Twenty-six-year-old Gaby Barreto might be a lot of things (loyal, sarcastic, one of the guys and a pain in the butt depending on which family member you ask), but dumb isn’t one of them. When her twin brother invites her to go on tour as his band’s merch girl, she isn’t exactly screaming at the top of her lungs with joy.
With no job opportunities pounding on her door, an ex-boyfriend she would … she would still like to castrate, and no end in sight to moving out of her parents’ house in Dallas… it would be dumb to say no to the chance of a lifetime. Two bands, three continents, one tour. Spending the next ninety-plus days with three beloved idiots and eight complete strangers shouldn’t be a big deal, right?
If only the singer of the headlining band didn’t have tattoos… a great personality… a fantastic body… and if he wasn’t so funny….
Let’s be real: Gaby never had a chance against Sacha Malykhin.
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Mariana Zapata…I love you. I seriously don’t think there are any other books on the planet that make me feel this happy and passionate. I’ve read all but 2 of MZ’s books (that I plan on reading soon of course) and they’ve all gotten 5 stars from me. This book was obviously no different. I actually feel like I connected with Gaby the most of all the other female characters MZ has written. Every relationship, every laugh and every emotion in this book just felt so genuine. My heart feels so full with these characters I’ve just met and had to say goodbye to. I absolutely adored every single moment.
Mariana has provided us with yet another heart touching, sweetest love story. Sasha Malykhin joins on tour with another band and meets Gordon, Carter, Mason and Eli, and elis’s twin gaby. Instant attraction that starts with a foot on his Ass from her.
The story I told in multiple POVs.
My only peeve the sentences, emotions are on repeat forever. Like all over. Chapter after chapter same sentiments, same lines
Her story in the heart of it is always sweetly unique tho.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story!
“I fell in love with the voice in the dark. No joke, no exaggeration. It was a pure, raw love.”
Gaby Barreto has no boyfriend, no permanent address and no job. When her twin, Eli, badgers her to join a worldwide tour for three months with his band, she might as well go since there are currently no other prospects for her. When she finds out that they are sharing the tour with the headlining act, she’s pretty cool about it until she meets Sacha Malykhin, the lead singer, in the most embarrassing way! However, the two of them gel pretty quickly and find themselves fast friends, although Gaby is crushing hard and working to accept that friendship is all they’ll ever have between them. Or, is it?
“You’re an idiot if you think that you’re no one special to me. You’re the most special…The most.”
It’s been a while since I’ve read this author. I’ve been waiting for some free time to read her back catalogue before I read the two newer stories, and I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed her writing.
This story was funny and sweet. I adored Gaby! She’s kickass, pragmatic, fun and can hold her own with the boys. Sacha’s character reminded me of the male lead in Lingus. He’s a nice, genuine guy all around, kind of goofy, as well as hella hot! I was riveted to my Kindle, as I watched their growing closeness and saw things developing that Gaby couldn’t see. They were so in sync with each other. I also loved the dynamic between Gaby, her brother and his two best friends. There were plenty of high jinks and very little mercy between them, but a tonne of laughs and camaraderie. This was fabulous feel-good read.
This was my first time reading a book by Mariana Zapata, a friend loaned me this book and said, “You’re gonna love it as much as I do!” She was right. This book was freaking hilarious!! I haven’t laughed so hard while reading a book in such a long time, it was just what I needed.
Gabby’s life is in a stagnant place where she just graduated from college, and she’s been kinda floundering around after a bad break up. Her family wants more for her, so when her twin brother, Eli, calls her up begging her to join his band on tour because they need a merch girl to replace the guy the fired, she is hesitant at first. Once she agrees she flies straight out to meet up with the band on the road. When she gets there she’s excited to see that they have upgraded from a van to a huge bus. What she didn’t know was that they would be sharing the bus with another band…the headliner.
All of the pranks, the smack talk….just who their characters were, I laughed the entire time almost. You definitely do not want to miss out on a book like this one. I’m off to find another book from Mariana Zapata to see if I love it as much as I did this one.
