As You Wish

Rock Stars in Love #1

by Elyssa Patrick

Love doesn’t always follow the sheet music . . .

This Christmas, Portia Jackson needs a miracle to save her family’s generations-old florist shop. What she gets instead is a car that breaks down during a blizzard. Help arrives unexpectedly when the infamous Aubry Riley pulls over. She only expects him to drive her to the gas station . . . she never expects that kiss. But Portia lives in the real world—she knows this is only a holiday fling for Aubry. Except it doesn’t feel so temporary, and the last thing she wants is a broken heart.

Sometimes you have to sing some different notes . . .

Rock star Aubry Riley has no secrets. Thanks to the media, everyone knows about his troubled past. Six years have gone by since his world crashed, and now he’s ready for a comeback. But first he needs to reconcile with his family—starting with his six-year-old daughter. A month-long vacation at a Vermont lake house affords him the perfect opportunity to take a step in the right direction. He doesn’t need any other emotional entanglements, especially not with the bright-eyed florist he can’t stop thinking about. But no matter how hard he tries to resist her, he can’t. Now all he has to do is to convince Portia that there is nothing temporary when it comes to love.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Music, Adult Fiction, Adult, Fiction

314 pages, ebook

Published September 4, 2012

About the author

Elyssa Patrick writes romances that have a lot of heat, humor, and heart--and they always have a happily ever after. Elyssa lives in Upstate New York and is working on her next novel.

Reviews

[~ Becs ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice contemporary romance debut from Elyssa Patrick.

Aubry Riley, mega-famous rock star, widower and father is driving home on a dark desert Vermont highway to join his sister who is caring for his 6 year old daughter for Christmas. He is flagged down by a young woman, Portia, whose decrepit old car has conked out on her on the side of the road. He stops to help and drives her to the nearest store to wait in the warm. There is an instant attraction between them and the story goes from here – fairly standard contemporary romance.

I have to say that I really didn’t like Aubry at first and it took nearly the whole book for me to warm up to him. He lost his wife in a car accident when his daughter was a baby and descended into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol. When we meet him, he’s been sober for a few years but he’s still a bit of an arrogant arse to say the very least. His idea of a chat up line to Portia is to point out that there are condoms by the cash till! When he next sees her, she’s working in her florist shop and he tries to have sex with her there but she stops him, thankfully. He’s absolutely a stereotypical rock star – almost misogynistic in his view that women are there just for sex.

He’s also a right dickhead towards his daughter who is more than a little fearful of his quick temper and he needs to make amends and make them fast. He does come around but it’s unusual to dislike a hero in contemporary romance quite so much and for quite so long.

Portia, on the other hand, is a sweetheart and has a lovely big old family and probably deserved better than Aubry but I guess he was rich, hot and famous so that makes up for plenty of character deficits!! Aubry and Portia do eventually finally get their freak on but it is a long time coming and this isn’t a very steamy romance at all with only two sex scenes which were both fairly short.

There’s a sweet but brief romance between Portia’s best friend and librarian Laura and her brother Finn. Laura’s been in love with Portia’s other brother Gideon for years but suddenly falls for Finn when he confesses his feelings for her. I’m not a huge fan of secondary romances, I have to say, and I would much rather Laura and Finn had their own book to flesh out the story which was very under-developed.

So, all in all, a sweet contemporary romance if you can put up with the hero being a bit of a wanker.

3 stars


I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review

For more of my reviews, please visit my Sinfully Sexy Book Blog

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped at 42% and am DNF'ing. I truly can't stand Aubry. He's an ass, he belittles the heroine and then has the nerve to call her names when she won't accept his apology. I like the supporting characters well enough, but not enough to keep reading about Aubry.

[ratherread · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!!!

I really loved this Rock Star Romance. The characters are endearing and the love story is beautiful. This book has a little humor, a little angst, a little tragedy, a little erotica and a lot of heart. This is Ms. Patrick's debut book and she did a wonderful job. I plan on reading all the books in this series, so write on Ms. Patrick!

