Colin Preston Rocked And Rolled

Colin Preston Rocked And Rolled

by
3.32 of 5 stars 3.32  ·  rating details  ·  131 ratings  ·  90 reviews
Meet Colin Preston.
19 years old and a student at Elerby University in upstate New York.
He drinks too much.
Lives for the Beatles, John Lennon and classic rock.
Falls for the most beautiful sophomore on campus.
His life is about to change forever.
Funny. Moving. Honest. Raw.
An entertaining coming of age novel about friendship,
music, first love and betrayal.

From Kirkus...more
Paperback, 251 pages
Published January 26th 2011 by Createspace (first published December 15th 2010)

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Charity
Aug 19, 2011 Charity rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: the blind (lucky bastards)
Shelves: suckass
*** Warning: The following review contains references to sex. Not good sex, mind you, but still, sex. ***

0 Stars, actually.

While it is never very pleasant to write a bad review, it even less pleasant to read a bad book. And this book is the WORST book I've ever read!

All other books are masterpieces in comparison. Horrible writing. Horrible characters. Horrible dialogue. Horrible plot line. Horrible layout. There really was NOTHING redeemable about this book at all. I would read excerpts to my h...more
Sheldon
A coming-of-age novel set after the early teenage years when most coming-of-age novels are set, Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled by Bert Murray is a touching slice of life story during the title character's first semester of his sophomore year at Elerby University.

Colin himself is a typical nice guy who is obsessed with classic rock. He meets Jasmine, a girl who he falls head over heels for and believes she is his soul mate, despite being warned by several friends that she is going to be trouble....more
Vone Savan
As human beings, we often want things that we can’t have. In the novel, Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled by Bert Murray, that again, is sadly the case.

In 1985, Colin Preston, an amiable—but not completely atypical—nineteen-year-old college student, goes to fictional Elerby University in upstate New York. There he meets Jasmine, a tumultuous wild child, who he falls madly in love with. Through their eventual relationship, Colin experiences challenges with infidelity, self-worth, and his sanity.

A...more
Margaret
I loved the humor and throw back to the 80's in this book. It was an easy and enjoyable read. I liked a lot of the creative characters that I'm sure most people have encountered at one time or another. In my opinion Colin definitely rocked and rolled!
Terry
A quick, easy, and fun read. Aimed at a young adult reader, it is a slice of daily life for many of them. If you are over age 25, it will bring back memories of how immature we all were at age 18-20. This is a story of an average male college sophomore: Colin Preston has limited sexual experience but thinks about sex most of the time, does just enough work to get by respectably in college, resents his parents, admires a buddy who appears to have it easy with women, and is deathly afraid of looki...more
BarkLessWagMore
Sep 26, 2011 BarkLessWagMore added it
Shelves: dnf
I’m unfortunately going to have to mark this one as a DNF. I’m at the halfway point and it just isn’t working for me. The writing is breezy but I’m not finding any of the characters engaging enough to continue and I'm getting increasingly frustrated at the fact that although Jasmine is stunningly gorgeous there is very little to love about her personality. Also, though it is set in the 80’s, the characters feel more like they belong in the 1970’s. As a child of the 80's I was expecting something...more
Sarah
Won as Good Read Give away Review to follow.

I did love this book and I can see scope for it being followed up (I would welcome that) however I did find myself wanting to give Colin a slap for being such a self absorbed a$$.

I have read other reviews about the musical references being agnoying but I have to say I did not find this at all.

Although my review took a while in coming that was because life got in the way of my reading. This book is a fast read, think of any of the college angst style...more
Melissa
i really liked this book. it is a wonderful coming of age story.
5/5 any day, but it deserves 10000000000000000
Lindsay
Easy, breezy, and sounds true. College student Colin Preston studies, parties, works out at the gym, argues with his father, and falls in love with a beautiful girl, Jasmine, hoping that this love will magically cause his life to make sense. He loves the Beatles. He is a likeable guy with no special powers, dark secrets, or twisted family ties. This is refreshing.

