Tag: rockstar romance

Blurring the Lines and Extras book cover

Blurring the Lines & Extras by Amy Kaybach

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from Author to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Blurring the Lines & Extras by Amy KaybachBlurring the Lines by Amy Kaybach
Also by this author: Bridging the Silence, Blending Chords
Series: The Blind Rebels #0.5
Published by Self-Published on July 15, 2024
Genres: Rockstar Romance, Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Author
Amazon
Goodreads

Some day they'll write songs about me...From the outside, the Blind Rebels have it all. They are one of the most popular rock bands in the world. Their albums go platinum. Tickets to their concerts sell out in hours.

Behind the scenes, they are a band hanging on by a thread.

Lead singer Mavrick Slater worries his guitarist and best friend is on a dangerous path to self-destruction.

Guitarist Callum Donogue is tired. Tied of being the one who cares. Tired of the constant touring. Drugs give him an escape.

Becka wants out of her dismal life in Chicago and to have songs written about her. The only way out she sees is on the arm of a rock star. Any rock star will do.

Find out the real story of what happened before the Blind Rebels series.

—

Also included in this book are several extra scenes from the Blind Rebels series.

Blurring the Lines is a novella meant for adult audiences. Content includes strong language, explicit sexual scenes, cheating, mention of drug and alcohol use, mention of overdose leading to death, and other mature situations.

Blurring the Lines & Extras is a prequel novella with some extra tidbits for the Blind Rebels series, all wrapped into one tidy little package. This book does contain spoilers for the Blind Rebels series, so if spoilers bother you, I recommend either reading the series first or stopping after Blurring the Lines and waiting to read the extras until after you’ve finished the Blind Rebels series.

As a huge fan of the Blind Rebels series, I’d often wondered exactly how the events played out that led up to the Rebels’ hiatus. I knew it had to do with Mavrick, Callum, and Mavrick’s fiancee Becka, but I wasn’t sure how it had all played out. Now I know.

I’m going to be honest, I dislike Becka even more now than I did before. While there were times I could relate to her, she really got under my skin most of the time. I had a hard time understanding what Mav saw in her to be honest.

Blurring the Lines was very well written and relieves the itch of wanting to know what happened before the events of Bridging the Silence took place. Now… about those extras!

The extras are the parts that will be spoilers for the Blind Rebels series. Like I said above, if you want to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading the series first or just reading Blurring the Lines and leaving the extras until later. The extras include events from other perspectives, events that don’t actually appear in the books, and in some cases, things that happened after the series was over. You’ll get to see some beloved characters dealing with things in new ways or just dealing with new experiences.

I gave Blurring the Lines & Extras a solid five stars because it perfectly starts off the series and gives so much more to the series! I can’t wait to read the next series.

Reviving the Rhythm by Amy Kaybach

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from Author to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book may contain material that is disturbing to some readers. Please Google for a full list of trigger warnings. Thank you!

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Reviving the Rhythm by Amy KaybachReviving The Rhythm Series: Blind Rebels #3
Also in this series: Blending Chords, Finding Harmony
Published by Amy Kaybach on 09/16/2022
Genres: Rockstar Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Amazon
Goodreads

The third book in the Blind Rebels rock star romance series plunges drummer, Sammy, into an abyss of uncertainty after an accident threatens not just his life but the only safe place he has left. Despite the sudden dark storm that assumes control of his existence, a ray of sun peeks into his life from his past that might pull him out of the depths. Will his fears and past mistakes be too much to revive his rhythm?

Experienced paramedic Melody is a strong, confident, take charge woman who’s made it her mission to save lives, but knows from personal experience not all hearts heal, especially one damaged so long ago. Even if the heart beats again, so many things can go wrong and cause past lost love to flatline permanently.

SAMMY

After high school, three things mattered to me: my sister Sevenya, my drum kit, and my surfboard. With Sevenya in the passenger seat, we hightailed it to Los Angeles so I could chase my rock 'n' roll dreams. But I left a part of my heart on the beach.

Just as the Blind Rebels were gaining popularity, I suffered a crushing loss. One I didn’t think I’d ever recover from. I tried running to the ocean for solace, only for an accident to turn it against me.

MELODY

When it comes to relationships, I've learned it's best to keep my distance. Heartache takes many forms, so I've avoided it by perfecting the art of not getting too close. Instead, I focus on my career as a fire paramedic to help others, to make up for the one I couldn't save.

When I saw the surfer go down in the water, my instincts and training kicked in. I never expected that the life I’d be saving off-duty would be that of my high school sweetheart. He broke my heart then. I keep his beating now. Haunted by pains of our pasts, we're left wondering if a second chance is even possible after all these years.

