An ambitious exec and reluctant rock star sizzle in this workplace romantic comedy about music’s redemptive power, hogging the bed, and finding love.
Bright and ambitious Marin Collins sees her new internship with a prestigious PR firm as a stepping-stone to a much-needed permanent position. But her plans for career success are derailed when she’s assigned to go on the road with rock band Kings … with rock band Kings Quarters, hailed by Rolling Stone as the next big thing. To gain full-time employment, she’ll need to stick to her “no workplace romance” policy and resist the sexy and nerdy rock star on the tour bus.
Enter Brad Osterhauser, the reluctant guitarist who would rather be coding computer games than penning Grammy-nominated songs. While grateful for the band’s success, he’s trapped on tour out of loyalty to the brother and bandmate who helped him escape a depressing home life. His outlook about the current tour improves immensely when he’s smitten by the smart and stunning PR executive who joins the tour.
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.
Will Marin and Brad’s secret passions destroy both their careers, or take desire to the ultimate encore?
If you love a slow burn romance with laugh out loud moments, forced proximity, and sizzling chemistry, scroll up now to buy or read for free with Kindle Unlimited.
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“Starfish” is not your usual rock star romance. Instead, we are treated to a lighter, more comedic side of a rock band and its crew, with their charming yet practical joker ways and down-to-earth personalities. Kings Quarters hires Marin to be their PR person and as she joins them on their tour, sparks begin to fly between her and lead guitarist, Brad. Their chemistry is off the charts! I love how their friendship forms over the love of common interests and teasingly sweet moments, and the slow burn that eventually gives way to an undeniable love connection. Everything about this story was entertaining—the secondary characters, the pranks and humor, and just the overall storytelling as Marin and Brad give way to their feelings and overcome the obstacles to get their happily ever after. And the title of the book was just genius… and once you discover the connection you’ll realize it too!
Listened on audio: Erin Mallon and Sebastian York were the perfect duo to bring Marin and Brad’s story to life. They truly captured the characters personalities and delivered on both the hilarious and endearing moments, creating an enjoyable listening experience.
#AudiobookObsession
What an amazing surprise, I got this audiobook as I love rockstar romance and I truly enjoyed it, Marin and Brad’s story was such a great one to read, the narrators of course where phenomenal as always, bringing their characters to live and nailing all their emotions. I am looking forward for the next audiobook.
Starfish, the latest novel from Lisa Becker was an entertaining, heart-warming, fun story, with lovable, relatable and some quirky characters. It was steamy, sweet and hilarious with a little angst included and I was hooked from beginning to end unable to put down this feel good romance.
I loved the main characters Maren and Brad and enjoyed seeing the progression of their relationship. In addition to their romance the inclusion of the friendship and family aspect of the story really added another layer to the novel. The story was evenly paced and well written and I would highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary slow burn romance.
I listened to the audiobook version which was narrated by Erin Mallon and Sebastian York. These two were absolutely perfect for the characters and they narrated the story superbly. With excellent pace and timing they brought the story to life and it was an absolute pleasure listening to them narrate this novel.
Starfish
A Rock Star Romance
By: Lisa Becker
Narrated by: Erin Mallon, Sebastian York
If you are looking for a story that has a great foundation, a fantastic slow burn, wonderful characters and an incredible narrating team, then you have found the book for you! Starfish features Marin, a woman who thought she was getting the perfect tech internship, only to find herself on a tour bus chronicling the life and times of a rock band. She was not ready for this, but was going to make the best of this four month stint. Brad, the lead guitarist of the rock band immediately felt an attraction, but with the reputation of a rocker and the aloofness of Marin, he decided to take it slow. And this burn was just that. I was invested in their story, willing to follow them from city to city and see the romance grow. Lisa Becker didn’t dwell on the paparazzi or dealing with being famous, but wrote a true love story about real people. It’s so easy to fall for the image, but this let us be on the inside, get to know Brad and his dreams. It’s a refreshing look at the possibilities we don’t know as the fans, and I am so glad we got to tour with them!
The narration team of Erin Mallon and Sebastian York is a dream. They brought this story to life, enhancing the characters with their voices, and let us develop an image of them. I love both and really enjoyed their performance.
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4.5 Steamy Adorkable Stars!
