If you ever want to be completely wrecked and love it, READ. THIS. BOOK! This book will absolutely ruin you and you will love it! This book … sigh… I don’t know how I survived. I’ve cried myself to sleep, I’ve sat in my office crying and couldn’t verbalize why!

I have to admit (and I’m almost embarrassed to do so…) this story completely broke me. I try not to cry, but I just couldn’t help it. While this is a beautiful, heart-felt love story, it’s also tragic. Emma Travers, so full of life but dealt a bad hand in life. Joe Campbell, quite possibly the hottest man (EVER!) and lead vocalist of rock band, Blind Man’s Alibi… has everything, but is fighting some demons. Emma is the “Sunshine” to his darkness. She is living in the moment and while it’s heartbreaking, it’s also breathtaking! She says the first thing that comes to mind and has a beautiful soul. She is truly what Joe needs.

I hate that I cried, but I. LOVED. THAT. I. CRIED! Emma is the epitome of the quote from Braveheart “Every man dies, but not every man really lives.” I’ve learn that I need to try to live in the moment and be myself. I have to say if I ever met Ms. Grimm I would have to tell her that I hate what she has done to me! I just finish reading the book and I feel like I need to re-read it. If Sarah Grimm decided to rewrite the dictionary, I’d read it! HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

(I know there’s a “wrecking ball” joke here somewhere… fighting the urge!)

Well, isn't this a depressing topic? I don't know why it is more disheartening than Alcoholism in Romance Novels which was my last post but it is.

 

Both are awful but both issues when explored in romance novels allow fiction to do what it does best inquire, confront, heal. 

 

I found out some interesting things about Romanceland during my oh so sad research into drug addiction and the Romance Novel with a side trip into drug based films. We don't really like recovering drug addicts (or active drug addicts) as heroes and heroines in our Contemporary Romances much. They are thin on the ground. Alcoholics are much more abundant. 

 

In my wandering, I found this amazing web publication, The Fix: addiction and recovery, straight up. In a wonderful article, they explode the distance between drug and alcohol addiction and think about how this construct works in the general culture and in recovery culture as well.  Alcoholism vs Addiction. Check it out. 

 

I also discovered, we love it when our heroes or heroines get forcibly addicted. 

 

In addition, we are much more welcoming of the recovering historical hero or heroine. Opium, poppy seed, laudanum, ether... Seems romantic? Sweaty and bugged eyed to me. 

 

However, addiction as tool to cope with trauma, numb, feel good, and/or as a physical disability in a cultural that encourages casual consumption or risk taking creates great (real) characters for me and it is why some times I leave the frothier side of Romance for these darker depths. 

 

Here is my list of good Romance Novels that deal with drug addiction in its varying states-actively using, dry, withdrawing, drying out, sober, and recovery. 

 

We have the Rock Stars and the Famous:

 

What the Librarian Did by Karina Bliss  

Hard Rock Remix  by Ava Lore 

After Midnight by Sarah Grimm

Heartthrob by Suzanne Brockmann 

 

The Young

 

Yellowstone Redemption by Peggy L Henderson

Takedown by Julie Miller 

 

Dens of Opium

 

Reclaiming Lord Rockleigh by Nancy Butler

The Sins of Lord Easterbrook by Madeline Hunter

Scoundrel's Kiss by Carrie Lofty 

 

Even in Paranormal Worlds (maybe especially), you need to numb..

 

Lover Enshrined  by J.R. Ward 

Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane 

Eternal Seduction by Jennifer Turner 

 

 

Regular Folk

 

Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes 

 

After Midnight is an engaging read about a virtuoso pianist that doesn't play anymore and rock star trying to get back in the music game after a six year absence. They are both tortured like able souls and the secondary characters are engaging. I really hope the heroine's adopted father gets his own bookThe book is well written with an early typo about Sacromento that confuses the setting. The writer also demands a level of feeling from the reader too early in the book which the characters have yet to earn. If you have a craving for a rock star book with some depth, this is a good popcorn choice.

Good lord! What a rush! I have finally caught my breath. Let me explain. The first 1/3 of the book was a little slow for me. The back and forth between Paige and Justin is palpable but sometimes, I grew a little tired of their inner dialogue of will they or won’t they.

The 2/3 of the book is the action starts picking up. When they both decide that yes, they want each other (for different reasons but relatable reasons), the sexual tension starts to really build and build it does. :) The touches, kisses, looks and passiveness that Justin has for Paige is perfect. It’s not heavy-handed but sweet and then hawt! This is also when the suspense kicks in, too. Good lord the villain was creepy. I mean that in a good way. I’m still grieving over the Caddy. *sniff*

The villain is one of those that I truly didn’t have a clue until it was revealed. OMG! I never saw that one coming at all. Perfect set up for the villain, too. By the last 1/3 of the book, its fast, furious, sexy and again…O.M.G. slapped me upside my head. I love it when the author doesn’t reveal the villain until the last part of the book. Plus, I can normally figure it out before the reveal but Ms. Grimm did an excellent job of NOT letting on to who it was and the motivation of the villain. Trust me, you will love it, too.

I loved Paige and Justin, too. I felt connected with each of them but in different ways. With Justin, I just wanted to take care of him and with Paige, demand that she sleep. Once the smexy times started, I sighed with joy and also in the knowledge that it would all work out in the end.

The secondary characters were wonderful and not intrusive. Justin’s partner was a great friend and grounded Justin in the harsh realities of getting involved. Paige’s friend that called her was also good. Too bad it was in back story. I would have liked to have known him better. :)

Overall, if you are looking for a creepy villain, suspense that is kicked up a notch and a smexy story about two damaged people who find that true love is the only way they will heal…pick up Not Without Risk. Trust me, its worth the risk

I am in love. This book was amazing. I would even go as far as to say that it was one of the best books that I read this year.

Isabeau was a musical prodigy. At the age of 5, her abilities as a concert pianist came in to play, and her mother made sure that she was given every opportunity in the world to advance her talents. They would travel for the next five years, with Isabeau playing the piano to sold out concert halls, wowing audiences and making a name for herself. When a car accident takes the life of her mother and leaves Isabeau critically injured and fighting for her life, however, Isabeau’s love for the piano dies as well.

At 25, Isabeau is living in New York City, running a small, yet popular bar. She has established a daily routine to her life and keeping herself from getting close to anyone. She is very guarded and determined to keep her life simple. When Noah, the incredibly sexy lead singer of the famous Black Phoenix band walks into her bar, however, Isabeau finds her life turned upside down and her simple life of monotonous day to day living is shaken up beyond anything she could have ever imagined. Noah fights to win Isabeau’s affection, and tries to prove to her that the music she left behind is the key to finally finding peace and happiness.

Oh my gosh, this romance is wonderful. From the moment Isabeau and Noah meet, the sexual tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. Every single emotion that the characters feel is intense and felt deeply. It’s powerful, beautiful, and raw. The characters themselves are so exquisitely flawed. The plot is played out wonderfully, and when the last page is read, you’ll want to start again, just so you don’t have to say goodbye. I am not the type of person who rereads books often, but this is one I could and will probably read again and again.