I am loving every single book I am reading from this author. She has the right formula for having you giggle or more like a snort and then she throws in a little angst to have you worry that maybe the characters won’t make it. A brilliant slow burn romance. True joy for me.
Gaby has had a hard month, so she joins her twin brother Eli on tour for three months. This is where she meets the lead singer of the headline band on the tour. Sacha is not only sex on legs, but he has a great sense of humor that is just like Gaby’s. The banter between her brother Eli and his friends is hilarious but also very touching on how they look out for her. Grab this one, and any from this author, you will not be disappointed.
Edited: As is my new favorite thing, I did a re read with audio, and as much as I loved this story, the audio didn’t work for me. This narrators voice didn’t match what I thought Gaby would be like but mostly it was her male character voices that was a big turn off. They sounded like cartoon characters and if I hadn’t read the book previously I wouldn’t have connected with them all as much. I don’t think I’m the only one with this opinion and I’m grateful that the next books are back to the original narrator.
I did NOT want this story to end.
This is a gradual friendship to lovers which was absolutely perfect. A slow burn as with the author’s other books however it isn’t angsty where it drives you crazy which I love.
I feel what the best part about Gaby and Sasha’s story are that the characters are not perfect. They are real with flaws, they get embarrassed , they are clumsy, and act like such dorks. Perfect imperfections!
Let’s go over Gaby, this girl is my spirit person! She is a bad ass, outgoing, outspoken and so down to earth.
My emotions synced up with Gaby when she was happy, angry, heartbroken, or in love. I felt I was right by her side throughout the book.
The immature teasing between all the characters kept me laughing throughout.
What was an added bonus was the Kulti reference (Amazing book as well, if you haven’t read it, do it NOW! You are missing out!).
Mariana Zapata never disappoints in her amazing books. Stories you never want to end, worlds you want a front row seat in. Women you want to befriend and men you want to….(fill in the blank).
Highly recommend all of her books especially this one!
Another 5 star read for me of Mariana Zapata’s. I haven’t been disappointed yet. I’ve been trying to savor them for when I know I need a 5 star to get me out of my funk. My restraint is waning. Because I love these books!
This book was a breath of fresh air. If I’ve ever read a book with a rockstar and band, it’s been awhile… a long while where I don’t remember and it clearly didn’t resonate with me like RC&M did. I highlighted so many things.
When Gaby gets the opportunity to go on tour with her brother’s band, who all also happen to be her lifelong guy best friends, along with guys from The Cloud Collision, she doesn’t fully know what she’s getting herself into. She quickly adapts to the new life while being on tour, which isn’t exactly easy! Hello, she’s living with 11 other dudes! I love the strength that Gaby has and that grows throughout the book, as well as the bonds and friendships she creates. She takes the leaps that she normally wouldn’t and it pays off for her.
Let’s also not forget about her brother Eli. That boy had me cracking up left and right, to the point of snorting out loud! Plus the bond that Eli and Gaby have is something that you yearn to have with your own siblings.
I’m true MZ fashion, this book was definitely a slow burn. We see the little inklings of how Sacha feels for her fairly quickly. Of course Gaby doesn’t want to get her hopes up, but when she takes one of those leaps I said about above, you get some crazy sweetness and humor! He gives as much as he gets from his Gaby.
While RC&M isn’t my MOST favorite MZ book, it’s right up there with being a favorite. I highly recommend this out of the box, slow burn romance. I guarantee you’ll fall in love with Gabby & Sacha like I did!
This was my first Zapata and I loved it. WARNING: this is a slllloooooowww burn. And I hear Zapata is the QUEEN of that. I like to balance my reads between extra steamy and sweet and slow, so this was perfect for me. I love the innocence of love and the intimacy that Zapata builds in this novel.
At first, Gaby sees Sacha is an aloof, mysterious rock star but as she is on the tour longer with him, they develop a friendship that is completely void of any first-date or first-encounter filters. They’re on a tour bus together, so they see each other at their dirtiest, most tired, slap-happiest, most real behind the scenes selves.
