Music of the Heart - Katie Ashley

For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?

Have you ever read an Olivia Cunning book and thought, ‘this is sometimes too much sex, even for me? I wonder what it would be like toned down a little bit.’  Enter Music of the Heart.  

I actually just read the description for the first time while writing this review and the only thing I question is calling Abby a “country songstress” when her brothers’ band is a Christian band.  I mean can country and rock mix? OF COURSE!! And it can be beautiful! Can rock and Christian mix? Well that’s a little tricky! I mean, these guys (except the married Brayden) are used to having girls throw themselves at them on a nightly basis.  What the hell would any of them know about romance, dating and virgins?  

When Abby is sent to the wrong bus, and mistakenly not only winds up on Runaway Train’s tour bus, but winds up in the bed of womanizing, band front man Jake Slater she thinks it’s her brothers playing a joke.  When she comes to the realization that it isn’t, she is introduced to four rock gods and the challenge of her lifetime. 

When Jake bets her that she wouldn’t last one week on their bus with them, she refuses to back down.  She forgoes the week of practice time she would have had with her brothers before starting on tour with them herself and takes Jake’s bet.  In the process, she also reveals to them that she is in fact a 21 year old virgin.  Like a moth to a flame… 

While these guys are instantly gentler with Abby, they still don’t miss the opportunity to make inappropriate comments at/to her.  AJ even thinks he’s getting one over on her in his native Spanish language, only to be surprised that Abby not only understood him but could respond fluently.  She even used a few choice words en espanol.  Rhys realizes pretty early on that while he enjoys looking, Abby isn’t the one-night-stand kinda girl and so he admits that he will not be trying to touch.  Brayden wants to protect her because she’s a good girl and he’s married to the love of his life and is completely faithful…then there is Jake.   

Jake is the bad boy that causes her to feel things she shouldn’t.  She’s the angel that causes him to feel when he doesn’t want to.  Add into that, family drama on both sides and it’s a recipe for disaster… a train wreck you can’t look away from.   

I read the book in one sitting, it was a quick and easy read.  Sometimes I was frustrated by the push and pull of Jake, but I think that’s what made him, Jake! If you are someone who loves a bad boy turned good, someone who loves rockstars, and someone who can give in to an instant connection – this is your book! Plus, it's a hott cover!

 

 

 

 

True Love Story - Willow Aster

True Love Story - Willow Aster

 

Sparrow Fisher is transforming. No longer dressed up in antiquated clothes and ideals, she is finally trying on her freedom.

Before she moves to New York City, she meets Ian Sterling, a musician Sparrow has dreamed about since she first saw him. The attraction is instant, but their relationship isn't so simple.

Over a five year span, Sparrow and Ian run into each other in unusual places. Each time, Sparrow has to decide if she can trust him, if he feels the same for her, and finally, if love is really enough

 

I’m not even sure where to start with this story.  I guess there is no better place to start then the beginning… 

“It has been a year, two months, and seventeen days since I last saw him. Two years, ten months, and five days since he broke my heart -- well, since I knew that he had broken my heart. Technically, he began breaking my heart the moment I met him, five years, eleven months, and one day ago.” 

Yup, that’s how it starts, and dammit if I didn’t fall for the jerk anyway! Trish, this too is all your fault!!! 

Willow Aster tells us on the first page of the story that he is going to break her heart, the FIRST FREAKIN’ PAGE…what is wrong with me? The whole story, I am on edge waiting to see what it is.  How bad could it really be? ---OMG, SO MUCH WORSE than I thought it was going to be.  IAN STERLING YOU BROKE.MY.HEART! I wanted to yell at him, hug him, and pick up all the pieces of both of them and put their love back together.  But how could you possibly move forward from there? Can anyone really? Oh God it hurt! You know that song, “Sometimes love just ain’t enough?” Playing on repeat it my head!   

My head and my heart were at war with each other over this book the entire time I was reading it.  I read it in one long sitting because I could not put it down.  First I had to know, what was going to break Sparrow’s heart?  And then once I found out, the heartbreak would not allow me to put my kindle down.  I had to see it through, I had to know if she could come out on the other side of this pain, one way or another.  And the letters, some of those letters just tore my apart…I think my heart still hurts from this one. 

This isn’t your traditional love triangle story.  There are some ugly parts that made my head hurt, my heart hurt and even times, my stomach hurt.  It was not pretty…but it was some story.   

My only complaint is, that I felt the ending was too quick.  We labored through so much of what happened for so long and then I felt like it ended too quickly for me.  It’s just me personally but I would like to have seen a little more out of the last couple chapters.  On the flip side of that, there is an ending – so compared to all the cliffhangers I have been reading lately, I’m happy to report you will get an ending with this book…what that ending is, you’ll just have to read to find out.   

Even though I feel tormented, I will definitely be adding anything Willow Aster to my TBR list!

 

 

This Girl (Slammed #3) - Colleen Hoover

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

There are some people in this world, that if they never figured out their piece of the puzzle - the world would certainly be lacking... If Michael Jordan had never picked up a basketball, if Carrie Underwood had stayed on her farm and never tried out for American Idol. If Colleen Hoover had never put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard - whatever her method), I believe this world would be lacking.

This Girl...this story...butterflying amazing! I really enjoyed Slammed when I read it, and Point of Retreat has been sitting on my favorites shelf on my Kindle since I read it, but this book, by far, best of the series. It wouldn't have worked without the first two stories being told, but for me seeing it told from Will's POV just made me fall more in love with Will Cooper. 

This story picks up where PoR leaves us off and what I loved was that she let us be a part of that trip. It's not simply just Slammed re-told through Will's eyes. It's the best parts of Slammed told as memories while we are spending part of the honeymoon with our favorite couple. The mix of the past and present and then the small glimpse into the future, to me, was the perfect equation for this book.

I laughed, my heart hurt, I fell in love with Will and rooted for Will and Lake and eventually I even cried. I honestly don't want to share any of my favorite quotes because hearing this from Will is just better than reading parts of him separately. 

Colleen Hoover is beautifully brilliant, amazingly talented and seriously brave. My suck is that this series is over because I love these characters so much and my sweet is that Colleen Hoover shared these characters with us and gave us a piece of herself that will change everyone who lets it.