Randall Oppenheimer-who continues to drive a wedge between Derek and V.

The world building follows the band’s rise to stardom and the imminent fall from grace for one member of the band. We watch as drug, alcohol and sex fuel the after parties and egos; and how a turbulent past feeds the insecurities of two people who have fallen in love.

I WANT YOU TO WANT ME is an engaging, dramatic and sensual story of romance and love. There are moments of intense passion and heartbreaking misunderstandings; the premise is emotional but the constant back and forth between Derek and Violet is an irritation to the overall enjoyment of the story. The characters are colorful, energetic (meet Ben and Cooper) and not without some controversy; the romance is intimate and hopeful. Erika Kelly pulls the reader into an impassioned story of building love where our leading couple must overcome their insecurities and jealousies in order for their relationship to work.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

You Really Got Me
Rock Star Romance #1
by Erika Kelly
Release Date:
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic rock romance

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of YOU REALLY GO ME

Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 6, 2015

Emmie Valencia has what it takes to be the music industry’s hottest band manager. She just needs to prove it. Determined to discover a killer new band, Emmie is ready to make her move. First stop: Austin, Texas.

As a sizzling-hot lead singer, Slater Vaughn has no trouble raising heart rates—but his band’s been flat-lining for years. When Emmie, his bandmate’s sister, crashes with them in exchange for some free management, her industry know-how lands them a spot in the biggest music festival in Texas. But it isn’t just her business acumen that catches Slater’s attention. Emmie is sexy and warm, and—for the first time in his life—he wants more.

But as irresistible as Slater is, Emmie is done with musicians. In her experience, a man can’t be a rock star and someone to trust with your heart—but Slater is determined to show her he’s both.

Anthing But Mine / Bulletproof Weeks by Taryn Elliott-reviews

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Sandy

Anything But Mine / Bulletproof Weeks by Taryn Elliott-reviews

Anything But Mine
When You’re Gone #1
by Taryn Elliott
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, rock star romance
Release Date: October 31, 2014

Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 31,2014

Rock star Logan King has come home to Winchester Falls for the annual Summer Festival. Only this time he’s hauling a helluva lot more baggage than a few suitcases and vintage guitars. His closet contains more than the usual skeletons…and if he doesn’t keep the door firmly locked, someone might get harmed. The specter of what haunts him forces him to turn away from anything more than one-night-stands.

Until Izzy and her topaz eyes finally give him a reason to try again.

Since moving to town Isabella Grace has found friends and a place to belong for the first time in her life. Running the Summer Festival is the perfect way to show how important her new community is. She just never planned on a whirlwind fling with a man too used to saying goodbye. Or to fall for a guy who has as many secrets as he does hit songs.

Logan is used to protecting himself, but protecting Izzy is all new territory. With everything that matters to him at risk, he refuses to let her get hurt—even if that means he has to walk away. For her own good.

••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: ANYTHING BUT MINE is the first installment in Taryn Elliott’s adult, contemporary When You’re Gone erotic romance trilogy focusing on ‘All The King’s Men’ front man and rock star Logan King and book store owner Isabella (Izzy) Grace.

Told from alternating third person points of view (Isabella and Logan) the storyline focuses on the preparations for the upcoming annual Winchester Falls Summer Festival. For the past several years, Logan King has headlined the festival and festival organizer Isabella Grace is about to meet the man who would break her heart. Logan King will sweep Izzy off her feet and offer her the world but the world he offers comes with dark secrets, ex lovers and a stalker who is refusing to let go.

Logan is a tortured but passionate rock star with a past and a history with the ladies; a past that refuses to let go and in this Logan is constantly looking over his shoulder. He is man whose anxiety level is tempered by Izzy’s constant presence. Izzy does not suspect that Logan is on the edge of the abyss; she is unfamiliar with his entire back story and in this Izzy will be caught in the path of destruction.

The relationship between Izzy and Logan is quick to develop. Logan is in town for a few days but his attraction to Izzy is beyond compare. After a few tentative back steps, Izzy and Logan will quickly become lovers but the paparazzi are always one step behind. When Logan’s past seductively comes back, Izzy is caught unawares; Logan knows his past has found him but he is blindsided by his need to protect Izzy at all costs. Walking away is the only thing he can do.

