Beat
*oomph*!!!! YES!!! THIS ONE!!!! Rock star love-triangle angsty romance at it’s finest, and I was so into it! Now you know I’ve read my fair share of rock star books, and some rocked my world (and started me on my bad-boy contemporary romance binge), and some… well… one of us was a little out of tune with the other. Tee hee!
But this one? OH THIS ONE had the right beat, and I sure found the rhythm. *snort* GAH! I’m so corny. And I wasn’t even that clever, either. Ah well… it stays. 😉 And I’m not the only one that was loving the “beat”:
Maryse: The rock star one, “Beat” already has a slight Kellan-feel that I am LOVING!! The writing is really good. This one really works for me!! 😀
Lisa: I just finished Beat this morning!!! Lovedddd it!!!! Flynn hot hot hot!!! I think you do have to read Throb first. You get to know his character. Beat grabbed you right from the beginning!! Lucky is one Lucky girl!! As usual so sad when the story ends!! Heavy sigh!!!
Kostantina: I’m reading it now and loving it !! At 50%!!
Erica: Just finished this last night and LOVED it! Flynn, woo boy. Yeah…
Katie: I felt like it was similar to Thoughtless also!!
Maryse: The “feel” …right, Katie? that sweet attraction and how he helps her and ahhhhh I LOVED it.
Katie: Me too! Loved their chemistry!
Michelle: Started this one last night! Didn’t read throb first, but loving it
Maryse: I haven’t read Throb either, and this one is working perfectly for me as a standalone! 🙂
Katie: I didn’t read Throb and this felt like a standalone.. So you don’t need to.. IMO
Wendy: Just finished this and I couldn’t put it down. Enjoyed very much
Cheryl: Finished Beat and yes he did have that sweet Kellan feel. Reading Beat, I felt what they were feeling. Especially Lucky questioning what she thought was real and then her “aha” moments of what love truly was and should be. Wish the epilogue could have been a little longer and perhaps more in the future, but had to laugh about Dylan in the epilogue. Loved her reaction to Flynn’s first time on stage. Holy Hotness!! Couldn’t wait to finish the book, but now wish I still had more to read. Now what will I read?!
What to read next, is a great question Cheryl!!
I’m going to investigate more from this author, that’s for sure. I’ve read an MMA fighter romance book from this author and I remember having enjoyed it, so I’m not surprised that I loved this one! I just love her writing style. It flows, it’s tight, and it’s complete. From the set up, the “meet-cute”, the dialogue, the thought process, the slower burn, the angsty issues (that plays out perfectly and logically, even in it’s drama), nothing is rushed. The guys sound like guys (and act like guys), and the girl? Well… we actually get to “be” her and never once did I roll my eyes. Mind you… there were trust issues to contend with, no doubt, bringing up all sorts of uncomfortable feelings. Being in one relationship… and then merging into another. Tee hee! I said merging (oh and boy is the merging it H-O-T!!).
But the magic is in how it all plays out. Her realistic reactions (right or wrong) gave this one the angst I wanted to indulge in.
So what’s it about?
Lucky (that’s her name and OMG was she!!) owns a karaoke bar in New York (that used to be owned by her famous rock star parents). And due to the famous owners and their famous friends that used to hang out there, it’s well… pretty infamous. And rock stars, today, continue to frequent it.
Lucky herself is dating a notorious bad-boy rock star (“Dylan” from a HUGELY famous rock band). One that was her teen idol, she used to drool over his posters and now, he’s hers! Mind you, he’s over is 10 years older than her (she’s 25 and he’s 35) and she struggles somewhat with his nonchalant attitude towards their relationship, his big ego,
It’s not hard to find Dylan once I’m finally inside— he’s got an entourage the size of his ego.
…and his being on the road all the time… and the whole “groupie” potential, but well… there it is. Yet, I did find him endearing, so don’t go in thinking this’ll be easy ’cause he’s a “bad guy”. He’s a typical rock star… yes. But I dunno. He certainly had my heart at times. Big time, even. Anyway, you’ll see…
So, one evening, as she’s working in her bar, she meets the gorgeous, dimpled, sexy-as-hell “Flynn”, and they chat and get along and he gets up and sings and BLOWS HER MIND!
I blink myself out of my daze. Flynn Beckham has a way of gliding his eyes over every woman in the room, yet making you feel like you’re the only one he’s actually looking at. As though he just found the one in a crowd of women, and not just the one he’s going to take home tonight… the one he’s been looking for since the first day he got on stage.
