Title: Rock Hard
Series: Sinners on Tour, #1
Author: Olivia Cunning
Genre: Erotic Romance
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: April 2011 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
An ultimatum can break your heart....Every night lead singer, Sed Lionheart whips thousands of women into a frenzy with his voice alone. But the stage is the only place Sed feels any passion since he lost Jessica...
If you’re not willing to break all the rules...
It shattered her heart, but law student Jessica broke off her engagement to Sed, determined to be successful on her own terms. But no other man can ever hold a candle to Sed...
Then a chance meeting and tortuously close quarters lead to uncontrollable flares of passion and rediscovery of their unique penchant for public encounters. Now, in addition to the risk of mutual heartbreak every time they get together, they’re in danger of truly scandalous public exposure...
Why I Read this Book: This series is my new guilty pleasure. I’m new to the world of Contemporary Erotic Romance so I was a bit wary at first. But after reading Backstage Pass, I’m hooked! Rock Hard is the 2nd book in the Sinners series and it’s Sed’s (the lead singer of the Sinners) story.
What I Liked: It feels like I’m reading an autobiography of a real-life rock band. It’s scary how real these characters feel. This is the type of book that I enjoy reading because it lets me live in someone else’s shoes, if only for a few hundred pages. It’s like being a groupie except without having any of the consequences.
The book focuses on the main hero and heroine but the reader also gets to see what’s going on with the rest of the band members as well. Each band mate’s story continues from the first book to the next and we see that being demonstrated in Rock Hard. We get to see what’s going on with Brian and Myrna. It was nice to catch up with them and see what they’ve been up to. Jace was definitely enjoying himself in this book. I thought it was a nice setup to his book, which is coming next. Methinks there’ll be a little – okay, probably a lot – of BDSM going on in his book. The guy does love his “accessories”.
What I Didn’t Like: I am not a fan of Sed’s; he is my least favorite character in the group. He was an ass in the first book and he’s still an ass in this book. Sed was extremely unpleasant and at times, annoying. He means well, he just doesn’t do it in a proper manner.
I was more tuned in to what was going on in the secondary story arcs than I was with Sed and Jessica; they took a back burner for me. There was a major lack of communication between the two of them. When they’re weren’t fighting, they were having sex (and vice-versa). Lots of sex and lots of fighting.
One part I thought was a bit peculiar was that it was Sed and Jessica who knew what was going on with Trey’s…situation. Even Myrna wasn’t accepting the reality of the situation and that was a bit strange to me.
Overall Impression: Even though I didn’t enjoy Rock Hard as much as I did Backstage Pass, it was still a good read. This series has proved to be a fascinating inside look at the lives of a rock band. Fans of the movie Rock Star, with Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, will enjoy reading this series. I gave Backstage Pass a 4/5 rating (you can read my thoughts on that book) and thought it was a great debut novel. Rock Hard was good but Sed just drove me nuts. I just wasn’t feeling his story like I did Brian’s. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book, Hot Ticket, which is Jace’s book.
The Book Vixen’s Rating:
That was a great review, I am with you on Sed's personality he drove me crazy in the first book and I can't imagine how he is in this book considering that it's all about him. I am new to this genre too and i'm glad that I started with Olivia Cunnings Sinner's books.
ReplyDeleteI'm still on the fence about reading this book, but I do love all of the characters together so it might help with Sed's obnoxious personality.
Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I do wonder about this series. It sounds so hot ;) I am gonna read book 1 one day, I totally am
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this series but it sounds good. I'll be adding to my list. Have you read Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning? I have just bought the first book of the series. I have heard great things about it!
ReplyDeleteI've been staying away from romance novels, but this one actually sounds pretty darn good.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great review! I have to check out this series!! thanks!
ReplyDeleteI just bought this yesterday and I'm excited to read it. I thought Sed was annoying in the first book, but I must like jerks because he was one of my favorite characters. :p Thanks for the review!
ReplyDelete"Rock Stsr" is exactly the movie that is closest to the "feel" of this series, so glad you stuck with this second book Brianna despite Sed! I am looking forward to reading the entire series and hopefully when Jace's story comes out we will all like it better... Backstage Pass though as the first book to "set the tone" is going to be hard to top for me!
ReplyDeleteNeri - I think you should still read RH, even if you (like me) think Sed is annoying. There's some other stuff going on with the other band mates.
ReplyDeleteBlodeuedd - This series is very hot! :)
Lucy - I haven't read that book. I'll check it out. The only books I've read by KMM is the Fever series.
Tara - If Sed is your favorite band mate, you will love RH :)
Jackie - I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series too. Especially Jace's book :)