This novel is good at capturing the mixture of child and adult in college-age kids. It has quite a few recognizable moments. A light,...more
Krystal
Need a good summer read? Colin is a typical sophomore in college. The reader will be immediately immersed in the novel. Colin is one of those characters that a reader will be unsure about. Is Colin a sympathetic character? Is he too neurotic? Yes, to both questions in this case. Colin isn't the most mature character, but that is actually a great quality to this novel. Colin shouldn't be extremely mature, he's still a kid in many ways. He does, however, show flashes of maturity throughout the nov...more
Karen Fowler
Reading this book made me realize that it has been a very long time since I've read a book with a youngish male narrator. Sure, I've read some James Patterson, but those don't really count, as his stories are less about characters and more about suspenseful plots. This book, Colin Preston Rocked and Rolledis male-character-driven, and I found the change out of my norm refreshing.

Boiled down to basics, it was the story of a young man, adrift during his first year of college for various reasons I...more
Lori
Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled was a terrific insight into a young males experience as it relates to first real love, heartbreak, friendships and betrayls early on in his college experience. It shares insight into the trials and tribulations of finding oneself in a journey of self discovery through a turbulent yet exciting time in life. The book focuses on young college students building relationships both intimate and platonic and the emotional rollercoaster life can be at a young age while be...more
TC
Colin Preston is 19, at university in upstate New York and doing all the things students are meant to do. When he meets free-spirited Jasmine he is besotted. This is a story of his first real love, betrayal and friendship.

Colin's other love is music, mostly from the 60s and 70s, and song titles and lyrics run throughout the story. For someone who knows their music better it would probably mean more to them, but a lot of it passed over my head. However the book is set in the mid 80s and contains...more
Amandaj
Colin Preston, a 19 year old college student, falls fast in love with a girl named Jasmine. He feels like he can talk to her about anything, that she is his soul mate, that they are meant for each other.
He fails to see that maybe she doesn't feel the same way back. Jasmine is his first love and becomes obsessed with her in the way that lovers sometimes do, refusing to see faults, and wearing rose colored glasses. Jasmine is defensive, moody, self absorbed, and most likely confused as to what sh...more
Fallon
First I would like to say thank you for the free Kindle book.

I thought this book was pretty good, it somewhat reminded me of how I felt in my early college days. I was enthralled in music, though not into the 60s era music, but I can relate to how everyone kind of lived through the albums/songs. Though I did find some enjoyment in the book, there was something a little off putting, and it wasn’t really the story, more the writing style. Its flow was a bit off and I couldn’t stand the use of the...more
Rebecca
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

This book is, in my opinion, a very accurate description of college romances.

Boy meets Girl
Boy falls in love with Girl
Girl crushes Boy's heart and soul.

Cue The Beatles as a coping mechanism and that almost reminds me of a relationship I once had. (except switch the genders and The Beatles with a band that I will never mention or listen to again).

Anyway, I enjoyed seeing how Colin handled himself because it all felt s...more
Lena Hillbrand
Jul 26, 2011 Lena Hillbrand rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: promiscuous college guys who like music
Recommended to Lena by: Bert Murray
Received: From the author for review.

When I got this book I was so excited. I love the title, the cover is cute, and the synopsis sounded intriguing. I love coming of age stories, I love music and books about music, and I love books about young people that aren't YA as it gives them permission to be a little more risque.
I was a bit let down by this book. It was only so-so. The pacing was insane, and although that made it an easy read, it could have used a major dose of development of both charac...more
Lina
Firstly, I would like to thank Bert Murray for allowing me to read a copy of his debut novel Colin Preston; Rocked and Rolled.

Just like A Touch Mortal, this book gave me a lot of mixed feelings. In the beginning, I honestly will admit I could not get into it. I felt like I was reading some kid's diary about life and searching for love in college. Now, I'm in college and I totally understand the desire to have someone at least to cuddle with. That being said, I don't feel like reading about that...more
Karen M
We meet Colin Preston who seems to be a normal nineteen year old college student with the perfect girlfriend and a great best friend. He's goodlooking but his best friend is better looking. His girlfriend is a bit quirky but gorgeous. Perfect, right? Couldn't be more wrong!

We follow Colin through the heights of being in love only to quickly descend to the depths of being dumped by his girlfriend who immediately ends up in bed with his best friend. Hey, for nineteen this is a tragedy.