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slick's review posted on Guilty Pleasures

4.5 Stars

I so love finding new authors to read, I especially love it when an author I already read and enjoy recommends a book for review. So first, I must thank the lovely and talented Tamara Morgan for suggesting I read As You Wish by Elyssa Patrick. Secondly, I must thank Elyssa herself for writing a truly engaging, humorous, and steamy novel. I’m especially excited because this is her first book and for a first book it is well written, has good character development, and a spectacular plot. Anyone who reads my reviews knows how vital I find those things in any book.

Aubry Riley is a rock star, he’s sarcastic, he’s arrogant, he’s sexy, and at times he appears uncaring. He’s had a rough 6 years; his wife died, he spiraled in to drugs and alcohol, he’s been through rehab, his music isn’t working, and he’s trying to reconnect with his family including his 6 year old daughter and his sister.

Portia Jackson is a florist trying to save her family’s business. She talks a lot, she’s funny, she has a quick sense of humor, and she doesn’t really take crap from anyone. She’s learned that having four extremely over protective brothers. Oh, and she has a strange fascination/ fear about wolves attacking her!

These two meet in a less than obvious way and from the start there’s an attraction. Portia lets Aubry know she knows who he is but she in turn tells him she doesn’t really like his music. So begins the dance between these two.

I really loved the scenes between Aubry and Portia, the verbal volleyball was fantastic. Between Aubry’s sarcasm and Portia’s wit and wicked sense of humor I often found myself amused and laughing out loud. They were really fun to watch. Aubry at times is just rude and mean. Thing is, I don’t even think he realizes it in the moment. I guess the good thing is he’s usually remorseful even though he’s really, really bad at apologizing or accepting fault.

There are so many characters in this book and all of them go into making this story even better. I’m not going to mention them all but Portia’s brother Finn and her best friend, Laura have a secondary romance that was somewhat amusing and kind of came out of left field. Aubry’s sister’s father in law, Gabe, didn’t have a huge part but his words made a major difference to the plot line so I feel he deserves a nod. Not to mention he has a really funny part that again had me cracking up.

This book is romance done right; there was a lot of buildup until they actually “do the deed.” (They don’t get around to it until the 80% mark on my Kindle so…yes, some heavy anticipation!) They spend a lot of time engaging in foreplay in both the verbal and physical sense but they also spend a lot of time just getting to know each other better and discovering what’s important to the other person.

Now for the reason I’m giving this book 4.5 stars instead of 5. We got an epilogue but it didn’t clear up all the loose ends and so I finished the book saying to myself but….what about?? There were just so many unanswered questions that frankly will probably always drive me and other readers insane. I want to know what happened between Finn and Laura. Where will Aubry and Portia live? Is Aubry’s daughter, Roxie, going to live with him or still live with his sister and her husband? Does Aubry’s career get back on track? To be fair though, this isn’t the first author that’s left me feeling this way but it’s something I really wish author’s wouldn’t do.

Elyssa Patrick has written an amazing debut novel that is destined to be a favorite for romance readers. A fantastic and diverse group of characters, clever dialog, and an engaging plot makes As You Wish a story you’ll want to enjoy many times over. I’m so thankful I was asked to read and review this book and I’m really looking forward to future works from this very talented author.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The debut book by Elyssa Patrick features a very famous rock star hero, and a heroine who owns a floral shop in Vermont. All Aubrey wants to do is get to his sister’s lake house near Burlington before it snows too much and the press catch onto where he is. His six year old daughter awaits, as does some quiet time where he can hopefully start writing music again. Six years ago his wife died in a car accident, leaving behind an infant daughter and much pain for Aubrey. His dabbling in drugs turned into an obsession. He stopped writing music and his daughter now spends most of her time with his sister. In danger of losing his recording contract, Aubrey thinks it might be time to try to get his life back on track.

Driving down the snowy road he sees a woman who appears to be having car troubles. Who he meets is Portia Jackson and she intrigues him:

“I think it overheated. Or, perhaps underheated. Maybe it’s gone to Car Heaven.”

Car Heaven? This woman couldn’t be for real. “You’re odd.”