I loved that. By the time they get their HEA, it feels completely earned, earnest, full and sweet. Definitely, going to be reading and listening to more of Zapata.
I have become an amazing fan of this author! I have binged listened and read all this authors works in the recent past.
I have always attempted to give ‘star’ ratings on my completed reads, just as a tracking method for my titles that I have completed. I have unlimited packages for audio, kindle, and utilize the local/state library.
However, I do not check the ‘I recommend this book’ unless I am willing to reread a book and or a series.
[I read about 5-15 books a month through kindle, and I listen to about 15-30 books monthly]
I have a full life as a nurse, professor, wife, daughter [daughter in law], sister, and mother. I love to read and love a thousand other lives by turning the pages in countless books.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a review. Happy reading 🙂
I really enjoyed this fun, quirky heroine and Mariana Zapata’s entertaining slow burn.
I loved this book. It was funny, flirty, and very real. I have loved all of this author’s books and can’t recommend them enough.
Rhythm, Chord and Malykhin was a fun, sweet slow burn romance which held my attention until the end. I loved the humor and fun banter between the characters and they had me laughing out loud many times throughout the book.
Our main characters were Gabby and Sacha and this story focused on their friendship and them getting to know each other. However the secondary characters namely Gabby’s twin brother Eli and his best friends Gordo and Mason were hilarious and greatly added to the story. The banter between all of them was realistic and funny and you will love every moment of it.
I listened to the audible version of this novel. It was narrated by Carly Robins who did an amazing job with the characters. Her voice was clear and understandable and very much distinctive for the different characters.
I absolutely loved this page-turner. It was amusing and definitely worthy of a 5 star status and I would highly recommend it to all lovers of slow-burn romances.
Gaby Barreto doesn’t know what she’s going to do with the rest of her life. She just finished college and her boyfriend broke up with her. When her twin brother calls from the road to ask if she’ll come on tour and sell their merchandise for them she says yes and gets on a plane to live in a bus with her brother Eli and his two bandmates. Oh yeah, she’ll also live on the bus with 4 more guys from another band. Gaby has always been fun, funny and one of the guys, but when she meets Sacha Malykhin she wants that friend zone to turn into something else but she’s determined to play it cool.
Gaby is that girl you’ve always wanted to be. Self assured, funny and pretty. The girl that everyone is comfortable around. She grew up listening to her brothers music and has even toured with their band before back in the days when they got around in a beat up bus. I loved her camaraderie with all of the guys, but especially with Sacha. She had just broken up with her boyfriend but when she and Sacha meet there’s laughter and a twinkle to their connection. It just seems to be really easy for them. Even though they don’t get together for a really long time, you can tell that the connection between them, even as friends is real.
This is not your typical rock star romance. There isn’t any drama (well only a tiny bit) and there’s tons of laughter. These people really don’t have a lot of baggage. Maybe that’s why I could relate to them so well? They were an easy couple to see together. I also really enjoyed Gaby’s interactions with all the other guys on the bus, especially Eli and Mason. Eli is her twin so they have that special connection, but Mason is that brother from another mother. He was hysterical! I’d love to see him have his own story, but he’ll probably have to live in my fantasies instead.
I read this book quite a while ago and again it was one of Marina Zapata’s long slow burn i love how long and angsty these books to read and to listen to it was soooo good i loved this book nearly better the second time.
I love the way Marina Zapata writes she sets out a whole scene so you can picture every single thing that is happening in this book. I do love a good music based story but i felt like we got so much more we got a story about friends, family, success and watching relationships grow.
I loved Gabby she was a funny character who had me laughing out loud but what i loved was her relationship with her twin brother, half the time they didn’t take each other seriously but you could see the love they had for each other. I also loved Gabby’s relationship with her brothers band mates, they were her best friends and loved the loyalty they had for each other i loved reading the crap they gave to each other had me laughing out loud so many times.