Colin immedi...more
Breann Thompson
*I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.*

The votes are in, and I just can't claim to like this book. I DO like that it feels like an authentic attempt to approach the big "How do I want to live my life?" question in a college setting. Unfortunately, I never connected with Colin (our main character, as the title suggests). In fact, the characters I found most intriguing were most definitely the peripherals. Some character development would have been greatly beneficial-...more
Denna
I have to say I have mixed feelings about this one. If I hadn’t been reading for the purpose of giving out a review I can’t say I would have finished it. I tend to be more of a plot driven rather than character driven kind of reader and this isn’t really a plot driven novel. About a third of the way through I’m getting irritated thinking ‘where is this all leading?’ But then something odd happens and I find myself getting caught up in this young boy’s life and first love. I think I would’ve stil...more
Kelly
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Angelic
I really loved this book. I rarely read books from a male point of view but this one was very amusing. Colin is a typical 19 year old college student and Jasmine is a free spirt. Colin falls inlove with Jasmin but sadly she does not feel the same.. Frienship, love, and partying makes a fun read. I love all the song refences. All in all a great book and one i would love to read again...
Stacey B.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Overall, this was an enjoyable book. I've read better books, but I've also read worse books. It was a fairly quick read about a high school student and was pretty much what I expected it to be. The storyline was basically just a telling of a year of Collin's life in college; how he falls for a girl and what happens to his relationship and how that affects other parts of his life.

CHARACTERS: The main character, Colin, is pretty much a typical college guy. Then there's Colin's...more
Emily May
Many thanks to Goodreads first reads programme and the author - Bert Murray - for providing this book free for review.

I feel somewhat guilty that my review can't be more positive when I received such a nice message from the author requesting that I review this book. I wanted to come back with nothing but praise and compliments and declare it an undiscovered masterpiece... but I also think it's my job to review honestly and that's what you're going to get from me.

It's a very easy book to read, le...more
Tracie
I received this a part of the goodreads giveaway program. I normally enjoy coming of age novels and this one was no different. Colin is likeable enough, a little bit on the sad side, but some boys his age have a tendency toward melancholy so I found him to be a believable character. It was a fast read and I enjoyed it very much.
carole
Colin Preston is a likeable guy. He's an inexperienced college nice guy who falls in love with a free spirit who is sure to break his heart, but he's also much more than that. Colin was a real person and he could be anyone. His story is one of hope, loss, and hurt.

While part one of this story started out kind of slow for me (as its setting up the book), part two and three made up for it. Betrayal is one word I would use to describe his journey, and Bert Murray does an excellent job portraying...more
Michele Minor
This is the tale of Colin Preston’s sophomore year in college. He has a roller coaster year at a college in upstate New York. This book is set in 1985 and you can tell the difference in the time period from today. This story is about how he survives his sophomore year and breaking up with his girlfriend whom he thinks that he is in love with. Colin is a Beatles fan whose father doesn’t like his choice of major. He also drinks quite a bit in the book in order to cope with life’s troubles. He befr...more
Brenna
May 10, 2011 Brenna rated it 3 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2011
Thank you to Mr. Murray and the Goodreads first reads giveaway for my copy of this book!

Colin Preston is a quick read. Everything happens so fast that sometimes I was wondering what exactly was going on, and I had to go back a couple of pages to get the full gist of the situation. That being said, once I got used to the writing style, I fully enjoyed this novel. It definitely reminded me of the college experience, where drama was abound and events such as stealing someone else's boyfriend were c...more
Melissa
Wow there is a lot to say about what I found within the front and back cover of this book. Let me start with the positive. What earned the rating of "one star" were the final two words of this story...The End. That simple phrase was the sole reason for a "one star" rating. Beyond that the rest of the book would get nothing.

This simply may have been the most poorly written book I have ever read. At page 42 I had already begun calculating the number of pages left in the book and after another 40 p...more
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Colin Preston Rocked and Rolled (Kindle Edition)
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Bert Murray is an indie author and Colin Preston Rocked And Rolled is his first novel. Bert attended Princeton University. When he is not writing he enjoys playing tennis and jogging on the beach. He loves classic rock music from the '60s. Please note: Colin Preston Rocked And Rolled has strong language and content. It is for college age young adults(18 and up).
More about Bert Murray...

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“How far is too far? When you love a band so much that its songs fill the empty spaces inside your head and heart, is that too far?” 12 people liked it
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