Review: Sexy, Fun and Heartbreaking!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2012
3.75 StarsI've read a lot of books lately with a rock & roll/band theme and you'd think they'd all start to blend together or get boring but that's far from the case. With The Band by L.A. Witt is an honest look at what can happen when band members hook up and things change. This book is sexy, exciting, fun, and intense but it's also at times heartbreaking.This book is told in first person from the perspective of Aaron McClure who is returning to Seattle from Los Angeles following the breakup of his band and a breakup with his lover, Jason, the band's guitarist. He's auditioning to join his brother and sister's band. The band Schadenfreude is made up of the McClure's, Todd and Elena and the Koehler brothers, Bastian and Andre. They recently parted ways with their male lead singer and Aaron is hoping to join them and start to pick up the pieces of his life.From the start you get an immediate feel of how close the band is and you can tell they are nervous about bringing in someone new even if that someone is related to two of the other members. Aaron had a teenage crush on Andre that his sister knows about and she is the only one who knows he's gay. Being that Andre is heterosexual and engaged they both know this won't be a problem especially since it was years ago but the minute Bastian walks in the door Aaron is in lust. This group has one major rule, no fraternization between band members. They all know this can lead to problems and since they are on the verge of making it big they don't want anything in their way. The band's closeness and interaction are a highlight of this story.When Aaron and Bastian finally get together it's passionate, but it's also very sensual. I love that these two take kissing and foreplay to a whole new level which doesn't happen very often in a M/M story. Because they have to keep their relationship quiet from the band their stolen moments are powerful and raw the majority of the time. They have a lot of sexual encounters but don't spend a lot of time learning about each other or talking other than to continually discuss why they shouldn't be together.When they are "outed" by Bastian's psycho ex-fiancée the fallout is immediate and painful and to me this is where the story kind of fell apart. Honestly I was disappointed with the band members who were acting like high school kids rather than the professional musicians they claim to be. Not only that I felt that Bastian's response to the situation came way out of left field, how do you turn off your love from one day to the next? I just didn't buy it. Aaron on the other hand was the one person whose emotions and reactions seemed to be 100% spot on.With all of that in mind, I still enjoyed this story. The characters are colorful, rich, and likeable. Because it was told in 1st person though, it was hard to sometimes understand what the others were thinking and feeling. The dialog flowed between the characters like normal conversations which made the book realistic. The band possibly going from a local bar band to a signed band with a contract gave this book an aura of excitement that was hard to resist. What I appreciated most is that while the ending hints at a happily for now, it doesn't discount that problems will continue to arise when band members are dating. With The Band is a sexy, stimulating, and worthwhile read about a band on the edge of being discovered and all the traps that come along with it. If you enjoy books about bands, touring, rock and roll, and of course two sexy hot musicians who enjoy each other, then this is the book for you!Review copy provided for an honest review.