Craves The Angst: NEW REVIEW! ROCK KING (Nothing But Trouble #1) by Tara Leigh:

"... I liked this book, but I didn’t love it." - Craves the Angst

TITLE: Rock King
SERIES: Nothing But Trouble #1
AUTHOR: Tara Leigh
AGE GROUP: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary / Rockstar Romance
RELEASE DATE: February 20, 2018
PUBLISHER: Forever Yours
PAGES: Approx. 370

COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 2.5 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No

BOOK BLURB:
Fans of Kristen Callihan and Kylie Scott will scream for this sizzling bad boy rock star romance!

I'm not who you think I am.

Shane Hawthorne has it all. At least, that's what the headlines say about me. I have millions of fans, awards, more money - and women - than I know what to do with. But what you don't see is the wreckage I've caused. The memories and pain I can't escape, even when I pour them into music and spin them into gold.

I tried to forget. To lose myself in booze and groupies. It didn't work. It hurt me and - worse - it hurt my band. That's the last thing I want to do, so I'm cleaning up my act... starting with Delaney Fraser.

Gorgeous, smart, drama-free, and even nice - Delaney is the perfect "girlfriend." When I'm with her I don't have to pretend. It's like she sees the real me. And I can see a future with her. But that's dangerous. Because the truth is, Shane Hawthorne doesn't actually exist. He's a shield to hide who I really am. Fraud. Runaway. Addict. Murderer.

And it's impossible to love a lie, right?

The Nothing but Trouble series:
Rock King
Rock Legend
Rock Rebel

REVIEWER'S NOTE: I received an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars!

The Review:

This is a new-to-me author, so I want to say upfront that I really liked her writing style. She writes beautiful pros and the flow of her words is what I really enjoyed most about this book.

As for the story and the character actions, that’s where I didn’t get the joy from this read I was hoping for. I loved the premise of the story - Hot rocker guy trying to rise from the ashes and stay one step ahead of his dark past, hires a fake girlfriend to help him stay on the right path and not indulge in readily available party favors, including drug, booze and women - And as a side not, he’s absolutely not looking for any kind of emotional connection - Sweet, beautiful girl trying to hide completely from her past, works for hot rocker guy and simply can’t resist - Two opposing forces coming together to find an attraction they can’t deny ... Yeah, this is the kind of trope I love. And I loved Shane’s character for the most part. He was sexy, he owned his past sins and he was trying to make a better future and when he meets Delaney, he sees a bright shiny future he never really thought he deserved. His character was very believable. He wasn’t looking for any kind of commitment, but once he found Delaney, he was open and honest and came clean about his past. He was making amends all along, and though he made some character choices that didn’t sit right with me at all, mostly towards the end, I still really enjoyed his character.

Then there’s Delaney who I didn’t like much at all. She was sweet and I loved how she stood by Shane when everything came crumbling down. But I never felt the heartbreak she said she was going through. I wanted to feel the torture of her past, but it just wasn’t there. I couldn’t connect with her at all. She should have been broken by what happened. I mean, come on! What she did, what she let happen after it was done ... and then she just goes on, obviously sad but letting her dad hang like that? I couldn’t get on board with that. Thankfully, she did right in the end, but I didn’t see a lot of growth or remorse in what happened with her.

And the story itself... felt really slow. I even found myself skipping parts and I never really do that when reading. There was a lot of repetitive internalizing for both characters and I just wanted the story to get on with it.

And with all that said, I have to also say that this author can write one heck of a sex scene. I didn’t really like the insta-love between Shane and Delaney, but I LOVED the private moments they shared. Those two were scorching hot and Shane was really kinda drool worthy.

All in all, I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. I didn't like the plot nor did I like the direction it went, but I loved the writing and just because this book didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean other books by this author won't. I’m looking forward to checking out more of her work.