“You think so?” A wide, delighted smile appeared on her face.

“It wasn’t meant to be a compliment.”

“It’d be much worse to be called ordinary or…nice.” Her small, slightly upturned nose scrunched up in distaste. “Nice,” she said with a shudder, “ is the kiss of death.”

Portia of course recognizes Aubrey but she plays it pretty cool. He ends up sitting with her for a few hours until her brother can make it out in the storm to pick her up. They flirt, Aubrey even offers a one night stand, but Portia is not that type of girl. She does give him her business card, and encourages him to stop by. Portia owns Cloud Nine, a floral shop and she is having financial difficulty but she is determined to make things work. Aubrey goes off to the lake house, but finds he can’t quite get Portia out of his mind.

First of all, As You Wish has an adorable heroine. I loved Portia. She is a little quirky, witty, and stands up for herself. Which is a good trait to have when you are dealing with Aubrey. While Portia made me smile and was just a fun character to read about, I had trouble with Aubrey. He is a self-proclaimed jerk. He doesn’t have a good relationship with his family, including his daughter. He is super sarcastic and very blunt. While it is made very clear that he is a jerk and this is something he needs to change about himself, I wanted a bigger redemption, both with his daughter and Portia. He is very abrupt and angry with his daughter, and it honestly made me cringe. He is NOT nice to his daughter, at all. It really soured the reading experience for me. He is that way to Portia as well. At least with Portia he tries to apologize (kind of). With his daughter he tries to open up to her at the end, but I felt it all a ploy for the reader to see maybe he is growing. It didn’t feel genuine. As a romance reader, I need to be attracted to the hero, and I had a hard time with Aubrey.

Now, all that being said, I do really like how this author writes. This story flowed well, and was fun and sexy. It felt very polished and well thought out. The author gives us some very good sexual tension and romance scenes.

We also have a nice side story with Portia’s brother Finn – although I would have liked his story to be drawn out more. Not because it didn’t work in this book but because I love Finn and I wanted much, much more of him.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the cover of As You Wish as soon as I saw it. It’s sexy, I love their expressions and they are a gorgeous couple plus the blurb sounded really interesting. Rock Star celebrity meets small town girl and the sparks fly.

Unfortunately Aubrey’s a bit of an ass - ok he’s a big ole douchebag throughout most of the early part of this book and he's the first to admit he's a grade A jerk and I'll give him he's got cause. He’s certainly closed himself off to all relationships including close family except for maybe the occasional one night stand...which Portia thank goodness had more sense than to indulge him in. He’s the perfect example of money, fame and fortune can’t buy you happiness.

Aubrey takes out his bad moods on Portia, his sister, his B-I-L and everyone else he comes in contact with, but when he acts like a king douche with his 6 year old daughter Roxie - it left a bad taste in my mouth.

At another point when he tried to apologise to Portia after his bad treatment of her in front of his family - I would have accepted his apology...by running him over with my car.

Aubrey did try to make amends and I give him credit for trying but I just wasn’t feeling him in As You Wish.

[Luisa Rivas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author showed great promise. The plot line and the characters are interesting and entertaining. However, the dialogues didn't resonate with me much, and I think the book lacked clarity on the development of the relation between Portia and Aubry and about Aubry's past. In one part it says that Aubry did drugs for one year, and had to take control of his addiction when his sister threatened to take his daughter from him. Then in another part, the author presents that Aubrey had been battling addition for all the six years of his daughter's life and he was now trying to make amends. I didn't get a clear feeling of what Aubrey went thru, or how he overcame his demons. There were some great parts and other parts I didn't like; for example, Portia tells everyone she loves Aubrey, then when he proposes, she tells him she doesn't love him? I'm not a writer, and I can't imagine how hard it must be to write a book that is cohesive and feels real. But I do know that this book needed some important scenes that give credibility to all the processes that both characters were going thru and they weren't there.

I think that after some polishing and improving the flow of the plot, there will be some great books.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not liking the male lead until almost the end of the book put a damper on this one for me. Aubry was a JERK to his daughter and that was a big turn off for me. I liked Portia and her family, but honestly found myself wishing the story had more about side characters Finn & Laura. The first thought in my head after I finished: "Eh."