The numerous secondary and fascinating supporting characters include the members of Logan’s band Zeke, Cage, Morgan and Christian as well as a group of extended friends and fellow musicians including Johnny, Nash and Lindsey; Izzy’s friends Nichole and Adam as well as Sam are her fellow books store owners and support group when things begin to fall apart; and Mayor Sharon Darcy, a woman who places a high demand on Isabella’s time.

ANYTHING BUT MINE has moments of humor, fun, romance and plenty of hot $ex followed by heartbreak and anxiety for two people who have fallen in love. Taryn Elliott pulls the reader into an intense but passionate storyline. The storyline ends on a cliffhanger; you will want to know what happens next.

Reviewed by Sandy

_______________________________

BULLETPROOF WEEKS
When You’re Gone #2
by Taryn Elliott
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, rock star romance

Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 13, 2015

Being a famous rock star for almost two decades means putting his life on display. But for the last two years Logan King has dealt with the uglier side of fame. When his stalker escalates to issuing veiled threats against the first woman he’s allowed in his life, Logan locks down and shuts Izzy out. His stalker isn’t just anyone—she’s as famous as he is with a financial reach that makes her infinitely more treacherous.

Falling for Logan King wasn’t part of Isabella Grace’s plans and their spectacular public breakup didn’t make it easy to move on. Whispers and pitying looks from people in her small town send her fleeing from the first place that finally feels like home. Her solace becomes her travel for work, but the niggling sense that someone is watching her follows her from city to city. When she begins to unravel the secrets that surround the man she still loves, she discovers her personal security detail and demands answers. And they all point to Logan.

Letting him back into her life comes with many more challenges–and rewards–than she could’ve ever dreamed. But loving a man like Logan comes at a dangerous cost. One that has a lasting effect that could echo into all their tomorrows.

•••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: BULLETPROOF WEEKS is the second installment in Taryn Elliott’s adult, contemporary When You’re Gone erotic, romance series focusing on bad boy rocker Logan King and Isabella (Izzy) Grace. Their continuing story fast forwards the series approximately six months.

Told from alternating third person points of view (Izzy and Logan) the storyline follows the rekindling relationship between Izzy and Logan. When Logan’s stalker threatened Izzy, Logan did what he thought best and walked away knowing that to do so would destroy both of their hearts. But Logan made sure that Izzy was always protected and hired a security firm to guard what was his.

The focus of BULLETPROOF WEEKS finds our couple in love and hoping to make a future together. With ALL THE KING’S MEN about to set off on tour, Logan and Izzy have to make concessions-including security for their time apart. But another more dangerous threat against Izzy’s life is not taken lightly and security will come in the form of her own personal bodyguard. While Izzy and Logan try to lead a normal life, everything in the background doesn’t go according to plan. With Logan back in Winchester Falls, his band mates follow allowing for a more personal interaction with the members of the group.

The relationship between Izzy and Logan is hot, sensual and erotic. Our couple make up for the missing six months. The $ex scenes are numerous, playful, inventive and energetic. They are in love and while Logan is on tour with the band, Izzy remains behind trying to keep her life as normal as possible.

The members of ALL THE KING’S MEN play a supporting role throughout the story as well as a cameo appearance and cross over by the rock group Oblivion from Taryn and Cari Quinn’s LOST IN OBLIVION series. Izzy’s BFF and book store co-owner Nichole (and her husband Adam) become Izzy’s sole source of support during Logan’s absence and his time on the road. We are introduced to Izzy’s security team and her personal bodyguard.

BULLETPROOF WEEKS ends on another cliffhanger; a heartbreaking scene for the people of Winchester Falls. Taryn Elliott captures the essence of the rock and roll bad boy; his all consuming need for the woman that he loves; and a relationship that must traverse a minefield of stalker and paparazzi dangers.

Reviewed by Sandy

Copies supplied by author through Author’s Pal

TARYN ELLIOTT

I’m from the great state of New York–upstate NY, thank you very much. My family consists of a brother who takes care of keeping the snarky side of me alive and a dog that is more spoiled child than mutt. My writer-friends are the glue that keeps my crazy ideas more in the sane category, and my non-writerly friends are the reason I’m not a complete hermit. I can’t go a day without laughing and I truly do fall in love with each and every one of my leading men as I write their book. Music is life and every story has its own soundtrack.

Website: http://tarynelliott.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TarynElliottFic
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TarynElliottFic
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/TarynElliottAuthor

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