Review: Rock King

Rock King by Tara Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well damn – this one blew me away. I loved it, loved it, loved it. Can someone give me book two right this moment? I need more, and I need it now.

Having read and enjoyed Tara Leigh’s Deal Breaker, the second book in her Billionaire Bosses series, I knew I needed more of the author’s work. Already I have Penthouse Player sitting on my Kindle waiting for me to dive into, but I found myself reading Rock King first. How could I not dive into it as soon as the chance arose? The synopsis alone was enough to leave me begging, in dire need of more. I went in with high expectations, and I was not disappointed in the least.

Deal Breaker earned a four-star rating from me, yet it pales in comparison to Rock King. Rock King is a solid four-point-five-star rating – one of those books where the picky side of me prevented me from handing off a five-star rating. It happens more often than it should, with quite a few of my favourite books having a four-star rating for something small. It’s odd – you see, I hate giving out one-star ratings yet it seems I’m more willing to hand them out than five-star ratings. Rock King is a prime example of how I always hold back on those top ratings. This is good, damn good. I’m sure most will gladly hand over a five-star rating. When compared to other rock star romances I have read, this one certainly sits at the top. In fact, it has set the standard of what I expect from future rock star romances so high that I’m questioning whether any will live up to this one. There is no doubt this is my favourite rock star romance, one you need to pick up.

I’ll be honest, I was a little bit tentative at first. The synopsis had me expecting something quite dark. Part of me was imaging a dark suspense filled read, one that would suck me into a truly twisted story. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and due to that I was worried. Despite my worries, I found I was sucked in for other reasons. I was lost to the story, turning page after page at a rapid pace. It may not have been what I was expecting, but it was a powerful read in many other ways. In fact, I came to love it all the more because it surprised me.

You see, this book is filled with emotion. I don’t simply mean the romance – which is wonderful within itself, something I will come back to – I mean it in regards to so many elements of the story. Each of the characters has a painful past, has secrets they are keeping buried deep. The way they are played with, the events that occur, make for a deeply moving story. On the surface there is a lot of drama, a lot of secrets, but when you look deeper there are so many layers to be found. Loving oneself, loving others, forgiving, coming to terms with the past, and so much more occurs throughout this one – it hits a number of hard places, a knock to the solar plexus of those who can find a connection to any of the deep topics mentioned throughout.

More obvious, what everyone sees on the surface, is the brilliant romance between the two characters. I was pulled into their relationship straight away, loving the play between the two of them. I loved the characters as individuals, and completely adored them as a couple. They went so well together, and I found myself desperate for more. Even the element that didn’t win me over due to personal preference when reading romance – the speed of things, the way everything happened too fast for my liking – managed to win me over in the end, with there being plenty layers added to the story.

Without a doubt, Rock King was a wonderful read. There is no doubt I will be reading the second book in the Nothing but Trouble series, as I have very high hopes for the places this series will go.

Bring on book two – I need to know what happens with the side characters I’m so intrigued about!

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