Fiction Fare

Crash Into Me by Tracy Wolff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Admittedly rockstars aren’t my thing… there’s really only one who does it for me and he certainly doesn’t have long hair and play hard rock… (*sigh* Chris Martin)

BUT I wanted to try this series – I’m a big fan of the Brazen series books and why not try a series title ‘Shaken Dirty #1’.

Jamison has known Ryder Montgomery forever. Ryder is friends with her brother, Jared and just so happens to be the frontman of the band they’re both in called… you guessed it. Shaken Dirty.

Shaken Dirty has started to take off… they’ve become wildly popular and fame is affecting the members of the band differently. Jamison has always had a crush on Ryder, though he’s never seen her as more than a little sister.

“I grew up with the whole group of you. I saw you screw up with girls, crash your cars, get grounded. Hell, I saw both of you cry over guitar lessons and G.I. Joe dolls. And now you’re all grown up, bad-ass rockers who can have anything and anyone they desire. Whoop-de-do.”

A streak of bad luck in Jamison’s life sets up the story and has her joining the band on the tour bus to cook for them, which puts her in close proximity of Ryder who suddenly has taken more of an interest in Jamison than he ever has before.

Ryder of course is the tortured, rockstar. He’s still struggling with a tragic loss and so he refuses to let anyone in emotionally. One-night stands are his go-to and besides, as the sister of his best friend, Jamison is off-limits. She’s worth more than a fling and just one night.

"He was playing with fire. He knew he was. Just like he knew he was going to get burned-this was Jared's sister, after all. Little Jamison,"

But the draw they have to each other is undeniable and they eventually succumb to the chemistry, but Jamison isn’t fooling herself. She knows that Ryder will only be around for a short while, and she’s going to take advantage of it while she can.

I will say that the tension and build up for these two was really well done. That forbidden relationship feel that Wolfe gives the story adds to the anticipation of when everything is going to hit the fan. I also really enjoyed Jamison as a character. She is determined to make her own way in life not depending on her brother’s wallet for anything. It definitely made her admirable in my eyes.

I think for me though, the story fell a bit flat. I didn’t really connect with the characters, even the secondary ones in the form of the other band members. And for as much as I like sexy times… these were a little overdone for me. And that’s saying a lot.

If you’re looking for a story that features damaged characters with an emotionally heavy ‘friends to more’ theme then this series might be a good fit for you.

Thanks to Entangled for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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