Drummers on tour aren’t relationship material. But hot one-night stand material? That’s a different story. At least that’s what Louana Higgins always thought. Until the sexy rockstar with the melt-your-heart eyes had the nerve to call her after their fling, wanting more. Her brain tells her to run the other way, but her heart—and her body—are apparently all out of synch … paid his dues and finally has a hit song to show for it. But his new success also comes with a million ways to blow it and ruin everything. What he needs now is stability—a calm port in the storm. Someone who isn’t impressed by his fame and money to help ground him. He needs Louana. Now all he has to do is convince her that he’s not the potential heartbreak she thinks he is.
But the road to forever won’t be easy. Secrets from Jake’s past loom large, and not everyone in his life is happy about his retreat from the party scene. Can Jake and Louana overcome everything—and everyone—that stands between them? Or will their love be left in the rearview of Jake’s tour bus?
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I enjoyed this book from Deana Birch. This is the first book in the series.
It was a quick, funny, steamy read that will keep you glued to the pages until the very end
I’m a huge fan of Rock/Music romances. The cover caught my attention. I read the blurb and immediately added it to my TBR pile. It kept calling to me, and once I had it in my hands, I devoured it. I loved both of the main characters and their realistic love story. Even their struggles with his (Jake is a drummer in a band that’s quickly rising to fame) career felt real.
Soon as I finished Faster, I promptly downloaded Slower (the next book in this series). I look forward to reading it.
I recommend this book to readers who love sweet and steamy romances. Even if your thing isn’t music, the love story will pull you in and keep you turning the pages.
Gahhh this was sooo good, y’all! I’m a huge fan of rock star romance, but it’s been entirely too long since I’ve found one that really pushes my buttons the way this one does. Jake is one of the most adorable rockers I’ve ever had the pleasure of “meeting” and Lou is a strong-willed heroine. It was such a joy to read. I absolutely cannot wait to sink my teeth into the second book!!
First and foremost, let’s talk basics. Faster, written by Deana Birch, is listed as both romance and women’s fiction, but at its heart, it’s a steamy, dreamy, page-turning rock star romance.
Louana Higgins, our bold and beautiful leading lady, knows enough about the music industry as an up-and-coming producer for a film composer that she avoids mucking up her private life with flings that involve cocky, bull-headed musicians. That is, until Jake Riley—drummer and number-one-hit-writer for the talented and rising rock band, The Spades—struts into her perfectly ordered world and proves not all rockers fit the same mold.
While the general plot itself fits the rock star romance trope, the meat and potatoes of the story strays quite a bit from what one might anticipate, which is part of what makes this such a fantastic read. Neither Louana nor Jake follow a predictable path, and their personalities are not only unique, but highly unexpected.
Louana is a strong, independent female who has already been there, done that with the famous boyfriend cliché. Jake’s fame, fortune, and bigger-than-life persona mean little to her, and she is hilariously—and adorably—unimpressed by it all. Something Jake enjoys almost as much as her scrumptious cooking and big, soft, non-tour-bus bed.
Jake, on the other hand, isn’t your stereotypical rock hero with the snarky arrogance and holier-than-thou ‘tude. He’s down-to-earth, relatable, and looking more for normalcy than the glitz and glamour his ever-expanding career guarantees.
When you lump these two together, not only do you get some smokin’ hot sex—I’m talkin’ have a SO or a BOB on hand ‘cause you’re gonna need some relief kinda smokin’ hot—but also some sweet, delightful interactions that are positively swoon-worthy and addicting.
I won’t delve any further into the plot because any more detail and I risk ruining the surprise! Again, I remind you: this book doesn’t follow in the footsteps of its ancestors. There are some wonderfully unexpected offshoots that make Faster its very own thing, far removed from the typical rock star romance, but in the most brilliant way.
Overall, this was a great summer read. It was fast-paced and fun, yet kept me guessing and, yes, on occasion, yelling at the characters as the story progressed. I’m a personal fan of stories and characters that inspire a true emotional reaction—whether it be tears of joy or sorrow; screams wrought from anguish or fury; or laughter borne from pure idiocy or intended humor.
And let me just say this, folks… Deana Birch drew some heavy reactions from this gal. At one point, my hubs had to take my coffee away because I was sloshing it about in a fit-to-be-tied rage. He was afraid I’d short circuit my Kindle, and he’s already had to replace one this year following a similar coffee-spilling incident. That one may or may not have also been the result of my notably over-the-top reactions.
