I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Rock Redemption
by
Nalini Singh
cozy romance that was published by TKA Distribution on October 6, 2015 and has 424 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Kiss of Snow, An Enchanted Season, Archangel's Blade, Angels of Darkness, Lord of the Abyss, Desert Warrior, Angels' Flight, Tangle of Need, Play of Passion, Archangel's Storm, Wild Invitation, Heart of Obsidian, Archangel's Legion, "Hide and Seek", "Making Dinner", Shield of Winter, "A Conversation", "Home", Angels' Pawn, "New Year's Kisses", Night Shift, "Weapons Training", "Zoë's Workshop", "Wild Night", Archangel's Shadows, Archangel’s Enigma, Shards of Hope, “Fairy Balloons”, “An Unexpected Guest”, Allegiance of Honor, "The Song of the Wolf", Silver Silence, Archangel’s Heart, Archangel’s Viper, Ocean Light, "Elena's School of Horror", Cherish Hard, "Ain’t No Party Like A Bear Party", Archangel's Prophecy, "One Night At The Refuge", "Secret Things", Rebel Hard, Rock Hard, Wolf Rain, "Clean and Dirty", "Wolf School", "Naya’s Most Important Visitors", "Grocery Shopping", "The Cannibal Princess", "A Gift for Kit", "Movie Night", "Kaleb and Sahara’s Meeting with Sascha and Lucas", "Housewarming at the Orchard", "Christmas in the Kitchen", "Stalking Hawke", "Romancing Drew", "Sunday Morning", "Rowan", "Baubles & Ben", Wild Embrace, Love Hard, Rock Addiction, "Music Awards", Rock Courtship, "Rock Courtship Memo"s, "Sunshine", Rock Wedding, "With This Memo", "That Lip Ring…", A Madness of Sunshine, "Beary Tiny Ghosts", Alpha Night, "A Wedding Breakfast", "Poker Night", "Knives and Sheaths", "Seedlings", "Star Kissed", "A Walk on the Cliffs", "Wild Cat Blues", Slave to Sensation, Caressed by Ice, Visions of Heat, Kiss Hard, Angels' Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's War, Archangel's Sun, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection, Last Guard, “A Perfect Moment”, "Music in the Rain", Storm Echo, Resonance Surge, "Mate", “New Year’s Eve”
Third in the Rock Kiss cozy romance series and revolving around Schoolboy Choir, a rock ‘n roll band of four friends. The couple focus is on the guitarist, Noah St John, and an A-list actress Kit Devigny.
My Take
This is both sweet and annoying. It’s that I’ve-been-damaged meme, so I can’t possibly ever be with a woman and love only her. Oy. Sure it works to keep me reading to find out why Noah is so “damaged”, but…OY!
The sweet is that the five of them have known each other from the start of their being in L.A. I do love that Singh began with this and segued into the intimate (without sex!) friendship that developed between Kit and Noah. And Noah’s actions toward her are so cruelly ambivalent! The betrayal! Sometimes I love him for how supportive he is and other times I wanna smack him upside the head. How can Noah not see this! How can he be so stupid!!!
It’s a conundrum. Noah desperately wants a relationship with Kit but no sex, and Kit naturally wants more.
“Her imperfections were part of why he’d fallen in love … ‘I like to think she’s seen the world and now she’s showing it to me.'”
You really can’t help but adore Kit. She’s so down-to-earth in spite of her crazy, irresponsible parents. Or, maybe because of them? Then there are the Mrs Robinson issues Kit mentions. Hoo, boy. Parents really don’t think, do they? Oh, then, oh lol, Noah is offended that her father doesn’t try to warn him off…*snicker*…
“It kind of weirds me out that your parents actually still like each other. Like, for real.”
I do like the boys too. Sure, they’re world famous rock stars, but they still hold out helping hands in so many ways. It’s such a responsible thing to do! They’re also so loyal to each other.
Oh, yeah, there’s also a financial squeeze in here on Kit. Makes ya feel better that even celebrities have real-world issues. As for her endorsement deal, geez, I can understand the restrictions, but it’s no easy life.
Ah, man, Singh puts it “well” when she describes Noah’s parents as not being able to look at him, but requiring him to come home so the family unit looked good to the public, but ignoring him in private while “Fox’s mother had flat-out abandoned him for her shiny new family”.
Naturally. Singh uses third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Kit’s and Noah’s perspectives with the majority of the back history tidbits are about them although there are bits about all the boys.