This book is for an adult audience as it contains mature themes. Readers with sensitivity to drug use, alcohol use, cursing, violence of a physical and/or sexual nature being discussed or described may want to take that into consideration before reading this book.

Ok, you all had to know this was coming. I’m part of Amy Kaybach’s ARC Team, so the chances of me not reviewing Blind Rebels book 3 was slim to none. Well, today is this book’s birthday, so here we are – my review of Reviving the Rhythm.

This time we get Sammy’s love story and in this case, it’s a love he had and lost… of his own doing. There are things in this book that hit home for me and it took me a bit longer to read this one than the first two books.

First, let’s look at our characters. Of course, we already know the lovable Sammy. He’s the peacemaker and peacekeeper in the band. He’s a fun-loving guy and he’s great with Gibson. We get to learn Sammy’s backstory and what made him who he is today. We also learn about the tragedies in his life. Those tragedies aren’t entirely his alone – he shares at least one with Killian.

Then we have Melody. Sammy’s long lost love – again, of his own doing. She’s a great character. She’s strong, but also not strong in certain situations. She also has situations in which she reacts like many of us would or do. I really liked her, although I admit, I like Kady and Ari better… again, I love Melody, but I just like Kady and Ari better for some reason.

Next we have Clance and Sofie… they’re a married couple who are friends of Melody’s. Clance is overprotective of Melody and in some cases it is warranted, in others, not so much. Clance features more in the book than Sofie does – but we do see her a fair amount and she’s a good friend to Melody.

Now, let’s look at our plot – this one is full of twists, turns, and near-tragedies. It kept my interest and made me want to read more, as all of Amy’s books have. The only reason I had issues was there are a few things that hit home for me because while my issues aren’t exactly the same, I have some similar problems as characters in the book[mfn]All I will say is one of the characters is Killian and one is Melody[/mfn]. But the plot is amazing in this one and I’m impressed at Amy’s coming up with new ways for her couples to have problems. LOL

The ending was perfect and not perfect as it is kind of a cliffhanger, but not really. It’s a cliffhanger for reasons… but it’s not as far as Sammy and Melody’s story goes. The cliffhanger involves our 4th Blind Rebel, Killian. But I’m not telling you what it is. Suffice it to say, you’ll be chomping at the bit for Killian’s book and the explanation for his part of the ending of Reviving the Rhythm.

I gave this one 5 stars because as always, Amy does an amazing job with the Blind Rebel boys. I highly recommend you give these books a try – start with Bridging the Silences, then go to Blending Chords, then Reviving the Rhythm. I promise you won’t be sorry.

Green space background with green guitar and the words Blending Chords and amy kaybach on the front

Blending Chords by Amy Kaybach

Published on by Charli1 Comment

I received an advance copy of this book from Author to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Blending Chords by Amy KaybachBlending Chords by Amy Kaybach
Also by this author: Bridging the Silence, Blurring the Lines
Series: Blind Rebels #2
Also in this series: Reviving The Rhythm, Finding Harmony
Published by Amy Kaybach on 06/24/2022
Genres: Rockstar Romance
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Author
Amazon
Goodreads

Callum
Guitarist. Rock star. Blind Rebels bandmate. My public persona embodies all of these titles fans have gifted upon me. But none of them matter as much as the role bestowed on me two years ago: father.

My son is my world, yet juggling being a single father with everything else hasn’t been easy. I know I need help, but how can I trust a stranger with the one thing my entire world revolves around?

Arista
I must get out of my sister’s house. As much as I love her, I can’t tolerate her handsy husband. Armed with a degree in early childhood education, I’m determined to find a live-in nanny position that will allow me to truly make a difference in a child’s life with one-on-one interaction.

Being a nanny for Callum Donogue looked like the opportunity of a lifetime. Unfortunately, he seems to resent me being there, spending time with his son. Can we find a way to make this work? Or will our constant clashing prompt him to hang up his guitar and abandon the Blind Rebels mid-tour?

Ok, so again, we all know that I don’t read a ton of romance books. Namely because I usually don’t care much for them. But there are certain types of romance books that I enjoy, and a good rockstar romance is one of them. So of course I was going to read the second book in the Blind Rebels series by Amy Kaybach. After how much I loved the first book, Bridging the Silence? There was no way you’d catch me dead not reading Blending Chords!

