Can music heal the soul of this wounded warrior?Liam Herewini’s come from the wrong side of the tracksDisplaced in his youthDogged by a sense of distrustHe finds solace in the heartbeat of his drumsWith a failed band behind himAnd a bright future in front of himAll he has to do is keep his eye on the prizeBut his heart’s set on the detached AlannahAlannah Walsh has had it with bandsShe’s been … Alannah
Alannah Walsh has had it with bands
She’s been burned by men and their music before
But keeping Liam at arm’s length
Is becoming more and more difficult
They’re friends–without the benefits
If she can stay away from him long enough
He’ll go on tour and she’ll never see him again
Or will she?
BREAKTHROUGH is Book 2 of The King Brothers Rockstar Romance series.
No rockstars (or drummers!) were harmed during the writing of this novel.
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I loved Destiny and Dylan in Breakout, the first of Toni Kenyon’s King Brothers Rockstar Romances (separately reviewed), so I’ve been eagerly awaiting its sequel. Now, in Breakthrough (Book 2) it’s Alannah and Liam’s turn. In this story (which works fine as a stand-alone), the band, Yellow Lady, is still growing in success and that’s fun to follow, but the romance here is superb. Liam lost his best friend to the pressure of fame in their last band’s raise. Alannah was that friend’s gal (though she’s known he was attracted to her even if he was thoroughly “friend-zoned”). He doesn’t trust in potential success. She doesn’t trust how the pressures of success change people. But the attraction is still there, and it’s soon clear it’s on both sides. A great recipe for tension – and for a wonderful romance. In the hands of a talented author like this one it’s no surprise that a wonderful story is cooked up. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
A Great Look Behind The Scenes Of A Band On The Edge Of Becoming An Overnight Success!
Breakthrough is the second book in this series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. It is Liam and Alannah’s story.
Liam, twenty-three, is a drummer. He has a mixed heritage – a British professor for a father and a Maori mother with dark skin. He has always struggled to fit in, but music makes him happy. He nearly made it big with his first band. Things went south when his good friend Steve, lead singer, had a breakdown. He had loved Steve like a brother and it hit him hard. Steve didn’t survive the lifestyle and rising success, ending the quick rise to stardom that the band had been on, and the band fell apart without its singer. While Liam had been a good friend to Steve, Alannah, Steve’s girlfriend, had always attracted him. He accepted her relationship with Steve, though, so he and Alannah developed a strong friendship instead.
Alannah Walsh left Ireland behind and made a home in New Zealand. She fell in love with Steve, but she always knew that Liam was attracted to her. She couldn’t save Steve, and had to put him in her past, but she lived to be around music, and enjoyed sticking around Liam and watching the new band take form. She valued Liam’s friendship, but had pushed the idea of more than friendship away for three years. Alannah had sworn off rock stars.
This story begins with the Liam still in New Zealand. A new band has been formed with the support of their manager, Calvin. The band, Yellow Lady, includes Liam’s former band mate and friend Jesse, plus Marty and Dylan. New members Marty and Dylan are eighteen, young and inexperienced, but Calvin sees something special in the new group. After the band completes a fabulous tour, they secure a U.S. agent and take off for L.A. Things move quickly. But this time around Liam is not giving into hope. That had crushed him the first go around.
He and Alannah have been close for years now, but even after Steve’s hospitalization, the pair never goes beyond harmless flirting. Both live in fear of what a relationship would mean and the possibility of losing the friendship that they both depend upon. And no matter what, the music comes first.
Liam and Alannah’s story is a very slow burn. In fact, they spend a good part of the book separated as they sort through their feelings. They battle their own fears and question their own priorities. Politics become an issue, however, and threaten the couple even before they find their way to one another. The ending brings them together (it is their story, after all), but the it remains to be seen if and how they weather the pressures of the politics, fame, and touring. It would be great to have seen more of them. Perhaps more will be learned in subsequent books in the series!
Nearly halfway through the book, it switches into Marty’s POV, which feels odd. He is early into his own love story, but thus far it had been mostly about the band and Liam’s story. As yet nearly nothing had transpired with Liam’s story at this point, so the change in POV was a little confusing. Rest assured the story goes back to Liam and Alannah.
I rate this story four stars. It has an authentic behind the scenes feeling, politics and all. I would love to have seen more of Liam and Alannah together as a couple. Liam is a sympathetic character, and it would have been very satisfying to see his HEA with Alannah.
I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is an interesting story showing the inside workings and effects of forming and maintaining a rock band. The author brings a cast of colorful characters and weaves an intense and emotional story that had me hooked from start to finish. I enjoyed and would recommend this book / series.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.
The Boys Are On Their Way
I am falling in love with this series with the way I’m getting to see the inside of making a rock band from the ground up. Yellow Lady is at the start of making it and it’s been a crazy ride to this point. Jessie and Liam were the two seasoned guys who were so close to making it with their other band until their lead singer and Alannah’s boyfriend Steve, crashed and burned. Dylan and Marty were inexperienced but also determined so with Jessie and Liam’s addition to the Yellow Ladies the boys were on their way to making it big.
Since Alannah and Liam shared the loss of Steve they have always been connected and maybe more than they should be. After finally making their feelings known it was time for Liam to leave for the US. Alannah just couldn’t do another rock star again. The life, lies and heartbreak was just too much. Then add in a band manager who make rules for the boys knowing how hunger they are to make it.
This book was a one sitting read for me and when I got to the end I kept hitting my button to advance to the next page because I just had to know how all of this was going to fall into place for everyone. You don’t want to miss a thing so read the first book in this series Breakout: The King Brothers. So if you love rock bands like I do that are made up of talented sexy men this is definitely a must read!!