Review: Unique
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 22, 2013
I love all types of music, but there is something about rock and roll that always helps take me out of a bad mood. How can I stay mad while head-banging and screaming myself hoarse? Rawiya's One Shot is unique. Very few stories deal with a woman finding love after forty with a man in a similar bracket. There is a plethora of May/December romances and plenty of sugar daddies, but the idea of meeting that mature special someone of a similar age is less than popular in romance. This story changes all of that and makes forty the new twenty.The read is a creative take on the rock industry as the tale is centered around the star of a popular metal band and a pit photographer who takes candid shots of musicians. The heroine is Evie and she is a photojournalist. She has a huge crush on a rock star named Del Vans, a lead singer with some major baggage. Del is a recovering drug addict and the end result was he had to make numerous life changes after a near death experience. He practices martial arts, eats healthy and the only vice he has remaining is for coffee.But with all of his hard work and very little play, Del finds himself at a crossroads. He is beyond lonely and sick of it. He loves what he does, but there are aspects that he hates about notoriety. Not to mention that he is kind of a drag to his band mates and crew members, who all love sex, drugs, rock and roll and everything that is associated with it. (Though after reading how he rose from bed to the scent of Mary Jane, has to kick beer cans out of his path while doing the pee-pee dance, then trip over grappling groupies to take a nap, and all before breakfast? I can't say I blame Del so much.)Evie has ogled Del from the day she saw him, but she has a spot of baggage in the form of bad prior relationships. She is a mature woman at forty, but youthful enough in attitude and flavor to be half of that. The lady has spunk and is secure with herself as a person, even if she is terrified about the idea of speaking with Vans one on one. She has a bad mouth and a tattoo. But despite that, she is more librarian than rock-a-nista and uniquely packaged as a character.Did I like this read? Definitely. It reminded me of Olivia Cunning's Backstage Pass in an abridged version. There was chemistry, music, maturity and all wrapped into a fun parcel perfect for those who love short stories. The story flowed fairly well, but I will admit, the conclusion will seem a bit abrupt for those who are looking for the full happily ever after. The bones of the plot were solid, but there were some scenes that I would have loved to have expanded. (For example, what happened to put Del on the wagon? And what about his ex or hers for that matter?) The lovemaking is a bit on the sparse side for the erotica lovers as well, but there is a massage worthy "happy ending".-Reviewed by Jennifer