Saturday, April 29, 2017

Book Tour for Groupie by Susan Daugherty (Review & GIVEAWAY)


Readers get an in-depth look into the country music world with this tale of a singer at the top of his career, who ends up injured while on tour, and his unexpected relationship with the very opinionated physical therapist helping him to heal.  Keep reading to get a tempting glimpse of Groupie by Susan Daugherty, with its romance full of sexual tension and the realities of being a country music star, along with getting my impressions of this book.  In honor of this first installment in this duo of books set amidst the backdrop of the country music world make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $50 Amazon GC too!

Moving to a new city isn’t the magic fix Lexie Travis hoped it would be. Sure, she put some mileage between herself and her feuding parents, her miserable dating history, and the memories of a life-altering injury. However, she still feels like a former shadow of herself, hiding behind her diminished confidence and her thorough disbelief in true love. Everything changes when Lexie’s best (and only) friend drags her to a country music concert. Lexie loves country music, but she loathes the top-selling heartthrob who sold out the arena. Jack Morgan became a sensation with a string of degrading, shallow songs that she can’t stand.
A startling trauma lands Jack in the hospital, and Lexie is the physical therapist assigned to the VIP treatment of the very man she despises.
Jack is drawn to the one woman who appears resistant to his charms and who loves to check his ego every chance she gets, yet gives him the honesty he needs. She’s the opposite of his usual groupies. He can only continue his tour if he receives rehab on the road, and Lexie is the lone person Jack trusts for the job.
Reluctantly, she agrees to take the journey on his luxury coach, joining the wild cast of characters on his crew. Yes, she was given many incentives to take the assignment, but the reason she wants to ignore is the dangerous one. Jackson Morgan is growing on her.
At every turn, another challenge pushes her away from him.
Stepping onto the tour bus is the domino that starts a chain reaction in their lives and challenges them both to change. Could they learn to believe in love and happily ever after?

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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

I'm a big fan of romances set in the music world as I find the glitz and glamour exhilarating along with a feeling of sensuality surrounding those who make music for a living.  There are plenty of vices and negative aspects to this world too and those are prominently on display in this tale of a country crooner at the height of stardom and his slow burning relationship with the outspoken PT working to heal his body.  It's a rocky relationship because of her judgments that barely gets to second base before leaving readers hanging with its sudden ending that left me frustrated.

Jack's tour is bringing in millions along with setting female hearts aflutter.  After an earlier album showed his heart to the world, his latest is full of songs about drinking and partying with women.  It's a success but it's also given Jack a reputation of being a hard drinking player.  It's a reputation that he acknowledges but that readers learn is becoming less true as the story, and his time with Lexie, progresses.  He used to be content giving his fans and his record label what they want, but spending time with a woman who makes him question himself and his music has him making changes.  With him wanting more from Lexie, and her fears getting the best of her, their relationship hits an impasse that leaves readers dangling but hoping for the best.  Jack's super sexy with a career that's everything he ever hoped it would be.  Until his accident he enjoyed drinking with the boys and his hook-ups with groupies.  But being injured was a wake-up call, stated even louder by Lexie's harsh comments regarding his lifestyle, which makes him want to be a better man.  As we get to know more about Jack we see a man loyal to those he calls family, a man who's very giving with his money, and a man who goes out of his way to make Lexie happy.  Once he decides he wants more out of his life he wholeheartedly commits in scenes that brought a smile to my face for how sweet and caring the "real" Jack is.  Though Lexie continually puts up walls between them Jack works equally hard to bring them down which had me falling for him even more as the story moved along.  On a whole there was much to like about Jack despite his slightly jaded start.  He was truly kind-hearted with fears and dreams like his fans.  He's willing to put his heart on the line for Lexie and often wore his heart on his sleeve when trying to win her over.  He was a bright spot in this story and I look forward to seeing how a more introspective Jack is received by his fans. 

Lexie once had dreams of being a dancer until a career-ending injury had her becoming a physical therapist.  Not only did her dreams of dancing end that day but so too did her dreams of HEA as her boyfriend of three years left her as her future was no longer going to be glamorous.  Her love life's never been satisfying though as men never rock her world and have her ending things before they get too serious.  She no longer believes in love and it sets her on a path of self-sabotage as she and Jack very slowly evolve from friends to something more.  Though I admire Lexie's strong will I found her a bit abrasive and a lot judgmental.  She didn't hesitate to let Jack know how deplorable she found his current music and partying lifestyle at one of their initial meetings. She further denigrated his female fans and insinuated that he deserved his injury because of his lifestyle.  None of these comments endeared her to me and I never truly warmed up to her because these kinds of comments were sprinkled throughout the story as a self-defense whenever she was jealous or hurt.  She was the worst kind of hypocrite though as she enjoyed the fruits of Jack's wealth as he lavished her with gifts that she normally denied herself.  Her words and her constant pushing and pulling regarding her feelings for Jack left me frustrated and there were times I wasn't sure what he saw in her.  She's ultimately not a heroine that I felt deserved the hero as the worst of her personality came out around him.  Her holier-than-thou attitude and judgments dimmed my enjoyment of this story a bit and I hope that she too will turn over a new leaf when we see her in the next installment.

This was a story full of internal conflicts courtesy of a man ready for change and a woman still ruled by her past.  It's a frustrating read at times as there wasn't a lot of forward momentum when it came to the romance.  There was a lot of sexual tension but virtually no bang for your buck as Lexie's judgments and fears constantly held them back from a deeper commitment.  The country music world is vividly depicted with the current issue of "bro-country" ruining classic country discussed along with exhilarating concert scenes.  There's a large cast of secondary characters who all became blurred after awhile, with the exception of Jack's manager Amos who seemed only concerned about Jack's money-making persona to the exclusion of Jack's health and happiness.  Lexie's friend Ashley was also memorable for her cheery nature and her constant encouragement of Lexie being with Jack as she at least still believes in HEA.  On a whole this was just an okay story for me which bummed me out as I LOVE romances set in the music world.  The VERY SLOW moving romance frustrated me as did Lexie with her overly judgmental words and constant belittling of Jack's life and current music.  The one bright spot was Jack himself who endeared himself to me, flaws and all.  He was sweet and sexy and more than happy to make other's dreams come true.  Though this book was a bit disappointing I'm still left wanting to see how things end.  The conclusion leaves readers with hope for HEA but it's clear there's a lot of work, especially for Lexie to put her past pain and doubts behind her, ahead before that happens.  This wasn't a great romance but it was a good one that compels me to see if Jack and Lexie can make their very different lives mesh.

My rating for this is a C+

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Susan Daugherty is a freelance writer, and by some happy coincidence, also a licensed Physical Therapist and an APTA Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist. She is the author of the 2016 novel Groupie as well as its sequel, Muse. Her essay The Cycle of Inspiration was published in PT InMotion in April 2013. She is a member of Romance Writers of America. Raised in Kentucky, she now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee where she lives with her husband and two children.


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