I'm a big fan of Olivia Cunning's Sinners on Tour series and was excited to discover this foray into yet another series set in the world of rock n' roll. Unfortunately this series hasn't been as satisfying as the Sinners on Tour series with numerous loose ends left hanging and almost too much sex that takes away from character development.
First up is a story that was originally in a Christmas anthology but has now been released on its own......
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS STORY:
I'm the kind of reader who loves steaminess in the books she reads, but I don't want those scenes to overwhelm the story nor do I want the scenes to be there just for the sake of steaminess. I want a reason behind the acts or else it makes the characters participating look sleazy. Unfortunately, that's the case here. Lindsey's been dying to meet her favorite musicians Kellen and Owen and one snowy night gets to indulge her fantasies with them at a deserted rest stop in their tour bus. With barely a hello being said, and no real understanding of the kind of person she is or her backstory, she immediately allows herself to be tied up by the two of them and used as their plaything. Kellen's not the kind of guy to go all the way but Owen more than makes up for it in a long scene that's sweat-inducing. While Lindsey's having her fun, her friend Vanessa is busy with the rest of the band continuing the holiday festivities. At some point the girls party together with Owen and before long the bus driver and some other guy get to sample their treats too.
Things quickly devolve into one big orgy that both girls enjoy and would be happy to experience again in the future. No one worried about consequences and the girls never felt demeaned by any of the night's activities. I was left with quite the opposite feeling though, I found them both irresponsible and deluding themselves as to what they meant to the band. They were entertainment, pure and simple. I appreciated Ms. Cunning's writing style as it flowed nicely and easily draws you into the action. The members of Sole Regret are an intriguing group of men with human foibles and while I enjoyed getting to know them, I was left frustrated by how meaningless this story felt in regards to the women. I quickly forget about them and hoped never to see either again. Unfortunately, like a bad rash, Lindsey returns......
My rating for this is a D.
********************
He went there looking for a sure bet…
Sole Regret’s bassist, Owen Mitchell, is convinced that romance is for chumps. He’s only looking for a good time, and when he spots an attractive, older woman emitting men-suck vibes at a brand new sex club, he’s sure he’s found it.
She went there hoping to get over her ex-husband…
Successful business woman, Caitlyn Hanson, is still infuriated and hurt over her ex-husband’s affair with a much younger woman. She’s only looking to scrub his claim from her body by offering it to the first attractive man who shows her interest, and the young, hot stud, who just sat down at her table, will do quite nicely.
They never meant to get personal…
She went there hoping to get over her ex-husband…
Successful business woman, Caitlyn Hanson, is still infuriated and hurt over her ex-husband’s affair with a much younger woman. She’s only looking to scrub his claim from her body by offering it to the first attractive man who shows her interest, and the young, hot stud, who just sat down at her table, will do quite nicely.
They never meant to get personal…
Caitlyn knows she’s not supposed to get attached to Owen just because he gives her body pleasure unlike any she’s ever known, but it’s her first one-night-stand and she can’t seem to keep her heart out of the equation. For once, Owen finds himself in the same conundrum. He likes Caitlyn too much to keep his heart at a safe distance, but will a mistake from Owen’s past drive her away forever?
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS STORY:
Owen's always been the fun one of the band, always doing whatever it takes to make people happy. He wears his heart on his sleeve and it oftentimes sets him up for heartache. He and Kellen are like brothers and often share their women, with a bit of attraction flaring between them as well, at least on Owen's part though he'll never admit it. Until now he's been happy meeting younger women at his sex clubs for one-night stands until the night he meets Caitlyn who completely changes his way of thinking. Caitlyn's older than him and looking for a bit of revenge against her cheating ex-husband. She's looking for a bit of boost to her self-esteem which is exactly what Owen gives her with his charm and flattery.
He and Kellen both start off the night with her but jealousy soon invades and Owen wants her only for himself. It's the first of many rules he has that he throws away to be with her. Since all the women before didn't want to talk, this is the story where we dig deeper into Owen's background. What we find is a teenager who was overweight, picked on, and had self-esteem issues of his own. He now keeps things superficial for fear of being hurt like he was in high school. That is until he finds a kindred spirit in Caitlyn and therefore desperately wants to form a relationship with her. What follows are numerous scenes of a charming Owen winning her over completely while burning up the sheets, and various other locations, with a giddy Caitlyn.
Caitlyn starts out the story very embittered towards men but slowly unwinds and takes on a playful personality. She's truly happy and discovers some uncomfortable truths about herself that further help her heal her heartache. Her and Owen are fun to watch together as she's the smart and studious type whereas he's still the class clown bent on bringing a smile to her face and if the story had ended there I would've been thrilled. But, like the other books in this series, there are loose ends left hanging. The biggest loose end is the reappearance of the annoyingly whiny Lindsey, who shows up pregnant and just KNOWS that Owen's the father even though she slept with every member of the band and then some. Her reappearance is pure soap opera and made me despise her even more for her carelessness and the position she's now in that Owen can't help but try to fix. What could've been a satisfying HEA ends up being overly melodramatic. It's unfortunately hinted at that Lindsey is going to be paired with the brooding Kellen, who's still trying to get over the death of the love of his life, which means that we're stuck with her. I can only hope that Ms. Cunning works some big magic on this character to make her more likable in the next book. This was not a bad story but could've been so much better without the obvious soap opera melodrama included.
My rating for this is a C+
*I bought both of these books with my own money.
No comments:
Post a Comment