I absolutely loved this delightful, sweet and steamy forbidden romance. Marin is so excited to land an internship for a tech company, only to find out they placed her as the pr person for a rock band on a summer tour. She is so out of her element and knows nothing about the band, Kings Quarters. But she has a great sense of humor and is able to roll with the crazy antics by the band members. Brad is the lead guitarist and an adorkable hero. He is tired of the rockstar life and would rather work on developing his computer programs. When sweet and sexy Marin steps on the bus, the sparks fly between them. I loved how they were friends first and still committed to doing their jobs. But the chemistry between them was smoldering throughout. I fell for Marin, Brad, all the band members and Marin’s roommate, Grace. They all felt genuine, and added so much fun and emotion to this story. I was completely addicted to Erin Mallon, and Sebastian York’s amazing narration! They were superb as Marin and Brad as they brought the fun and nerdy couple to life. I easily felt all the awkward moments, passion, heartbreak, joy, and love these characters felt. I loved both their deliveries as they made this hilarious, heartwarming, sweet and sexy story pure perfection!
This isn’t your typical rockstar romance. These two are so sweet together and the slow burn is fantastic to watch. I loved listening to this book!
Starfish by Lisa Becker is a Rock Star Romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Erin Mallon and Sebastian York.
This is the second book of Lisa’s that I have read and it definitely won’t be my last. You can’t help but fall in love with Marin and Brad. I cannot wait to get my hands on Dear Future Self that releases February 4, 2020.
Sebastian and Erin did an amazing job on the narration.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Rock Star Romances, Contemporary Romance, Forbidden Romance, or Romantic Comedies. This book covers them all and it is absolutely amazing.
Audiobook Review
I loved this book so much! Marin and Brad’s relationship was amazing. Loved the easygoing funny friends relationship it starts with and how it grows to hot hot hot.
Erin Mallon and SebYo do an amazing job bringing the characters to life and I will be highly recommending this book!
Starfish by Lisa Becker is such a sweet with a hint of sexy slow burn that will entertain you from start to finish.
I truly enjoyed Marin, she is witty, sweet, hard working and truly stays true to herself. She believes that work and personal life should not interfere with each other even when that one person she really likes, likes her too!!
Brad, the lead guitarist for the Kings Quarters is that charming, really sincere good guy that as a rock star you fear he would lose that part of himself but he doesn’t. He is an all around gentleman and I love tat about him. I especially loved how protective, caring and patient he is with Marin knowing the dilemma she is in with not wanting to cross the line when her job and doing a good job is at stake.
This budding romance really gives you those sincere moments you want from a story and my only complaint was that at times it did get a little slow at moments but it didn’t last. I definitely loved the writing and the plot. I would highly recommend this book and this talented author.
This was my first time reading Lisa Becker and I’m so happy to have found her. Starfish was a rocking sweet, sexy read. Marin and Brad were perfect for each other. Once Brad sees Marin in a meeting as she is introduce as the new PR person for his band, he needs to learn more about her. Their relationship starts slow as friends who truly get to know and encourage each other in the best possible ways. Marin has reasons for not wanting to take their relationship to the next level. This story gave me lots of feels. It takes you on the road with the band and the road to their HEA with a few surprises I didn’t see coming.
This book.
I wasn’t sure what to read last night. After a completely entertaining brief interaction with the author of this book, I thought heck she’s right why haven’t I read it?! I thought to myself I’ll start this tonight. What resulted was me inhaling the entire book in one sitting like it was a pint of ice cream. The author is a successful book #influencer …
IF you are a fan of smiling. IF you are a fan of happiness. IF you are a fan of romance with no cheating, no games, no pretense, no general douchebaggery, well then go ahead and read STARFISH by Lisa Becker. You will be entertained. Your heart will thank you.
This is a slowburn bit of goodness that is similar to the crackling “friendship” that Mariana Zapata also does so well.
This is a fun summer book! Sweet and spicy! I loved it!
Will Marin stop second-guessing her life choices?
Starfish by Lisa Becker is another romance novel by this fantastic author that was hard to put down. It was steamier than the other two books that I have read of Ms. Becker’s. The characters are both excellent, and they are realistic.