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read like a Beauty and the Beast modern day story. At times I felt it was ridiculous and other times there were parts that felt immature. Too many times Shakespeare and Jane Austen and random superhero nicknames came in to play as well as Disney and Fairytale names. I felt like the author tried to pull out all the obvious stops in to this book.

The stops being:
abuse, rags to riches, a gay interracial couple, the girl who LOVES the wrong guy who never notices her but his brother loves her and she never notices him, insta LOVE, the single divorced dad, the single widower, the playboy, the guy who acts like the "Beast", the drugs/alcohol, the daughter who everyone treats like shes fragile, the man who lost his wife and never tried to move on again.... and I'm sure I could find other things to add to this list.

I couldn't connect with the main couple.The story wasn't developed properly, it lacked and I found myself skimming a lot. I felt like we were missing pieces of the story and the characters lives as well. I connected more with Finn and Laura and wish I had more of story from those two.

Aubry and his sister grow up "trailer trash" with a drunk of a father who physically abused them. He pulls himself and his sister out of that life. He sales his guitar at one point so they could eat and not starve. Eventually he becomes a rock star, gets married and has a daughter. His wife at some point dies and he becomes the "Beast". He seems to have a short fuse and can say mean things, just ask Portia. He also isn't a very good dad, as he doesn't know how to be around his daughter as she reminds him of his dead wife. He never talks about her, shows his daughter photos or is affectionate towards his daughter. He also yells a lot. His sister, brother in law and his sister's father in law more than not raise Roxie, Aubry's daughter. He's not always around and ends up letting his daughter down in a lot of ways. They go to Vermont for vacation for a month and there he runs in to Portia.

Portia has a large family and runs a flower shop that is slowly going under because of the recession. She doesn't feel worthy of love and has never fallen in love. One night she breaks down on the side of the road out in a snow storm. Aubry pulls over to help her. She admits she was scared and felt like she might get eaten by wolves. But it takes some convincing on Aubry's part to get her to leave with him and that he's not some crazy killer, even if he is a famous singer.

Turns out these two are headed to the same town. She lives there and he's visiting. He wants to have "fun" with her while he's in town. She eventually agrees to this and they date. Through this experience and some words of wisdom from Gabe, his sisters father in law, he learns how to change his life around. He makes amends with his daughter and becomes a better dad and more loving and realizes he loves Portia. Also in this story Portia's brother Finn and BFF Laura have a very short story with their own romance. I wish I could have read more of them. I loved Finn.

[Lady Lioness · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because Aubry, the hero, is an asshole and he knows it. He owns his asshole-ness. While he does try to become a better father, his personality pretty much remained the same. Aubry is also a drug addict & an alcoholic and it's handled very matter-of-factly. It's there, it's part of who he is, but he's been clean for five years now and it's not in the forefront of his life. He's more concerned about reconnecting with his daughter and salvaging his music career. Aubry knows pretty much from the get-go that Portia is a fan of his, but he approaches it as 'Of course you are, I'm awesome,' instead of the usual 'I'm a normal person too' tack that other authors have taken.

The book isn't perfect because I don't understand why Portia's best friend and brother didn't get their own book. The ending also felt rushed and Portia & Aubry fell in love in blink-and-you'll-miss-it fashion. To her credit, Patrick did have Portia demure at the fast pace, but she ended up positioning it as 'Portia's scared of commitment,' which is malarkey because Portia committed to her business when she was like 12 and never looked back. There was also the plot thread of Aubry not being able to write new music that's kinda left hanging. He starts writing a song after a break-through moment with his daughter, but we never learn if he finishes it or if it's any good.

This appears to be Patrick's debut title and, as such, it's an excellent start. With more experience under her belt, the rough spots evident in As You Wish could be avoided in future books. Personally, I hope she writes Gideon's story and that he owns his man-sluttiness like Aubry owned his asshole-ness.

[Stephanie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although at times I wanted to kill both main characters, I really enjoyed this due to the dialogue.