Blending Chords is the story of Blind Rebels guitarist Callum Donogue and the woman he hires to be his live-in nanny, Arista. Now before I go any further, I feel like I should post a couple of trigger warnings because, well, they’re there – there are mentions of suicidal thoughts, sexual assault/abuse, death of family members, and kidnapping. If any of these things are trigger points for you, I recommend being very careful while reading this book. Now…

I know I gave this book 5 stars as I did Bridging the Silence. If a book keeps me on my toes and wanting to read more, then it gets 5 stars, especially if it is a romance novel. So let’s get into why I gave it 5 stars, shall we?

Characters

Callum

I’m not going to lie, Callum can be an asshole. I mean, I get where he’s coming from – after all, he has a son[mfn]Gibson[/mfn] to think/worry about, his son’s mother abandoned him and signed her rights to him away just a few days after he was born, and he’s a rock star who has obligations to his band, Blind Rebels. But he can still be a real asshole. At least he knows it and he makes attempts to rectify his mistakes when he’s being an asshole. Of course, there are a couple of parts where you’ll see that his being an asshole is completely justified.

Arista (Ari)

I giggled when I saw her name because I’m old enough to remember the record company called Arista.[mfn]I wonder if they’re still around…[/mfn]. In any case, I like that Ari has issues but does her best not to let them interfere too much with her life. Of course, she still, like any human being, let’s them define her life, but only to a point. Many people in her situation would be far more messed up than she is. She obviously cares about Gibson and about kids in general. She’s an interesting character who has layers.

Viola (Vi)

Although we don’t see a lot of Vi, she’s Ari’s older sister. I won’t give away why she’s important to the story, but I will say that she truly embodies what a sister should be. I really liked her and almost hope we can get a story (even if it’s a novella) about Vi’s life after Blending Chords.

Todd

Vi’s husband. Without giving too much away, I wanted to throttle him from the beginning to the end of the book. Believe me when I say you will too – and if you don’t, um…. yeah… I’m going to just leave that there. Asshole doesn’t begin to describe this person.

Review

This one took me longer to read, but that’s more because I was dealing with my own life issues than because the book wasn’t good enough to keep going on. I actually ended up starting the book on my phone because my Kindle needed to be charged and I wanted to get started on it.

Even when I wasn’t reading it because I couldn’t focus[mfn]Stupid life issues[/mfn], I was thinking about it and wondering how certain things I’d already read would play out.

Amy certainly knows how to write great characters and great plot twists. There was one “plot twist” that involved a mystery character – who I correctly guessed before I found out who it was – but the character was written in a way that you did wonder who it could possibly be.

One of the first plot twists is one that will piss you off – I know it did me. How anyone could do that to Ari is beyond me and although you never do find out for certain who did it… I have a sneaking suspicion I know.

While this book doesn’t have the typical “burned by love” storyline, it does have atypical – because the people who burned them aren’t people they truly loved or even thought they truly loved. This makes it interesting to me because the burned by love trope is usually characterized by the one who is burned having truly loved/adored the person who hurt them. In one of our characters’ case, I want to beat the person who hurt them within an inch of their life.

One thing I like about Blending Chords – while they are meant to be read in order of release, meaning while you really should read Bridging the Silence first, you actually could read Blending Chords first and not be too lost. Sure, there might be a few things mentioned that make you wonder what’s going on, but for the most part, it reads like a stand alone book. Of course, that could be because I did read Bridging the Silence first.

I don’t believe that will be the case with the next book, Reviving the Rhythm[mfn]To be released in September 2022[/mfn], based on the ending of Blending Chords, but we’ll see.

If you love Rockstar Romance or want to get into it, I highly recommend picking up both Bridging the Silence and Blending Chords. You’ll fall in love with these boys in Blind Rebels, I guarantee it.

Blending Chords will be available on Amazon as a Kindle book or in paperback on June 24, 2022. You can also purchase signed paperbacks on Amy’s website.

Bridging the Silence by Amy Kaybach

Published on by Charli

I received an advance copy of this book from Author to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Bridging the Silence by Amy KaybachBridging the Silence by Amy Kaybach
Also by this author: Blending Chords, Blurring the Lines
Series: Blind Rebles #1
Published by Self-Published on March 18, 2022
Genres: Rockstar Romance
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Author
Amazon
Goodreads

The first book in the Blind Rebels rock star romance series follows Kady, a broken ex-popstar trying to rebuild her life after suffering a devastating traumatic event and Mav, the charismatic lead singer of world famous Blind Rebels, who has been talked into doing a reunion residency in Las Vegas a year after the band broke up in a very public, very explosive way on stage.

Kady
I was a pop princess. American royalty. Until my ex, armed with a gun, turned my super star existence into a grisly nightmare. Now, living in a prison of self-inflicted silence, I'm battling to break out of my isolation by rediscovering the world from behind a camera lens.

