I started listening to the Fated Mates podcast this month, and I was immediately inspired to buy 13 books. Probably not something I can sustain, but I was reminded how much I love rockstar romances, which led me to fill out my Kindle with Kylie Scott books.
And then I immediately started rereading the three rockstar romance series I already had. So … blame Sarah and Jen for the deluge of rereads this month!
Books
Sailor Proof
Annabeth Albert
Contemporary Romance, M/M
Military, fake dating, best friend’s brother, and serious opposites attract — an artsy musician in a family of do-gooders with a Navy chief. This was sweet, and gave me some nostalgia for my military childhood, but at the same time I’m loathe at this point in my life and at this point in history to glorify the military. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up at all except that it came in a Ripped Bodice monthly romance box. I don’t regret reading it, but I probably won’t be seeking out others.
Priest
Sierra Simone
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Fair warning — this one is profane. Like sex on a Catholic altar profane. (I’m not giving away more than the prologue does, there.) But at the same time, it handles it all really deftly, mostly by focusing on the conflicted, complicated humans trying to find their way. The parish felt real to me, the rhythms and the people familiar from my Catholic childhood, but it also addressed the more recent (or at least recently revealed) abuse scandals.
The King of Bourbon Street
Thea de Salle
Contemporary Romance (M/F)
There’s rich and then there’s rich. Sol Dumont’s family owns a chain of boutique hotels, and he’s still recovering from the death of his father and having to take over as CEO. Arianna Barrington’s family, though, is the kind of rich that uses their daughters as pawns, and Arianna is doing everything she can to get out from under the thumb of her controlling mother, including lying about a sex tape with the gardner. When Arianna runs away to New Orleans with her brother and runs into Sol, these opposites definitely attract. I loved the setting and the sex; I wasn’t as convinced by the relationship itself. But the setting and the sex!
TV
Bridgerton
We started watching it again from S1. I’m fascinated by how much they made sure S2 was different — different tropes, different rhythms — so that Anthony and Kate’s story was distinct from Daphne and Simon’s. Also, I want a whole spinoff of Lady Danbury. I love her so much.
Rereads
Idol
Kristen Callihan
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Killian, one of the world’s biggest rock stars, drunkenly crashes his motorcycle on Libby’s lawn — and she has retreated from the world after her parents died in a drunk driving accident. The series begins a year after the band has gone on hiatus after one of their member’s suicide attempt, and no one is dealing well. Add in Libby’s combined desire for music and terror of the fame machine, and you’ve got some complications. I’ve reread the series so many times — part of what I love about it is the relationship between the band members.
Managed
Kristen Callihan
Contemporary Romance, M/F
This book is grumpy/sunshine catnip. Scottie, the impeccable, hard-ass band manager who has made record executives cry, can’t resist Sophie, the cheerful social media manager with brilliantly-dyed hair who’s joined them on tour. There’s history here — Sophie was the photographer who took the pics of Jax’s overdose, although she wasn’t the one who published them, and Scottie’s personal history means he’s extremely resistant to emotional connections. Trust issues abound. I love this book.
Fall
Kristen Callihan
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Fate has basically brought Jax and Stella together. They meet at the grocery store before a blizzard, where they basically buy all the same things, and then Stella is hired to pet sit next door, and then they run into each other at a dumpling restaurant. They’re magnets, but they’re also annoyed by one another. Jax is struggling with his mental health, and Stella has no friends or family to speak of, and they accidentally push each other’s buttons. The deft handling of mental health here is delightful, and there’s an excellent “taking care of someone when they’re sick” segment.
Exposed
Kristen Callihan
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Rye, the bassist, and Brenna, the band’s publicist, have hated each other since they tripped clumsily over their mutual crush a decade back. They’re both feeling sexually unfulfilled, and they make a secret sex pact that gives everyone involved feelings. Also, they aren’t fooling anyone.
Lick
Kylie Scott
Contemporary Romance, M/F
David, world-famous rock star, marries college student Evelyn in a quickie Vegas ceremony the night they meet — only she was drunk off her ass and doesn’t remember anything. They decide to get divorced, but the story has hit the press, and the band’s manager is an ass, and they’re both stubborn as fuck, so they … don’t. They have to find their way back to what they had that night. Now, fair warning, this book is not very well written, but the writing gets better from here, so it’s worth reading to get to the rest of the series.
Play
Kylie Scott
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Mal is the band’s lovable, erratic goofball, and he impulsively invites himself to move in with Anne, Evelyn’s extremely responsible former neighbor, when he discovers her now-ex-roommate has left her high and dry. He persuades her to fake date him, but of course fake slides into real. But his erraticness only gets worse as his mother’s cancer turns terminal, and Anne can only bend so far.
Lead
Kylie Scott
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Jimmy’s drinking nearly brought down the band. He’s sober now, but he’s run off every sober companion the label has hired for him with his bitter, angry, attitude. Until Lena, who has no experience being a sober companion but has no problem going toe-to-toe with him. His armor develops a tiny chink at Mal’s mom’s funeral, and they both fight not to be in love and together, until, of course, they are.
Deep
Kylie Scott
Contemporary Romance, M/F
Ben’s the last one standing, and he’s committed to his fuckboy lifestyle. The only problem is that he’s accidentally knocked up Anne’s little sister Lizzy, who’s been in love with him since they met. Lizzy’s committed to the bean, despite the wrench it’ll throw into her life plans, and Ben’s committed to supporting her, although he draws the line at a relationship. Until, you know, he doesn’t.
Syncopation
Anna Zabo
Contemporary Romance, M/M
Lead singer of a maybe-up-and-coming-band Ray needs to find a new drummer and fend off the undermining of Carl, their manager. Zav, Julliard-trained percussionist, needs to do something after quitting his orchestra job and being unable to find another. It’s a match made in heaven, except for some leftover high school resentment, a record-company contract that will keep them in financial servitude forever, the aforementioned manager, and Zav’s aromanticism. This series is unabashedly queer and kinky, and I love all of the band members with all of my heart.
Counterpoint
Anna Zabo
Contemporary Romance, M/M
Domino is the leather-clad, collar-wearing, made-up guitarist. Dominic is the bow-tie wearing twink he is in real life. Adrian is the man Dominic meets at a local bar, but what starts as a fling turns serious, and Dominic has to figure out how to reconcile his personas. Adrian, for his part, is frustrated at work and trying to figure out what’s next.
Reverb
Anna Zabo
Contemporary Romance, M/F, Trans rep
Mish, tall badass bassist, has a stalker. The band hires her a bodyguard, the enigmatic David. He respects her, but he’s also determined to protect her — while she’s determined not to need anyone. He’s happy to be her bodyguard and her lover, but he knows they can’t be long term. Mish, in the end, won’t accept anything less. I love how much Mish knows herself, how much David and her band-mates love and respect her, and how this all comes together.