Aubry is a ROCK STAR… he has hit bottom due to a personal tragedy plus his own self-destructive behavior. He's a bad boy who never has claimed to be anything else but… he really isn't a bad guy. Truly he isn't but dammit some of the stuff he says and does to the heroine made me want to kill him then kill her for not having a backbone to tell him to take his attitude, sexy self and everything else and shove it where the sun don't shine. He needed to grovel grovel grovel more than she made him but despite all this I still had a soft spot for him. He really does have a soft heart but damn does the boy hide it behind a hell of a lot of asshole.

Portia is a doormat nice girl who is running her family's floral business. Unfortunately things aren't going too well but she just can't admit this to the rest of the family. She has a car meltdown that results in her meeting Aubry. They are intensely attracted to one another from the moment they meet which results in a majorly hot kiss. She puts up with his asshat ways more than I probably could of but he does come around and I think there is a true HEA for the two of them.

My wish was that this was a bit longer so you could maybe see better groveling from Aubry as some of what he says and does were a little too hurtful for the quick everything is ok.

This is a very quick read with some nice hot moments and I am grateful to Elyssa for giving me a copy of this for review.

I wish her lots of luck in the future.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rock Star Aubry Riley arrives in Vermont wanting to start a new leaf with his six year old daughter. His reputation as a bad boy is not far from the truth, he has earned whole heartily everything said about him. When he stops to help a stranded car on the snow covered road, he doesn't quite know how to read the flighty blonde woman and her quirky behavior.

Portia Jackson's life is not going as plan, she is about to lose her shop that her family worked hard to build and now her knight in shining armor is none other than rock star Aubry Riley who she has a major crush on. Should she admit that she is a die hard fan or deny, of course then she reveals her fear of wolves which stems from an unlikely source.

I am mixed on this one, I thought there was definite chemistry between Aubry and Portia but there is a ton of back story that never really gets revealed about Aubry. I would have loved to know where his hardened attitude comes from, but you don't really find out. Portia I could totally relate to loved that she lived in la la land and the references to movies. Had quite a bit of humor to the story though.

[Alexia Chantel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

As You Wish is a delightful debut. The characters are fun and real, making you feel like you are reading about your friends. The plot is cute and full of things you may find yourself doing.

Aubry is a great character. The rocker who lost, survived drugs and alcohol, is working at repairing his bridges, and is ready to grab onto his second chance at love. He is also sarcastic and funny, the kind of guy you want to rescue you from the roadside.

There are a few editorial errors, but easy enough to gloss past them because the story is so cute. It will be fun to see what Elyssa comes out with next. A great start for this author if you are looking for a sweet contemporary love story, the cover portrays the feel of the book perfectly.

[Tiffany Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this book. The characters are real, and the story is fantastic and it stays with you a long time. You'll be wanting to gobble up Elyssa's future books!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't hate the story but what made me not love it was the quickness of love announcements for L & F and A & P.
Weird.

[Beate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically a book about a rock star, but not a rock star book. Yes, there is a difference. A huge one. And it boils down to being a very boring book.

[Jena]

pet peeves

- Dead ex trope. "He lost his wife in a car accident when his daughter was a baby and descended into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol."

- Single dad H (h not the mother)

[Shirley Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This is one of those books that grabbed my attention from the synopsis but started losing it somewhere along the way and then grabbed it again.

Aubry is a rock star in need on a break to clear his head and find his muse. He lost his wife 5 years ago, went through a rough patch and wants to make amends to his daughter and his sister. Portia is a flower shop owner, who does not do one-night stands, but runs away at the first signs of love.

Like I stated before, the synopsis of this book really caught my attention. I really like rock stars as main characters. Especially if they come across tough and edgy, but underneath it all they want to be loved. Aubry was a bit like this. I liked him fine in the beginning, even enjoyed his sarcastic remarks and dark sense of humor. But as the story progressed I became a bit disillusioned. He acted like a mean jerk sometimes and was right down cruel at times. I could overlook some of it, but others just put me off. However, there were moments where he said the sweetest things. I don't know, it was a bit disconcerting that dual personality trait of his. But I do admit that is one of the things that kept me reading, so there you go!