Then there is the feedback from that charity gala with more background that outlines the difficulties actors and musicians face behind-the-scenes and how publicity affects their careers. Hoo, boy. On the opposite side of the fun is that bit of foreshadowing for Rock Wedding, 4. It seems innocuous…
And how sad is it that “two hours is a good night’s sleep…”
At least Rock Redemption is about “the book”, and not “the cover”, for it’s the cover only that Noah sees.
The Story
Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.
Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.
When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting — needing — to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.
The Characters
Kit “Katie” Devigny is her stage name. She’s really Kathleen Ordaz-Castille, who started as a daytime soap actress on Primrose Avenue and moved to the big screen with Last Flight, a superhero flick. Her parents, Adreina and Parker, are a supermodel and a tennis ace who love each other, parties, and the spotlight.
Harper is her agent. Two ex-Marines are her security: Casey is her driver and Butch is her bodyguard. Becca is the make-up artist she met on the soap with whom she became best friends. Macho Steve is her Evil Personal Trainer. Thea is her publicist as well. Van is a previous boyfriend.
Noah St John, a.k.a., the Bad Boy of Rock and King of the One Night Stand, is the brilliant guitarist for Schoolboy Choir, haunted by terrifying demons, who just got his pilot’s license. From a wealthy family, his father, Robert, is a powerhouse criminal lawyer and his mother, Virginia, a political lobbyist turned lady-who-lunches. Emily is his beloved sister. Keira is a cousin who went all bridezilla last year. His supportive Aunt Margaret, Robert’s younger sister, is the head of a charity. Louise is her partner. A close friend of Margaret’s, Tierney, is lending his estate for the gala. Aunt Althea and Uncle Donald are prunish and icy. Josefina had been Noah’s nanny, the one person who had still cared about him after that summer.
Schoolboy Choir is…
…a famous rock ‘n roll band. Zachary Fox is their ferocious lead singer and is with Molly Webster (Rock Addiction, 1); David Rivera is the drummer and with their publicist and Molly’s half-sister, Thea Arsana (Rock Courtship, 1.5; “Rock Courtship Memo I“, 1.75; and, “Rock Courtship Memo II“, 1.8); and, Abe, an addict with a bluesy voice, is their keyboardist. Having met in boarding school, the four boys are best friends and sing and write their songs. Maxwell is the band’s crew chief; Kim is his well-loved wife.
Charlotte “Charlie” is Molly’s best friend (Rock Hard, 3). Alicia and Vicente Rivera are David’s proud parents. Parents who included Abe, Noah, and Fox in David’s care packages and letters. Esteban is a singer and a friend of Noah’s. Tessie is Abe’s dead baby sister. The pregnant Sarah is Abe’s ex-wife who has a controlling fiancé, Jeremy Vance, who’s backing Stir Crazy, another band. Jeremy also produces teen-oriented movies. Genevieve is a bass player who will join Schoolboy Choir at Zenith; her spouse is an artist.
Terence Gates and Jade are the director and the writer of Last Flight. JJ Hughes was Kit’s Last Flight co-star. Cody and Casey are Kit’s current co-stars. Abigail Rutledge is the reigning queen of the A-list. Carina is a singer who performed once with Schoolboy Choir; Molly does not like her. Redemption is an upcoming film to be directed by Esra Dali that Kit would love to be in. Garrison Stone may be a shoo-in for the male lead. NoKats are social media fans who want to see Noah and Kit hook up. The AbKats want it to be Abe and Kit. Zenith is a popular outdoor festival.
Mr Denison was the music teacher at the boys’ school. The Meluchis run an Italian restaurant the boys like. Luca, their eldest son, works the door. The father is the head chef with their daughter his apprentice. The mother is the pastry chef. Two younger sons wait tables. Basil is a skinny photographer. Hailey is a clerk at a boutique. Marshall is a homeless guy on Venice beach. Cyril King and Lisa Fei are at the gala. Jessa is a TV reporter. JP is the chef at the too-popular Pierre Baudin and a friend of Noah’s.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a black-and-white photograph of Noah standing in profile in a black T-shirt and jeans, visible from nose to knee. In his right hand he holds an upsidedown guitar dangling from a strap over his shoulder. The background is the stage in shadow although spotlights shine from above.The author’s name is in orange across Noah’s elbow with a white info blurb separating her first and last name. The title is in a white script at Noah’s hand. Immediately below it, in a thin font, is the series info, also in orange. At the very bottom is a testimonial in white.
The title is about Noah, for it’s a Rock Redemption that is so very needed.
