Review: Steamy Read With Interesting Characters
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 4, 2014
I have read and enjoyed many of Amber Lin's books and found them to be full of angst.  This one isn't as angsty and has exchanged deeply conflicted emotions for raw and gritty sex.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy it though.  I found myself quickly caught up in the whirlwind weekend of hedonistic interludes between the reliable and caretaking good girl Hailey and rock god Lock who's trying to put his self-destructive past behind him.  While most of their interactions are of the sexual variety we get to see moments where they connect and share on a deeper level, where we see each of them filling a void in the other's life.Hailey and her sister Chloe have had to live with the backlash caused by their mother's addictions and promiscuity.  While Chloe seemed to rebel and take on a party girl persona, Hailey became the reliable one who lived a very vanilla existence while acting as Chloe's mother.  When Chloe comes home pregnant from touring with rock band Half-Life Hailey makes it her mission to find the man responsible and make him pay.  Things don't go as planned though as she ends up selling her body and soul to get to the truth.  For so long Hailey has denied herself the right to have fun, to let go of the pressures of being a caretaker, but with Lock she can finally let loose.  And she definitely lets loose in numerous hot and heavy sexual encounters that change her life forever.  I liked Hailey and saw a lot of myself in her and could understand her desire to cut loose.  I found myself cheering for her as she was a breath of fresh air in Lock's life of superficiality and untrustworthiness and is just what he needed to continue walking the straight and narrow.Lock is still doing penance for the damage he did to his band through his alcoholism, blatant sexuality, and taking advantage of bandmate Krist's feelings for him.  He's kicked booze and learned to choose his sexual partners carefully by having them sign confidentiality agreements which leads to very unemotional and cold couplings.  He at first sees Hailey as a challenge, is drawn to her caring nature and her being unimpressed by his lifestyle.  She's a woman who actually wants him for himself.  He's scared to get too close though as their time together winds down.  He doesn't want to admit to a connection for fear he'll screw it up as he so often does.  He too is tired of the obligations forced upon him and sees her as a way to get away from it all.  She opens his eyes in so many ways, especially when it comes to the future and also the unrequited feelings Krist has for him that become heated here and feel unresolved at the end of the story.  Lock continues to fight his past throughout this story but it wasn't dealt with as much as I'd hoped.  By dwelling so much on the sex I felt like I was missing out seeing into his soul and longed for a story that put me through the emotional wringer.  I still found myself drawn to Lock but wanted to know oh so much more about him.This is a very scorching story with numerous sexual encounters that overwhelm the story at times.  Hailey and Lock didn't really talk about their lives until almost the end which led to a quickly wrapped up ending full of misunderstandings and doubts.  Along with the sexy encounters between Hailey and Lock we had a ménage and a light bit of m/m between Lock and Krist which I hope to see dealt with more fully as the two of them will have to deal with their complicated connection.  Krist is an intriguing and compelling character with demons of his own and unrequited feelings and I look forward to his story that's coming out next.  Ms. Lin and Ms. Slade have written a fast-paced and super steamy story that pulled me in from the very start with its vivid depiction of the sensual world of rock music with all its obligations and superficiality and has me counting down the days until we return.