Portia was great. She was funny and sweet and very real. She acted tough and independent, but you could see she wanted to find that person to lean on and love her unconditionally.

I enjoyed how the author brought them together. It was a bit surreal - the rock star and the girl next door- but the author took her time, and between great dialog and character development she made it as if they were any other couple.

The writing was good. The author used humor and banter in an engaging way. It's another reason I kept reading. It was very entertaining. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between Laura and Finn, I found them to be adorable. And I would have enjoyed more time with just Roxie and Aubry. I think it would have given the reader a better understanding of how much Aubry had changed.

All in all, this was a very good read. With great characters and entertaining dialog that told the love story of two different people who underneath it all just wanted to find that person that loved and understood them.

[Melody May (What I'm Reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

On What I'm Reading http://sillymelody.blogspot.com

The past couple of days I have been reading As You Wish by Elyssa Patrick. I have to say I was impress with the story for being a debut book. I actually really enjoyed it.

My Overview:

Aubry Riley a rockstar trying to put his life together again. Especially, since he fell apart after his wife Zoë died by a drunk driver six years prior. Picking up the pieces of his fragile life, he decides to fix the relationship between his daughter and sister.

Portia Jackson bubbly personality, who knows her faults, and has an irrational fear of wolves. Comes into Aubry's life, because her car broke down in the middle of no where Vermont.

Aubry takes her to the nearest gas station and waits with her till her brother gets there. While waiting with her, Aubry decides he would like to get know Portia a little more while he's in Vermont trying to fix his family relationship.

Can there be more to the budding relationship? Or is just a Christmas time fling? After all he's a rockstar and it wouldn't be surprising if he did.

My Thoughts:

I started laughing after the first five pages of the book. I loved it. Yeah, Aubry is a jerk in the book, but it's his rockstar mentality. However, it wasn't a hang up for me. I think Portia brought him out of his better side. There was awkward moments that made me laugh out loud, especially when Portia sees Aubry sister outside a particular store. I practically died. I had fun reading this book and I couldn't put it down.

As I said, I was impress with Elyssa's first book and look forward to reading more from her. I hope that you might get a chance to check out As You Wish. This is my opinion and you can take it or leave it, but I loved the book.

So, I hope you are enjoying whatever your reading and I will talk to you soon.

[Christina Montminy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. I was captured at the beginning & held all the way through it. Aubry & Portia are wonderful characters. He's a down on his luck rock star needing to make a come back after winning the battle over drugs & alcohol & his depression over his wife's death 6 yrs earlier. He meets Portia a small town flower shop owner who is trying to keep her business going that has been in her family for yrs. She has car trouble in the middle of a snow storm & he stops on his way to his holiday hideout with his sister & young daughter. He gives her a ride to a gas station to wait for her car to be towed & like a gentleman he waits with her for her ride to pick her up. Things get comfortable & he finds out she's a fan of his music, they end up kissing & being caught on camera. Things go up hill & down hill from there. This was a fun, sad, heart warming book of love & heart break. It also included a side story about her best friend & a long time love for one of her brothers that is crushed by his actions. It's a very good read, one that I will definitely read again & recommend to friends & family. I also enjoyed it enough that I bought the other 2 stories that Elyssa Patrick wrote in this series ( even though they aren't purposely connected).

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted at: http://bookcrushbookreviews.com/2013/...

Rating: 4 stars

We're along for a ride in this book with Portia and Aubrey. Portia and Aubrey both have their hang-ups that are holding them back from chances that would make them happier and live a fuller life. When these reasons are accepted and they both take their life by the reins, it's one of my favorite parts. The build up in the story was perfect and the angst had me turning the pages. I cried at the sentimental moments because Elyssa knows how to speak to her readers' souls. The banter between the characters had me laughing out loud and the tight-knit group of characters was something I loved!! The heat was steaming from my kindle and the honesty and communication is spot-on in this book. I love a book that shows we can make rights from our wrongs and that love can prevail! This book of course had a WTF moment and I about lost my shit!! The switch between various characters POV's was awesome--it was like getting three books in one. Hopefully we'll get to see Laura's story in the future. But for now, I'm on to One Hit Wonder (#1.5 in the Rock Stars in Love series). Give it a try!

