Clare Henney: Rock Gods of Romance: A Review

In an attempt to make my target of books read in 2013 higher than it was at the time, I purchased Rock Gods of Romance on Kobo. Rock Gods of Romance is a compilation of books on, of course, romance with rock stars. While I’m not really much of a fan of rock (unless it’s pop rock anyway), I still wanted to read this because it includes one of my favorite writers, Mina Esguerra. Here are some quick thoughts on the books from this compilation:

Hometown Hookup by Caitlyn Duffy

The book is the story of a famous band lead vocalist going home to regroup and find himself again. He gets reacquainted with his high school crush and this inspires him with his music. I thought the book started good enough with the background stories of both lead characters established – it gave a good foundation to the part where they become romantically involved. I just felt bad that there was such a build-up and when it was finally there, the story was over. I felt like it shouldn’t have ended where it did. A lot of things felt unresolved.

Record, Rewind by Ava Lore

This one has a similar theme to Hometown Hookup: rock star meets nerdy girl from high school and they discover that they both had crushes on each other back then and never did a thing about it. They get trapped on the rooftop of a hotel and sparks ignite from there. We’ve all had crushes in our younger years that we wish secretly had a crush on us back. If they became rock stars, all the more exciting right? I thought that the story was cute – a little too cute when it came to the high school crush thing considering all the action they were into on that rooftop. I guess for me it just didn’t match up. It’s like if you want to be steamy, be steamy. No need for cutesy moments. Then again, that’s just me.

Playing Autumn by Mina Esguerra

Online star Haley and rock star Oliver, both attracted to each other before they even meet, are put together as mentors in a music festival. Online star Haley and rock star Oliver, both attracted to each other before they even meet, are put together as mentors in a music festival. Like Hometown Hookup, the characters in this one were well-developed so you could understand their actions as they went about their developing relationship. I loved that this wasn’t too rockstar-ish in the sense that both characters, although they were musicians, were not as hard and heavy rock and rollers as the characters in the other books. Unlike some of the books in this compilation, I felt that the story for this one had more of that beginning-development-end to it. For that reason, this is one of my favorites in this set.

The Ballad of Jude

The Ballad of Jude revolves around the interview with drummer Jude Morrison and his ex-girlfriend Zoey Ackerman and the love they had when they were younger at the start of their careers in the rock and roll industry. I liked that this was a story where the characters may not have ended up together but it did have a happy ending. I think this is a very realistic portrayal of love and relationships. It can be good, it can be great but sometimes some things just aren’t meant to be. Sometimes love just has to end…because there is someone new and better meant for us all along. Like I said, I’m not much into the whole rock star vibe, but I did like the story of this one.

The Rockstar I’ve Loved for So Long

Rock star meets young girl then she grows up and they fall in love. Problem is, the rock star lifestyle (and his tortured past) makes the relationship a not-so-happy-ever-after. This is one of my favorites from this set. I thought that how the lead characters met was so cute – with him being a rock star and her being in her early teens. It would have been nice if it was explained how their relationship developed from him being an older-brother type to the romantic interest one: I thought if he fell in love with her the first time they met that would have been a little too creepy. Everything else about the relationship seemed realistic considering the rock star theme (although the psychotic backgrounds of the guy’s parents were a little too much for me). It was a good story. I even feel like there were other stories that would make for good books based on other characters in it. I read that there is a second book about this story. I’m definitely going to read that!

Heat

Best friends Lacey and Roxy fall for two guys/brothers that they meet at a club, not knowing that they are part of one of the biggest rock bands ever. Girl on girl action…that orgy (with the two guys being brothers at that)…this story was a little too much for me. Considering how raunchy these people got and how their love story got a little “young-love-sweet-love” for me at the end just wasn’t my thing. Like Record, Rewind, that just didn’t match up. Has anyone else read this collection? Which one was your favorite?