Marin Collins
Marin Collins is the first point-of-view character that we met, and she is very determined to make a name for herself and not follow in her mom’s footsteps. This action is something that she struggles with throughout the whole book since it’s something that she doesn’t want to do. She does get through it, though, and that is an excellent thing.
What I like about Marin is that despite all the hardships she has faced, she still is a strong person and is trying to do things the way she wants. She is a great character that has grown a lot throughout this book. I especially like it when she starts to change her mind about working with the band in the first place.
The thing that I don’t like about her is that she doesn’t want to be like her mom, but she never really gave her mom a chance to make things right with her.
Brad Osterhauser
Brad Osterhauser is the second point-of-view character that we met, and he is struggling with how to tell his brother some things. He is the lead guitarist of Kings Quarters. Brad is a great guy and loves his family more than anything, which is why he is still in the band even though it’s not his passion anymore. These two make a sweet couple, and Brad tries to do what is best for Marin.
What I like about Brad is that he loves to joke around like any regular guy, especially around friends. He is very much in love with Marin, and it shows throughout the book as he changes once Marin joins the tour with them. The only thing that I didn’t like about him is that he believed Sasha, Marin’s boss, and Damon, his manager, that Marin leaked something when she shouldn’t have.
Five Stars
I am giving Starfish by Lisa Becker five stars and recommending it to all adult contemporary romance lovers out there. Despite all the odds stacked up against these two, mostly by Marin, they prevailed and came out stronger than ever.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Starfish by Lisa Becker.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If you would like to read more reviews like this one please go to baronessbooktrove.com
Favorite Quotes:
“This body is a temple,” replies Jase, holding his arms out and shrugging his shoulder. “Temple of doom, maybe,” fumes Oliver.
“If you learned anything from living with me for all these years, you still should have knocked. Remember the incident with Chad?” Cheeky Chad, as he was forever known, in homage to the muscular naked butt cheeks I accidentally saw.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to cramp your style,” she jokes. “I’ve got no style,” I respond. “I’m all substance,” I add with a smug grin.
“With your voice, even lip-synching is painful to those of us around you.” Her mouth gapes open in shock. “But you won’t even hear me,” she whines. “Doesn’t matter.” I shake my head. “We all know what you sound like and can hear it in our heads.”
My Review:
This was a fun, entertaining, and sexy dual POV contemporary romance full of sizzle and sass between an up and coming rock star and the new intern handling their public relations on the tour bus. I adore Lisa Becker’s special brand of levity, she cleverly slides it in with pranks, colorful descriptions, witty quips, bantering, and games and hijinks between the vibrant and enticing characters. The storylines were active and eventful as the band toured across the country, stirring up hearts, gossip, libidos, turbulence, obsessed fans, while also indulging in a variety of pastimes and antics.
Starfish is my very first Lisa Becker novel, but I can already tell you, it’s not going to be my last. I read this in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down.
Marin Collins accepts a four-month internship in the hopes of landing a tech account however, things don’t work out quite as she had hoped. Instead she finds herself assigned to go on tour with Kings Quarters, a rock band. Here she meets Brad Osterhauser, a reluctant rockstar, who would rather fiddle around with a computer than a guitar, and the two of them have an instant attraction to each other.
Slowly, but surely they start to form a friendship and later on a romance while on tour, but will that be enough when Marin is suddenly accused of not only betraying her company, but also the band and their members?
The story is told in dual POV and being able to read both of these characters and how they swoon over each other was great.
This book was such a fun read, it was quick, it had the right amount of drama and if you’ve ever dreamed of hooking up with a rockstar, read this one! I want to get on the Kings Quarter’s bus and hang out with them.
The characters are fleshed out and well-developed, Marin is so dedicated to her work and wants to do a great job and her morals stop her from dreaming too much of Brad.
And just wait until you find out why it’s called Starfish, you’ll be smiling along with me!
OMG! Starfish is an amazing, fun, hot story that will keep you turning the pages until the very end!
Marin’s internship is not at all what she was wanting to land but she gives it her all, because that’s just the way she does things. Her travels on the road, promoting a rock band, has her experiencing a completely different kind of life from what she’s used to. The chemistry between Marin and Brad is steamy hot right from the start but she has a policy of not getting involved with co-workers, let alone employers. Yeah, right. How’d that work for you, Marin?