He too, can’t stop thinking about Lucky, so he comes back again and again. They become fast friends. Flirting, sure… but it’s all pretty innocent. At first.
And then he’s back in the bar, meeting with the bigger-than-life rockstar, Dylan… who introduces Flynn to his girl.
“Babe, come here. I want you to meet someone.”
Following the lead of his voice, I turn to check out the woman walking toward us and my heart wrenches in my chest. You have got to be kidding me. There are eight million people in New York City. Her?
GAH!!! The angst is brewing…
My pulse quickens and there’s a primal urge inside me to reach out and grab her as she comes within my grasp. Wrap her into my arms so no one else can touch her. Certainly not Dylan douchebag Ryder.
Awwwwww!!!!
Things are “cute”. Sweet. Subtly intense, between them, but they keep their “friendly” distance. She meets his little niece, he meets her friends. You know how it is. 😉
P.S. OMG I swoooooooned when he helped her with one of her biggest fears. I just… fell SO HARD for him. And Lucky did too.
But something about Flynn Beckham makes me nervous. He’s different. Sure, from the outside he’s a rockstar, all gorgeous and self-confident, with that laid-back swagger that comes with years of being praised for a multitude of talents. Yet somehow he still feels unaffected by fame. He’s playful. And comforting. Oddly, I find myself thinking my dad would have liked him.
However it all comes to a head when she’s hired by her famous boyfriend to tour with them and be the voice coach to a new singer that will be replacing one of their band members. You see, he’s just getting over a vocal cord injury and he needs help keeping them from being damaged again on this 6 month tour.
And just guess who it happens to be?!!! *gasp*!!! YESSSS!!!! TEE HEE!!!! But she doesn’t know it yet… I LOVED that reveal. Of course… her best friend finds out first.
“Dylan was Lucky’s teenage crush. He’s also a douche. He doesn’t deserve my best friend. She needs a new boyfriend.”
“Yeah, well. I tend to keep away from women with boyfriends. Too many problems.”
“Sounds like you’ve been there before?”
“Not intentionally. Only when they fail to mention it before it’s too late.”
“Well, Lucky is worth breaking your rule.”
“She’s also the girlfriend of the lead singer of the band I’m going to spend six months traveling with.”
“I heard. Sounds like fate to me.”
“I think you’re confusing fate with fatal.”
All of that awesome book-fun happens in the first quarter of the book, so I’m gonna stop there. You can imagine how crazy it all gets. But instead of imagining… read it!!!! 😀
Mind you, it’s not that there’s anything incredibly “different” with this one. It’s just one of “those” you know? It’s done right.
And if you’re looking for a sort of “comparison” well… I’m totally going there. ‘Cause it had that “Kellan Kyle” sweetness and feel. The uncontrollable need, the stolen moments, that heartache, and the morality issues. It’s just not as intense or as infuriating as Thoughtless. Much gentler.
And, well… you know I love it when a book tears my heart out of me and feeds it back to me in pieces (and then miraculously manages to heal it after all of that angsty turmoil). So this is why Thoughtless remains my #1 rock star/love triangle read of all time, because of how exciting and devastating and unbelievably mind-blowing it was, to me.
But!! This one’s pretty great. A definite top contender for my “What to Read After Thoughtless” page. All the right amount of just about everything, timed just right. Big crush, denial, rumors, suspicions, absolute perfect moments that are just impossible to ignore, and plenty of OH NO’S!!!!
Do you enjoy rock star reads? To me, this one is one of my new favorites!
4 stars!
P.S. Thank you to the author for sending me a review copy. How could I possibly resist with a book-blurb like that!?? GAH! Blurb perfection!
Sonds good Maryse… Is it a stand alone?
It is a standalone. Flynn actually appears in book #1, but they both read perfectly well, separately.
I love your review Maryse. The videos are awesome! Did you read Throb before this one? Just curious. I know they’re stand-alones.
I haven’t read Throb, and while I hear Flynn DOES appear in Throb, this one read PERFECTLY as a standalone.
In fact, I kind of wish there was a prequel to this one with how SHE met her famous rock star boyfriend… and how THEY got together.
I bet you having that prequel, and their own beginning story would have made this love triangle (and her meeting FLYNN in this one) even angstier.
LOL! And thank you for the video encouragement. I find myself SO goofy in ’em so I’m embarrassed. But they’re fun. It’s like my own video diary of my experience reading certain books.
I’m scared of what it’ll look like when I ugly cry on a video. Eeeeep!
Great review Maryse. While Throb was good, I liked Beat so much more. The videos are so funny!! 😉