I really loved the fact that Gabby and Sacha gravitated towards each other and i loved thier friendship. It just had me wanting the book to hurry up and finish. They had thier up and downs but these two are one of my favourite couples they were both sweet and funny and again the crap they gave each other just made them so perfect for each other.
I also loved the cheeky references to past characters form her other books and to be honest that may have had me reading one of them
Absolutely loved this book and another favourite of Mariana Zapata’s if you like a slow burn story that has you not wanting to stop listening or to put the book down then this your book
5 massive stars for this read.
This is another great book by Mariana Zapata and the fact that its about hot rockstars was an added bonus. I really enjoyed this book. Sasha and Gaby were the best and I really loved their friendship. I also love her close relationship with her twin brother Eli and his bandmates. Especially the fun and flirty banter between Gaby and Mason. This book made me laugh a lot and I just all around enjoyed all the characters. I will say that I do love Kulti and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me better than this book, but it in no way takes away from the amazing writing and story.
This is a book with well-developed characters with great chemistry & history. Even though it is apparent that Gaby & Sacha are such a great couple from start to finish, there are no lame tricks to keep characters apart, and lots of great humor. The romance with Gaby & Sacha itself is a pleasure because they have such a good time together–it makes love fun, which is not something that happens so often in romance.
The dialogue is natural and fun. I love how well the connections with Gaby, Eli, Madon & Gordo are shown. It is clear that these are people who have been best friends for 20 years. This was a joy to read. Sure Gaby has emotional hurdles to overcome, but it was so clear that life is just better when Gaby is with Sacha, her brother, and their friends. The trend in so many books is to have a huge dark past that only true love can overcome–which can be great and satisfying–but it was really nice to have a book that made my heart light throughout almost the whole thing.
Mariana Zapata is one of my favorite writers. So when I knew that she had a new book coming out, I was very, very happy. ‘Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin’ is a sweet and funny read. If you liked ‘Lingus’ her first book then you have to read this one!
Gaby Barreto her life sucks! Her boyfriend broke up with her, she had to move back home to live with her parents and she still hasn’t found a job yet. So when her twin brother Eli invites her to go on tour with him and his band the ‘Ghost Orchid’ Gaby is easily convinced. It’s not the first time that she went on tour with them, being their merch girl. So she knows what to expect from her idiot brother and his two best friends Mason and Gordo but maybe that’s just what she needs at the moment.
But her brother forgot to mention that they’re not the only band on tour and on that bus. There’s another band (The Cloud Collision) that’s touring with them and their singer Sacha Malykhin is something special! He doesn’t only have a great voice but he also has a fantastic body, tattoos and a friendly personality. A very dangerous combination!
So now Gaby not only has to deal with her crazy brother and his two crazy friends but also with another band on the bus. But that can’t be a problem for her, Gaby’s used to be surrounded by guys her whole life but the question is, is she okay with just being friends with Sacha or does she want more than friendship with him? And what does he want from her? Only friendship? Or does he also feel more for her?
Just like in her other books, Mariana Zapata really takes her time to build the story, the relationship. First, they become friends and then lovers. And I, personally, love that! But if you’re one of those readers who wants to read about sex from the very first page, then I don’t think this is the book for you. Because that’s not the writer her style. She always takes her time to build the relationship and thus the sex scenes.
I really loved the way that Gaby and Sacha went from strangers, to friends, to lovers. And I totally loved the three crazy idiots in this story. Wat more can you ask for in life then 3 loyal friends? Rhythm, chord & Malykhin is a very sweet story. I can’t wait to read another book from Mariana Zapata.
7th book read by this author.
This book finished me off nicely. I loved the humour and friendship between baby and Eli and Mason…funny and touching.
gaby and Sasha were beautifully written to, slow burning and sweet and tender.
Another massive round of applause to the author.
My only complaint…is that I’m at the end of my binge fest of books by this author…fully up to date with all current and published works….I’m literally dying of readers remorse because as ever with this author…I want more!