I seriously loved this story and enjoyed watching the relationship between Marin and Brad grow as they figured out their feelings for each other—and then acted on them. Hot, hot, hot! Lisa has created another delightful, engrossing tale that will sweep you off your feet. You really need to add Starfish to your summer reading list!
This was my first time reading Lisa Becker, so I had no idea what to expect, but I really enjoyed Marin and Brad! This story was extremely well written, and I can’t wait to go back and read more by Ms. Becker. I’d even love it if some of these characters found their ways to their own books (hint, hint)! This book is the perfect balance of steam, swoon, and heart.
Marin and Brad are an interesting couple. At first, they seem like opposites, but they both keep so much of themselves hidden. I absolutely loved the way they discovered so much about one another along the way and saw each other for who they truly were.
Marin is determined to make a successful career for herself. She has worked hard to get where she is, and she refuses to let anything ruin that. Starting up a forbidden is the last thing she wants or expects, but sometimes fate has other plans…and who could resist Brad?
Brad is hot, adorable, swoony, and a good guy. While he may have the hot rockstar vibe down, he genuinely cares about those he loves and has a heart of gold. While it’s easy to see why all the ladies love him, he stays incredibly down to earth and I love it! When it comes to Marin, he is completely swoon worthy! I love that while he nudges her along the way, he never pushes more than she is ready.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this story. I loved that we really got to know each of the characters. While their attraction and chemistry were there from the very beginning, I loved the build to their relationship. It kept me hooked from beginning to end. While this may have been my first book by Ms. Becker, I can guarantee it won’t be the last!
Not your typical rock star romance with interesting dynamics and relationships between all the characters.
Marin is an intern at a PR company hired to tour with the rock band Kings Quarters. Brad is a member of Kings Quarters, but is a computer geek at heart. They both quickly discover the attraction, but Marin refuses to act on it given that she has a job to do, while Brad wants nothing more than to act on it, but is afraid of scaring her off. This led to a sexy slow burn that was everything from amusing to frustrating! Marin learns what life on the road with a rock band is like…practical jokes, long hours, lack of privacy, and uncomfortable situations abound. Of course, what would a good romance be without some angst? But never fear, everyone’s heart will get what it deserves.
Marin and Brad. Brad and Marin.
A match made in heaven if ever there was…well, if ever these two actually get together.
I see where she’s coming from (thanks for the family history mom!), and it’s a bit of a cliché on his side (not to mention history repeating itself), so it’s not that I don’t understand, I guess it’s just one of those times when you know it’s going to be SO MUCH that you just want to see it come to pass. In the mean time, I was totally enjoying the growing comfort of their non-relationship. It’s sweet…even if their thoughts aren’t always…and something that I think everyone strives for on some level.
As things “progressed” (did I mention, no kiddo readers?) both story and “other” wise, I was curious how Marin was going to handle things. I mean two single people falling into the clutches of their desires, there’s nothing wrong with that…but, taking into consideration her stance on romance in the workplace, there was definitely room for some drama ahead. What DOES one do when the world you thought you knew is torn asunder? Do you plow through the pain and reach for a better tomorrow…or do you take a stand and fight for what your heart wants?
All in all, it was a FUN read filled with ROCKSTAR ANTICS, and true TESTS OF THE HEART. By book’s end, we not only get the true meaning of the book’s title, but a satisfying ever-after in true ROCKSTAR style. I enjoyed my time between the pages as I have previously with this author’s work and look forward to future releases. It’s definitely a fun book to add to your summer reading lists that’ll keep things rocking, rolling, and temperatures rising…but yeah, I’m still saying ADULTS ONLY!
*eARC received for review; opinions are my own.
A rock star romance that hits you in all the feels!
I absolutely devoured this amazing book! The witty banter, intriguing and entertaining storyline knocked it out of the park for me and is a definite favorite of 2019!!
The characters were just so much fun to read about and I would love them to be my friends! There was drama, funny lol moments and a whole lot of sizzling chemistry!!
I have to say though that this is one of the best rockstar romance stories I have read! I loved Brad, he seemed like such an upstanding, caring and beautiful man! His heart made me swoon!
I also admired Marin, her best friend and her ambition! But what happens when an undeniable connection forms, do you let it go or run after it!??
Definitely a must read story and I hope there is more to come from these characters!