Escape into this friends-to-lovers romance that reviewers are calling “hot, humorous, and honest” and “fresh” and “a chocolate high.”Jera McKnight loves music, swoons for hot guys, but sucks at sex. Jacob Tate is her perfect storm: a pun-loving nude model with a heart as big as his record collection.When a newspaper-delivery accident lands him in her living room, he’s almost tempting enough to … he’s almost tempting enough to make her forget she’s never been enough for a man—in bed or out of it. Sure, he laughs at her obscure jokes, and he’ll even accept a PG-rating if it means he gets time with her, but he’s also hiding something. And it has everything to do with the off-limits room in his apartment.
Jera pours all her confusion and longing into her drum kit, which pays off when her band lands the record deal of their dreams. Except just like Jacob, it might be too good to come without a catch.
She doesn’t know if her music is good enough to attract a better contract, or if she’s enough to tempt a man like Jacob to give up his secrets—even if they could fix her problems between the sheets. But if this rocker girl is too afraid to bet on herself, she might just end up playing to an empty house.
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The tagline for the book is, “If you can’t get to the big O, can you get to the happily ever after?” so you might think the focus of this book is simply on Jera’s issues around sex and intimacy. While that plays a role in the story, and is definitely part of Jera’s makeup, it isn’t the sole focus. The book is really about relationships of many kinds: between Jera and Jacob, Jera and her bandmates, Jera and her parents, etc. It is also the story of Jera’s band as they struggle to find recognition outside the Portland area.
Both Jera and Jacob have complexities in their lives that put stumbling blocks in the road of their relationship. They aren’t the textbook, perfect couple many romance books portray, but instead are multi-layered and very human. While they have an instant connection, they also bring their own issues to the relationship and they both have to figure out how to address those issues, both individually and as a couple, in order to move forward.
Here are a few things I especially like about the book:
The complexity and realness of the characters. They are multifaceted and very human.
The way Hazen writes, and the way her sense of humor comes through her writing. The book is written in the first person, from Jera’s point of view, and her inner monologues remind me of my own sometimes. Well, except that Jera’s inner voice is funnier than mine.
This is a romance, and there are scenes of intimacy, but I really appreciate how real and normal Hazen makes these scenes. They aren’t the perfect experiences so often portrayed in romance novels, but rather more like real life, and it’s nice to see this portrayed in a romance novel.
The fact that this book is the beginning of a series. I enjoyed the story and the characters and I’m glad to know that I will get to continue in this world and get to know more about these characters and see where the band’s journey takes them.
DON’T DARE TO PASS THIS READ!!!
What a fantastic, awe inspiring, surprising twists with a full range of emotions that absolutely blew me away. I was captivated from the very beginning. A great storyline thats unique and not over worked. I fell in love with the characters. They had such a strong connection and as they get to know one another its like a breath of fresh air. I would totally recommend this read in a heartbeat. Michelle absolutely rocks this with the skill of a surgeon.
Young love at its sweetest. If only I could be 20 again and have Michelle Hazen write my romance!
A Cruel Kind of Beautiful reminds me of just how good NA fiction can actually be. I’d about given up on NA fiction lately, because what I had been reading had been the same boring formula. Then along comes this beautiful, different tale and now my faith has been restored in NA fiction and NA authors.
Jera is the drummer of an up and coming band. She’s got a close relationship with her band, her dad (also the band’s manager), and she’s a pretty cool person. She’s never had a big O, though, and it’s done something to her self-image. Then along comes the sweetest guy, Jacob, who crashes into her life when he accidentally delivers the newspaper through her window and breaks it.
Jacob has absolutely no time for a relationship, for love. He had to give up his scholarship when a family emergency hit, and since then, he’s been working more jobs than the average adult has, taking care of his family, and just trying to make it to the end of each day. When he crashed his way into Jera’s life by accidentally throwing the newspaper he was delivering into her window, breaking it, he had absolutely no idea he’d meet his soul mate.
What I like most about A Cruel Kind of Beautiful is that Jera and Jacob are real and authentic feeling. Jacob isn’t a swaggering playboy baller. Jera isn’t a simpering sorority girl or a timid mouse. They have distinct, authentic feeling personalities that happen to mesh together really well. I love how patient and gentle Jacob is with Jera and how he guides her through what’s been plaguing her most. I also love that her people, her band and her dad, are great characters on their own, and Jacob’s family are, too. There’s a wealth of secondary characters in this world that I’m hoping will all get their own stories.
If you, like me, are tired of NA fiction that’s all about shallow, cocky playboy ballers who get taken to their knees by shallow college females, I highly recommend you put A Cruel Kind of Beautiful on your TBR list. It’s different than most NA fiction, in a very good way.
I just love taking a chance on a “new to me author” and falling in love with their stories. This is my first from Michelle Hazen and I totally loved it. I thought it was going to be a typical rock star romance, but it turned out to be much, much more.
Her characters were totally relatable and I fell in love with them almost instantly. Jera is a quirky almost neurotic chick with dreams of making music that speaks to people. She and her two band mates have a great friendship and share the same intense passion for their music and it was almost moving. But their also young, so she’s still in school while they struggle to make it from local/indie fave to that lustrous recording contract that will expand their audience.
But while, she’s confident in her music, she’s still a typical girl with insecurities and a lackluster track record in the boyfriend department so when cute and oh so sweet Jacob crosses her path, she’s not going to let his good looks and kind nature deter her from her self-imposed relationship ban. But I don’t know anyone that could resist a guy as perfect as Jacob. Oh my god, I lost count how many times he made me swoon. There were times that he was just so boyish and innocent, but in no way did it detract from his sexiness. Truly, the guy was almost saintly. He was selfless and a hard worker and was just one of those guys that steps up to any challenge, no matter the sacrifice. I just feel in love with him from their first meeting.
Michelle Hazen’s writing was superb. I felt everything and totally got lost in the story. It was just so good, I couldn’t set it down until it was finished. I’m most definitely a new fan. I look forward to more from the series and can’t wait to see what’s in store for their band’s future and her fellow band mates.
A Cruel Kind of Beautiful by Michelle Hazen
Sex, Love and Rock & Roll #1
Not a fan of New Adult books but this one grabbed me from the beginning and made me think first of Cinderella but with a guy in the lead role. The first scene was one of the best meet-cutes I have ever read.
As I continued reading I realized that Jacob was a keeper with a big family secret and that Jera’s main problem with relationships was not one I can relate to and yet…thinking back four or so decades…it does make a bit of sense and perhaps more than a bit. She grated a bit at times when she ran or didn’t listen or became afraid for reasons I couldn’t quite understand but she also had great talent as a musician-songwriter and was a good friend and bandmate. Jacob…well…he was a book boyfriend worthy of being on THE Wall of Fame for book boyfriends! Family guy, caring, interested, puts others first, willing to give up what others might see as important for what he believes truly is important. I am not going to give the plot away but will say that eventually Jera gets her head on straight and takes a chance…and once she does it seems that things begin to fall in place for her, Jacob and those around them.
I liked the band members and want to hear more about The Red Letters Band. What makes Danny and Jax tick and how will the band get their record deal?
Thank you to Barclay Publicity for the ARC – This is my honest review.