Review: Starfish by Lisa Becker

Book info:

Title:  Starfish
Author:  Lisa Becker
Genre:  Rock Star Romance
Release Date:  May 21st, 2019
Source:  E-galley from author for review which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  3 stars

Synopsis:
Ambitious graduate Marin Collins accepts a four-month internship at a prestigious public relations firm to work on a tech account, but her plans are derailed when she’s assigned to go on the road with touring rock band Kings Quarters, hailed by Rolling Stone as the next big thing.

Enter Brad Osterhauser, the reluctant rock star who would rather be coding computer games than penning Grammy-nominated songs.

Traveling by bus, city to city with a group of practical joking bandmates and a greedy manager, Marin and Brad forge a friendship and forbidden romance over a shared love of Seinfeld episodes, stolen moments and Red Vines.

But when Marin’s accused of betraying her company and the band, will Brad come to her defense or believe she was disloyal to him for the sake of her career?

Told in alternating perspectives of Marin and Brad, Starfish is a contemporary romance of unexpected love, the redemptive power of music and hogging the bed.

Pre-order link - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NY9TTFG 


Book Trailer:

My Review:
I'd enjoyed the other two books I'd read by this author, so was very excited to hear she had written a rock star romance, because those are one of my favorite types of stories these days.
 
While at first I was hooked pretty quickly, unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me in the end.  It had a few parts that I did enjoy, and there was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, but even that messed up some things for me. We spent the first half of the book constantly hearing about Brad's erections.  Yeah, that's normal for a romance, but this was over and over and over and nothing was done about it.  I get it, not all couples need to jump right into sex.  And I understood Marin's reasoning, mostly, for not wanting to mess up her job. Especially after she does give in later in the book and the way some people act about it.  But once the sexy scenes started, well, those just didn't work that well for me either.  I read a lot of books with a lot of sex in them.  Hot, heavy, dirty sex.  Sweet, innocent, emotional sex.  So I feel I have a good background to judge by, but these were kind of awkward.  And when he goes down on her, he describes her as tasting sweet and tangy.  Tangy is a cringe-worthy word in this situation.  

Then, with the final big dramatic event, I really don't believe how Brad acts.  In no way does it fit, what he says doesn't even fit with any thought he's had about her in the entire book. Even when he was mad at her because she was pushing him away, never did something even remotely close to his reaction pop up.  And honestly, this is promoted as a rock star romance, and while yes, it does take place with a rock band, Brad isn't really a rock star.  I mean he is, but he isn't.  If that interests you, then give the book a try!  I won't explain anymore, don't need to ruin the story for anyone who plans to read it.

I was disappointed in this one because I'd enjoyed the other two of her books that I'd read so much.  And hey, maybe I'm in the minority here, because everyone who reviewed on Goodreads so far loved this one it seems.  I'll let you take what you want from this review, but what I'd suggest is to go back and read one of her other books that I really enjoyed, Links or Clutch.  I hate posting a negative review, because I am grateful for getting the chance to read this one, but I have to be honest. 


About the Author:

Lisa Becker is an award-winning romance writer who spends her time like she spends her money - on books and margaritas. As Lisa’s grandmother used to say, “For every chair, there’s a tush.” Lisa is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach, California with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for anyone! You can share your love stories with her at www.lisawbecker.com.

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Review: Naming the Stars by Susan Koeford

Book info:
Title:  Naming the Stars
Author:  Susan Koeford
Genre:  Young adult mystery?
Published:  September 5th, 2016
Source:  Received from author for review
My rating:  3 stars

I was contacted by the author of this book back in May to review this title.  I didn't get to it until December unfortunately.  The story definitely has an interesting plot line.  I am unsure what genre to call it exactly, because it kind of seemed like some magic, but it wasn't anything actually magic.  

The  main character is a girl named Mary-Louise.  When we start the story she's coming home from swim practice where she has finally passed the basic test in order to move on to the next level. But when she gets home, it's like no one can see her or hear her.  Not only that, it's as if she's never existed.  She rides off on her bike, still with no one seeming to notice or see her, except for one boy.  The boy is someone who teaches swimming lessons, but he will only tell her his name is Fish.  Together the two of them try to figure out what is going on, how come her family no longer seems to see or remember her, and if anyone else besides Fish is able to see her. 

Fish is living above an old antique/flea market/junk store.  He says he is just watching the building while the owners are out of town.  While they are there he tries to take a picture of her, and it is with a REALLY old fashioned camera. But she doesn't show up in the picture.  She finds some other belongings down in the store, and one of the pictures of a girl from a long time ago turns out to be what Fish actually sees when he looks at her, not what she remembers looking like before she became invisible. 

All of this ties together, the people from the past that they find more of their belongings down in the store.  Fish has something in his past that also seems to tie to Mary-Louise.  When all of a sudden there seems to be someone out there who remembers her and can see her again, things really start to click into place.  Beginning with a "Have You Seen This Girl" photo on a milk carton that shows Mary-Louise's picture.

I like the idea behind the story, it definitely had some great ways to connect all the little pieces in the end.  Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it very much.  It was slow, and I had trouble picking it up as well as keeping my attention in the book as I was reading.  It was a short read, so I soldiered through, and like I said, the ending was good, everything wrapped up pretty neatly and uniquely.