What can I say? I love to read, especially when the words inspire passionate emotions that require full-body involvement… and shouty caps. Ask any of my critique partners. I’m famous for my shouty caps while making in-line comments. I always tell ‘em… if your words warranted Evie Shouty Caps, then they’re amazeballs. End. Of. Story.
And Faster? It definitely got some shouty caps.
Louana is a producer and Jake is a drummer for a rock band. They have a fling and Louana is determined to move on. Jake wants more. Shane is the band’s lead singer and he is not happy with Jake and Louana’s relationship. A twist in this rock star romance. A good read that I enjoyed and recommend.
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley and am leaving a review.
She had a great time with the leader of the band but she knows he will never want just one woman so she files him away under best leave alone. His name finally gets a bit and although he now has it all it feels like nothing. He just wants his girl.all to himself. A secret may just blow it all away. So what will she do when she is told by a jealous bandmate
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I am enjoying the journey between the characters and their challenges kept me entertained. This story is attention grabber that will have you at the edge of you seat with characters that kept your interest as well as eager to read more.
I received a free copy of this book however all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
I loved this! It grabbed me from the first page, kept me til the last and enthralled me in between. Well worth your time to read it.
4 stars
Review by Elizabeth
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
Do you love rock star romances? Standalones? Emotions? If yes, I suggest reading Faster by Deana Birch.
I am going to be honest here, it took a bit longer than usual for me to really get into Faster. I do not know why, could be because I just could not connect with it right away.
At first I could not stand Jake. All he wanted was to get into Louana”s pants. Granted she wanted in his as well which is why they started a fling. However, their fling turned into more. The chemistry between them is as hot as the sex.
You will scream at your e-reader a few times because lets face it, they deserve it. Like all relationships there are ups and downs. They are not perfect and never will be. They work for what they have and when things pop up they must decide to keep moving forward or say goodbye.
I want to say more but I do not want to give any spoilers. All I can say is if you want a good read, read Faster.
Faster is a debut novel from Deana Birch, that tells the story of a drummer, Jake, who is in a successful rock band, living the stereotypical rockstar lifestyle. He runs across Luana, a sharp, no non-sense music producer and decides he wants the chance to hook-up with her. The caveat in this scenario being that he will be return to touring by the end of the week. Meaning he will not commit to anything other than a brief fling. Once back on tour, Jake starts to realize that he likes the way that Luana makes him feel grounded when he is with her. What started as a 3-4 day fling quickly develops into a ‘long distance relationship’ of sorts. No longer wanting to partake in the typical rockstar partying and after show romps, Jake is tagged as being boring by his fellow band mate and friend, Shane the band’s lead singer. Not happy about Jakes new outlook on exclusive dating, Shane attempts to drive a wedge between the couple by revealing to Luana a supposed dark secret from Jake’s very recent past, that now leaves her questioning her ability to continue her relationship with Jake.
As a reader I enjoyed the overall story, however, I was not impressed by the personality of the characters. As a rockstar in an up and coming band, Jake is starting to see royalty checks come in, however he is essentially homeless and has no car. He comes across as insecure, needy and immature at times. As for Luana, who is strong-willed and independent woman, she allows Jake to stay with her, in between his road dates, before she really knows anything about him. I wanted to scream and throw the kindle. In my book, a man that is staying with his friend for a while and has no car just oozes loser and raises so many red flags and that’s not throwing groupies, drugs and partying into the mix. It would be an absolute turn-off for this independent woman, rockstar or not. If there had been a little more development of Jake’s character, that would have explained better his living situation, I may have had a better feeling towards him. I would have loved to known what his creative parking situation was that now left him on ‘foot patrol’.
The middle of the book had a lot of filler dialogue and what seemed to be ‘running in circles’ between the characters. None of this seemed to really build the story toward a climax. In the description of the book it points towards a secret that frontman Shane uses to attempt to tear the couple apart. However, that secret and strategy isn’t revealed until the very end of the story at 91% mark. After that Luana essentially shuts down and there isn’t anything to keep the momentum going at that point.
I would have given this book a higher rating had the the malicious intent of the front man been more developed and that used to climax the story earlier on. Otherwise this story seemed like a memoir of Luana’s dating life with a rockstar. There were some funny pieces that did have me laughing out loud at one point. I just felt it was left unfinished in some chapters and would have been a greater read had it been more developed, by expanding onto the dark secret of the recent past and making it a bigger part of the build-up earlier on in the book.