Mavrick
Our band, The Blind Rebels, was globally famous…until our very public implosion. And I know, I share plenty of blame for that after tackling one of my bandmates on stage at Madison Square Gardens. Our label wants us back together. They don’t know our guitarist stole my fiancée and had a child with her.

I didn’t think I could ever trust a woman again…until I met Kady. She’s just as broken as I am, shattered by the heartless actions of another. Can we put our painful, self-doubt aside and learn to trust each other? Or will wounds from the past destroy our chance at true happiness?

This book contains adult themes and may not be for all readers. It is not recommended for audiences who may be sensitive to discussions involving mass shooting, bodily injuries or death, anxiety and panic attacks.

Ok, I know, it’s another romance novel. But here’s the thing – romance novels get me out of reading slumps and it’s not just a romance novel. This is a rockstar romance novel. Now, I know you probably can’t tell from the looks of my blog, but I love rock music and listen to everything from hair metal to death metal, along with some other assorted types of music. So combining rockstars and reading is a sure way to get me to read your romance novel. Now… about that romance novel. 😉

I do want to disclose that I am friends with the author and have been for years – before I even knew she wanted to write a book. That does not in any way color my review of this book – trust me, if I hadn’t liked it, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Now, on to the actual review.

Bridging the Silence is the first in a four book series about a band called Blind Rebels. This particular book is Mav’s[mfn]The lead singer[/mfn] story. Being a singer myself, the singer is nearly always my favorite member of a band. So far, Mav is my favorite out of Blind Rebels as well – and the band isn’t even real! So that should tell you right off how well Mav is written as a character. Now, about those characters.

Characters

Mav

Mav is the lead singer of Blind Rebels. He and the guitarist for Blind Rebels, Callum, got into a huge fight at Madison Square Garden and the band went on a huge hiatus. Because of that fight, and the reason behind it, Mav is a bit on the jaded side when it comes to both the band and love. He can be your typical rockstar – getting drunk and a bit disorderly. But he’s also not your typical rockstar. I found myself truly enjoying Mav. He was an extremely likeable character, even if he could be a complete jerk at times. But hey, what man can’t be a jerk at times? If you’re familiar with the rock music scene, you’ll love how Mav is written because it’s realistic. Mav doesn’t seem fake and while I was reading, I almost forgot Mav isn’t real!

Kady

I admit, I loved Kady. The former pop-princess who goes through a highly traumatic event and comes out the other side battered and a bit on the broken side. Don’t think Kady is completely broken though – she might have been for a time, but she certainly isn’t that way anymore… even if her best friend wants to keep believing she is. One of the reasons I loved Kady was the fact that she could look back on her former career and realize that wasn’t who she wanted to be – it wasn’t who she really is. Again, Kady is written in such a realistic way, I almost forgot that she isn’t real.

Those are the two main characters, so they’re the ones I’ll focus on for this book.

Review

Now… I managed to read this book in less than 24 hours. I actually stayed up until 6AM to finish the book, even though I probably should have gone to bed. But once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I had to know what was going to happen next. I had to know how the story was going to play out.

Most romances I’ve read, while great for getting me out of reading slumps because they’re usually just a bunch of meet-cute fluff, don’t provide me with a feeling of needing to know what happens. But Bridging the Silence isn’t just your typical meet-cute fluffy romance book. It is gritty, realistic, and talks about issues that might make some people uncomfortable. This is a romance book that has more substance than most romances I’ve read.

When I read this book, I lost myself in it. I was actually immersed in the music industry world in which the characters live. I felt as though the characters were real people instead of just names and brief personality descriptions. The characters actually stand out and honestly, I found myself thinking more than once I wish they were real so I could meet them – that’s how much I loved them.

The plot for this book is typical romance stuff – at least one of the characters has been burned by love. Both are cautious, although for different reasons. But the manner in which that plot is carried out is far beyond what you get from most books. You don’t just get the “so and so cheated on me”[mfn]Although there is that… trust me[/mfn] trope, you also have someone going through not just an emotionally but physically traumatic event. Usually romances I read only have one of the main characters burned by love but in this story, it’s both of them, in wildly different ways.

It’s really hard not to tell you what happens in the book, but I’m not going to spoil it for you. This was my first and only 5-star rating for a book that wasn’t an audiobook so far in 2022. If you like Rockstar Romance or you’d like to get into Rockstar Romance, I’m telling you, Bridging the Silence is the book you want to pick up.

Bridging the Silence is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited on March 18, 2022. You can also purchase a signed paperback from Amy’s website.