Published February 24, 2014
Publisher: Entangled Brazen
Format: e-book, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4.5 STARS
(From Goodreads) Former rivals Quinn Bradford and Elise McKinney are not friends, at least not anymore. As teens, all they cared about was psyching each other out before concerts. But when Quinn—now the keyboardist for Shaken Dirty, the hottest rock band on the scene—returns to his hometown and hears about the car accident that shattered Elise’s career, he’s determined to make things right.
Elise wants nothing to do with an arrogant rock star, despite how bad she so clearly wants him, so Quinn kidnaps the stubborn little piano player and whisks her back to his mansion. A little seduction might be just the thing to keep Elise under his care…and in his bed. But amid pranks both childish and very adult, their past comes rearing back to haunt them. And it might be more than either of them can forget.
I'm a sucker for the rockers. And, Quinn is in a class all himself when it comes to rockers, because he is the ultimate dichotomy. He has the tats, the piercings, the wild streak. And, yet, he's a classical pianist who is as protective of those he cares about as you can get. That is an incredibly sexy combination. Drive Me Crazy was amazingly good.
Quinn and Elise were trained together as concert pianists when they were young. Both came from very broken homes and fathers. In Quinn, it manifested in a teen who was a little wild. In Elise, it manifested in crippling stage fright - not a good thing when your job is to perform complicated piano pieces on stage. Quinn used his antics to relax her, and she fell in love with him. But, he eventually left her, and she never got over it.
Fast forward 10 years and Quinn shows up in Elise's hospital room after a car accident kills the only family she has and destroys her piano career. He brings her back to his house to recuperate, and despite Quinn's theory that he's not good enough for her and Elise's desire to not get hurt again, it's impossible for them to deny that the feelings they had never went away.
Quinn was absolutely the most dreamiest rocker I've ever read about. There's a scene where Quinn in his many tats, rocker hair, crazy piercings and bad language sits down at a baby grand and plays a Rachmaninoff like no one's business. I've read about lots of hot guys - the alphas, the billionaires, the cowboys. This guy is the hottest out of all of them. Seriously, I don't know what it is, but Quinn made me weak in the knees in the best way possible.
In addition to that, it becomes apparent early on, by the shear fact that he shows up in Elise's hospital room after a decade of staying away, that Quinn is a protector. There's a lot of backstory as to why he left Elise all those years ago, and it all goes back to him wanting to make sure she was safe.
Elise is an amazing heroine. She too came from an awful home life, and she made the best life she could with the talent she had. There were more than a few times when I shed a few tears for Elise's predicament following her accident. I can't imagine spending my whole life training to do one thing, and then in a blink of an eye, not being able to do it anymore. She was unbelievably strong in the face of something like that.
She was NOT strong, however, in the face of the chemistry she had with Quinn. It leapt off the pages and smacked you in the face time and time again. And, when they finally gave up and gave in, holy smokes, was that some good stuff. But, the best thing about their relationship was, it was forged in this crazy friendship from when they were kids. I love those kinds of relationships. They were always pranking each other while they performed together, and they picked up right where they left off. The pranks they pulled on each other were hilarious! The rest of the story was pretty heavy, so those light moments were very well timed and very much needed.
I also enjoyed the peek at the other band members - Ryder, who we met in Crash Into Me (Shaken Dirty #1), Jared, Wyatt, and Micah. We see how Ryder and Jamison are doing now that they're engaged. We see how Wyatt is doing in rehab, and we see how Jared and Micah are doing in the face of Micah's ultimate betrayal. It's not a pretty sight for many of them, and it was sad to read.
But, the HEA was worth it all. I couldn't tear myself away from Quinn and Elise, even when I saw the bad stuff coming for them. Tracy Wolff is an amazing author, and I'm loving her Shaken Dirty series. I can't wait for the next installment!
1 comment:
I love the friends to lovers trope as well. :)
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