ARC REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Call On Me (Loving On The Edge #8)

Call on Me (Loving on the Edge #8), by Roni Loren
Publish Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult erotic romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Oakley Easton wants two things: to be a good mom to her daughter and to ditch her less than ideal night job. Hooking up with bad boy drummer Pike Ryland? Not on the agenda. She needs a promotion. Not sex, tattoos and rock ’n’ roll.

Pike isn’t about to let Ms. Prim and Proper shut him down so easily, especially when he stumbles upon Oakley’s sexy night job. She’s only playing a role on those late night calls with strangers, but when he gets her on the line, all bets are off. He won’t stop until that sultry voice is calling his name for real.

But as they move from anonymous fantasies in the dark to the flesh-on-hot-flesh reality of the bedroom, the risk of falling in love becomes all too high. And the safe, quiet world that Oakley’s worked so hard to create is about to be exposed to the one person who could ruin it all.

I absolutely devoured Call On Me, because... PIKE. He has ruined me for all other book boyfriends. Ever since I met him in the fourth book in this series, I have been waiting for more about him. Even though the focus of that book was on his BFF Foster, there was just something about Pike...

Oakley Easton is a former singer who now only wants to live her life quietly with her daughter. But, when your path crosses with drummer Pike Ryland, quiet isn't in the cards. Despite her efforts to keep him at arms length, Pike keeps drawing her closer and closer until she's too close for comfort. 

Can we talk about Oakley's job first? She's a sex line operator. How cool is that? It's not a job you see every day in books. But, she's a former teen pop star who is putting her husky voice to good use. Truth is, she hates every second of it, but she does it to make sure the bills are paid and her daughter gets the education she needs. I love Oakley's daughter. She's autistic and equally as musically talented as her mother. Oakley's and Reagan's relationship is sweet. I love how Oakley is always thinking about her in all things. 

Due to Oakley's former job in the music business and all the not great things that happened to her during that time of her life, she's become very jaded. Trust isn't something she engages in easily, especially with men. When Pike agrees to work with Oakley on a children's program, he hits on her and she immediately shuts him down. The thought that she could be with a man that brash and bold and in the music business no less, is not anything she wants to entertain.

Except Pike is on to her. He starts whittling away at her walls by offering real help with the children's program and bonding with Reagan. He shows Oakley that she can trust him in subtle ways at first. And then bigger ways later. When Pike discovers her second job - the one she does at night from home - it becomes an even more intriguing part of her that he has to understand. And, let's face it, have fun with too. He keeps her secret phone sex identity and indulges in it some too. And, finally, Oakley's walls come down enough to grant him one night together. 

And, that one night - holy crap on a cracker. What is it about the musicians? Man, they are so sexy. That one night was incredible. And, for Pike, it was just the beginning. Between working with her and just plain working her, he starts to feel things, and Pike Ryland is not the kind of guy to feel things. He's a player. He enjoys his friend's BDSM club, The Ranch. He drums for the hottest rock band in the country. Pike doesn't do relationships. And, yet...

He wasn't sure, but he guessed that on some level she trusted him, liked him. Not Pike the drummer, Pike the man. And that was kindling something inside him, something he'd heard his friends talk about but had never experienced himself. Oakley had high walls that fortressed her in her protected world. Even in the throes of passion, she'd kept him outside those gates. He understood why, but the fact that he didn't have a key to get in was poking at him, rousing an unfamiliar need.

Oakley is all out of sorts. She pings back and forth between only wanting one night with Pike and giving him all her nights. She's very worried about what Reagan might say if she got into things with Pike. And, Oakley doesn't really think Pike will stick around anyway. She knows how the music business works. She knows about the groupies and the tours, and she doesn't want to go through all that again. But, yet, as I said before - there's just something about Pike. 

 And, just about the time Oakley decides to go all in with Pike, her past comes back to haunt her in the worst possible way. It makes for a very dramatic and nail biting climax to the story. And, once that part is taken care of, Oakley and Pike are left to pick up the pieces, but Oakley is just too scared to do that. Whether she can overcome her fear of the past and of a future she doesn't want is the real question. 

I haven't read all of Roni Loren's Loving on the Edge books, but of the ones I've read, I can safely say that Pike is absolutely my favorite guy. He's talented and funny and snarky and so, SO sexy. He's dominant, but not all the time. He's alpha, but not a caveman. He's just this side of perfect, and now when I go back and read the rest of the books in this series, I'll be comparing all the guys to him. And, I think they will all fall short. 

I have an ARC copy of Roni Loren's CALL ON ME to give away to one person. Sorry - due to shipping costs, this is a US only giveaway. Good luck!

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