I’m a waitress. He’s a Rockstar.
It was supposed to be simple.
He was the gorgeous mystery occupying a stool at the bar.
An anonymous one-night stand.
No names, no numbers, no regrets.
A temporary escape for us. Mine from the brutality of my life, his from a life in the spotlight. Both of us trying to ease the pain of unimaginable loss.
Unfortunately, nothing good ever stays secret for long, and the consequences of our tryst send our lives toppling over a cliff so steep, we may never be able to climb out.
Everything that happens after is unexpected.
He was the gorgeous mystery occupying a stool at the bar.
An anonymous one-night stand.
No names, no numbers, no regrets.
A temporary escape for us. Mine from the brutality of my life, his from a life in the spotlight. Both of us trying to ease the pain of unimaginable loss.
Unfortunately, nothing good ever stays secret for long, and the consequences of our tryst send our lives toppling over a cliff so steep, we may never be able to climb out.
Everything that happens after is unexpected.
REVIEW: 3 STARS
"This is life in all its ugly and dirty reality. Not one of us matters, and no amount of love will spare us from it. We are all alone and will always be alone."
That opening quote is kinda ominous, wouldn't you say? Well, it clearly set the tone for this book and it was a little rough at times, but summed up the heroine's situation quite well.
I love finding a new to me author. I especially love when it's a debut author because as long as they can keep me interested, I will continue to read and enjoy watching them grow in their craft. I feel like this is such an amazing storyline, and I really enjoyed the story for what it was, but was hoping for a little more strength in the words - a little more depth. Whit was a really good guy, and Ava was such an honest character. Aton really pulled their story together.
I did not find this on my own. To be fair, this book description was originally sent to me by a friend that happened to see it in her IG feed. Once I saw it, I knew I needed to read it. I love a down and out heroine and a rockstar/heavy hitter/Mr. MoneyBags because I love the ability for personal emotions and lack of trust to play a pivotal role in the blossoming of the relationship at hand. Distrust and pain are hard ones to work through, and that was very obvious with this couple - so that was good to read and watch them work through. It added just the right amount of drive to give the push and pull that I love so much. I loved that she was able to describe the variables between these two characters. Obviously, we have a well to do, rich rockstar that has the world in the palm of his hands and a struggling waitress that has nothing to her name and is really feeling the pinch of the world - it was definitely what I signed up for.
So once I did a little recon and found her and her signup, I was ready to read this one. For real, her ARC signup had me laughing with her sass and hilarity. She has a sense of humor that I loved, but was super sad to not actually see that part in her book, but that gives me something to look forward to. That obviously doesn't always transfer, but she is hilarious and I hope the next book has some more of her quick wit and personality in it. In all seriousness, I would love to read a RomCom by her. I don't usually like those - but she has the perfect wit to pull it off!
"I usually think smirks make for jerks, but Lord does this man make a smirk look like sex."
Whit was delicious in the sense that I loved his heart. He worked hard for what he had and was very protective of what was his - so very admirable and made me fall a little harder for him. Ava was determined and had a good, solid head on her shoulders and I couldn't help but be her cheerleader. As positive as I want to be about this book - because I feel like Aton has the ability to write that 5 star, emotionally gripping book, some things stood out that dropped this from high praise to a recommendation with reason.
I found myself enjoying the flow of the book pretty easily. Basic writing isn't the right description, but very laid back, chill writing - it had an easy flow to it. Some word usage had me quirking my eyebrows a few times because it almost felt as if it didn't fit the established tone. They felt gratuitous...cherry picking some words for added oomph. I understand using words that cause one to think, to kind of up the ante for brain power - I most certainly appreciate it. But when the writing is very easy going and smooth and you try to throw random words in that are a few levels higher than the actual storytelling vibe - that jostles the flow for me. I struggled with that, but it didn't ruin the overall enjoyment of the book as a whole. Just something that stuck out to me.
However, not only were some words completely out of place, I cringed a few times when intimate descriptions were laid out. If you cannot adequately give me a good visual of how this is going down, you're going to ruin some of the "steaminess" of the story, which was an unfortunate side effect of some of her descriptions. Case in point: "His heavy length presses against the outside of my sopping folds." Ummm.....gross, ok? Sopping folds? Just no. I feel like she has some room to grow on the sensual side of her writing. I read it. I saw it. I know she has the ability to tell me a story. I just want to reeeead that part of their intimacy without cringing.
I did struggle with the amount of crap thrown Ava's way. I understand showing a character going through a really rough time so we can become emotionally entangled with the character, but it felt overly played out and the beatdown was ultimately hard to continue reading. By chapter 16, I found myself skimming at the first sign of MORE DRAMA than any one person should have to deal with. I understand having a period in your life that is down and out - don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there and I’ve done that, but the constant trepidation and downbeat of Ava‘s drum was very tiring and felt toxic to the overall story. Unfortunately, I also felt like we spent more time getting to know Francis, dealing with Ava‘s problems, and Whit as a single father, individually - but decidedly less time working on the actual reason for a romance book, which should've been the relationship between Whit and Ava. I wish we spent more time growing their relationship and less time building up other parts of the story that overall were nice but not the reason for the story.
I'm not an author, don't pretend to be - and most definitely don't know what goes into it but I know what I like and don't like to see in a book. I'm here for the romance aspect of it - the growing of a love that cannot be tamed, social aspects be damned. Needless to say, I liked what I read with a few minor exceptions. Overall - it was a positive experience with a few hiccups along the way. I'm looking forward to her next book, Undaunted, because it's going to be a couple that you could *feel* their sexual tension just from the interactions we got in this story. I am so going to check that one out!
Disclaimer: she has MANY raving 5 star reviews, so please take this with a grain of salt. This is only my personal opinion.
"This is me not wanting to live anywhere you're not because you feel like home."
~BEE
~MEET ELIZABETH ATON~
I live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and too many tiny panthers. One day, they will likely eat me. They often stare at me with that look in their little predator eyes.
Until then, I will continue to read into the wee hours of the morning, try to write new stories that make readers feel all the things, weight train and meditate every morning to keep my head from exploding, watch cleaning and cash envelope stuffing videos on YouTube, and make outrageous gourmet meals in my massive kitchen with my husband, The Meat Master.
I have a degree in English Literature which, up until now, I’ve mainly used to write weird things on social media. I belonged to the English Honor Society, the Sigma Tau Deltas in Latin. Yes, that’s right. I was an STD. I’m a failure as a trophy wife since I refuse to spend my husband’s hard-earned money frivolously, I’ve committed to aging gracefully, and I don’t behave. Oh, and since I have the floor: Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is an OG billionaire enemies-to-lovers romance. #fact
~CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH~
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Love your review Bee. Thanks for your honesty. Been wanting to read this ever since I read your post. Now I am intrigued after reading your review. Can't wait to chat with you.
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