[babyfishmouth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

I love the premise of this book: Rich, disillusioned rock star reluctantly falls in love with optimistic, small town girl.
They meet during a snow storm and he rescues her from the side of the road. He notices that she smells like peonies and peppermint. That's right. Peonies. Because every world famous, former drug addict rock star can easily identify the scent of peonies. Little odd, head scratching moments like this are fairly frequent in the book and diminished the appeal. The heroine, after a somewhat shaky start with abrupt mood changes, eventually grew on me while the hero, who starts off rather likeable, turned int a bit of an asshat. The tension between them builds nicely and there is angst galore with his backstory. Maybe too much piling on of sad backstory. It does, however, reinforce the opposites attract vibe.

The good news is that while I can't really recommend this particular book, I did like it nough to give the author's second book a try (whenever that may be). Maybe the heroine will smell like milk thistle next time.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I don't know. I really liked this beginning of this book, but, as I feared, that feeling didn't last through the whole thing. One problem were there were too many subplots. And I LIKED the subplots, but there wasn't enough time for any of them, so they got resolved way too quickly. I was really hopeful for the secondary romance when the hints of it started, but that in particular was wrapped up WAY too neatly.

The central romance started off really great. I liked that Aubry came off as a real guy, BUT also as a rock star. Except . . . eventually the rock star aspect went away? And that's going to affect their lives, so I wanted it dealt with. I don't even know if he got his career back together! The relationship went too quickly, though, hey, slower than most contemporary romances, and I think the speed might've worked if there wasn't too much page time eaten up by subplots.

I guess . . . ultimately, it didn't feel like a rock star romance.

[Cottonreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give it 4 stars because I generally love the idea of the book. If you read the synosip, you might think that this book is about celebrity love. But it's not. In my opinion, the book was about family and how we could climb back from a hole that we fell into.

I also liked that hero and heroine have developed their relationship before going into lust. That's why it's called Make love, not lust.

However, there were some plots and excessive characters that shouldn't be there as it made a story unreasonable. Otherwise I would give it 4 stars. What a shame!

[Kate Meader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute contemporary romance with a rock star hero and a girl-next-door florist. Nice and easy writing style with shots of humor. My only complaints were that the hero is a bit of a douche through the first half and the heroine lets him away with murder! I also wasn't a fan of the overly-precocious daughter/moppet but all the other secondary characters were very nicely written. Cute secondary romance as well. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Kat Morrisey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book though I was a bit surprised at the secondary story line involving Laura. That seemed to come out of the blue and resolved quickly...(I would have loved for her to have her own book! Okay, I know, I should be greedy!) I also would have liked to see more interaction between Portia and Roxie (especially given the end and the epilogue -won't say more than that cause I don't want to spoil it here.)

Full review to come soon!

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky, sexy, humorous romantic contemporary between a lost rock star and a small town florist. While I found the story an easy read with a healthy balance of emotional conflict and soul searching...I thought the hero was a jerk. An angry, narcissistic, jerk whose avoidance of issues cause him to blame everyone but himself for his problems.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the end of the day, I just wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I found it really dull and difficult to will myself to read. Nothing much happens really and I found the Portia's (the protagonist) life was just so boring it brought down my opinion of the book as a whole. Not one I'll be reading again.

[Ann Sheiring · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the description of this book and was so excited to read it, a Christmas story with a bad boy rock star. Well Aubrey was a sad excuse for a man and Portia was just silly. I couldn't like either character and there was no depth to the writing. The book was just a below average romance novel, I was hoping for more and didn't get it.

[Carey Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's nothing like a wonderful love story (like this one!) to pick you up when you're blue. I've heard so many times that you are not "allowed" to write a rock star hero. Lucky for us Elyssa Patrick didn't get the memo :-) Loved it!