Reviews

The Opening Act Box Set by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott

shannon_cocktailsandbooks's review

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4.0

SEDUCED

This is a very mature story with adult themes that may not be appreciated by other readers. Seduced is the story of the rise of a band that started with two best friends who played guitars to forget about their troubled home lives as kids. Adding and subtracting band members and a You Tube video rising in popularity started opening doors for these five young people.

The story is well-written but it was a little difficult for me to read. Each band member has their own demons to battle and some of those hit a little too close to home for me. The book is raw, edgy, funny, and has smokin’ hot sex scenes. But it also has pain, infighting, addiction, jealousy, obsession, and a pretty ugly love triangle that threatens to shake up the group.

This story was one heck of a roller coaster ride. Cari and Taryn did a fantastic job of creating and really humanizing these characters. I could deeply empathize with their pain, suffering, triumphs and failures. There were a lot of adult themes addressed in the book that I didn’t particularly like but that doesn’t mean other readers won’t enjoy the portrayal of the rock star lifestyle. A good gut-wrenching read.



ROCKED

I usually stay away from rock star books because of the misogynistic/womanizing/drinking/druging lifestyle, but after reading the prequel novella, Seduced, I had to know more about Oblivion.

I was so glad to see the role reversal in the storyline. Deacon’s done the love’em and leave’em scene and wants something more substantial. However, that all changes when Deacon loses his heart the first time he meets the snarky chef who refuses to give him her name.

Harper has grown up on the road around musicians her whole life. She knows what they do and is not going to fall victim to some sweet talkin’ rocker who just wants one thing. Deacon is slowly destroying her stereotype and stealing away her heart a piece at a time. She can only promise Deacon five weeks but as she spends more time with him, she’s finding it more difficult to keep him away and realizes she’s in a lot of trouble. She’s fallen in love with a rocker. And the even bigger dilemma, what’s going to happen after the tour is over?

Oh my goodness! I absolutely LOVED this story. I couldn’t put the book down. I was falling in love with Deacon faster than Harper was. I love a monogamous man! This is an amazing story of hope, not just for Deacon and Harper, but for each member of the band. We witness the turmoil between bandmates as they uncover some of the ugly truths about the music business, which unfortunately causes a lot of strife and betrayal.

The story is amazing and I’m deeply in love with all the characters. I can’t wait for Deacon and Harper’s novella to come out as well as the next full length book featuring Gray and Jazz’s love story.



ROCK, RATTLE & ROLL

I really enjoyed this novella! I loved getting a look into Deacon and Harper’s married life and all the changes it’s undergone in such a short time.

The synopsis says it all! You’ll have to pick it up to find out what future roadblocks are in store for the newlyweds and Oblivion. I will tell you though that I really wanted to shake Harper for being such a—for lack of a better word—butthead! I love Deacon’s character and how he handles the news and how he supports his wife unconditionally…especially when she is being a butthead!

It’s a great read and easily relatable. I’m looking forward to Gray and Jazz’s story next!!

Reviewed by Elizabeth for Cocktails and Books

hannas_heas47's review

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5.0

Thanks Netgalley for a few free books to read and review...

Very nice, really great rock star fiction!

trogdor19's review

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4.0

Tough to review three books at once, but I'll do my best. I already owned Seduced and Rocked, but bought this package because I wanted the deleted scenes, and it was a great deal to get Rock Rattle and Roll. This is hands-down my favorite rock and roll romance series!

I've reviewed Seduced and Rocked elsewhere, but I'll recap.

Seduced: Solidly 4 stars, edging toward 5. LOVED the idea of a prequel before all the love stories begin and I adore how real the band dynamics feel. So messy and interesting and flawed!

Rocked: Wavering between 3 and 4 stars. I adored the band dynamics parts but the love story between Harper and Deacon, while cute, was missing something for me. I feel like there was too much sex and not enough substance.

Rock, Rattle and Roll: About 3.8 stars. The beginning annoyed the hell out of me. Sex, sex, sex...yes I get it's a honeymoon but this is everything that bugged me about the last book. I want to see something ELSE that they can base their relationship on, that's why I read romance, not erotica. But ahhh...about halfway through the book we get to the conflict and that's where we get to see these authors start to shine again. They don't say that everything is perfect and easy just because the characters are in a happy marriage. Conflicts aren't automatically solved by love. There are decisions to make and emotions get in the way of communication and I really liked seeing the couple work this out. The second half of this book was really satisfying, and rescued the first half.

The bonus scenes: The Harper and Deacon one...more sex. Yawn. Jazz's view of the threesome was heartbreaking and added a lot to the scene itself.

I am looking forward to reading more from this series. I've been looking forward to Jazz and Gray's story from the beginning and I'm hoping because of their issues that we will get to see more relationship development before the steamy stuff starts so it will be more satisfying to see them consummate their relationship. These authors are fantastic writers, and keep the plot tension up very well and I am highly impressed by their uncompromising characterization of all these very flawed people. Can't wait to see what they come up with next!

katekat's review

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3.0

This book was okay just okay. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it. However, I don't know as I'd bother to read anything else by this author.
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