Louder Than Love (Love & Steel, #1)

by Jessica Topper

• ISBN13: 9781101634790
• Publish Date: 2013
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 343
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

This was not your average rocker romance book. Sure, Adrian "Digger" Graves lived the life of a rock star in his heyday, but this was a story about second chances and learning to overcome the past.

Katrina "Tree" Lewis has spent the past three years trying to rebuild a life for herself and her daughter after the tragic death of her husband. Surrounded by her childhood friends, Kat starts to live again and even contemplating dating. She didn't know that booking the artist behind her daughter's favorite PBS cartoon was going to change the course of hers and her daughter's life with the introduction to a British rock star. Adrian has been hiding from life. Broken down by what happened between him and his ex-wife, daughter, best friend and manager, he tries to eek out an existence that keeps him away from everything that was his downfall. But a trip to a small town library changes the course of his life forever.

I really enjoyed this book. We have Adrian, hiding out and not letting people know who is really is because he's trying to steer clear of that life. Then there is Kat, trying to move forward after the death of her husband but not really doing that. It's not until these two meet that they realize how they've been living isn't necessarily what they've wanted. They bring out the best and sometimes the worst in each other (which generally those you're meant to be with do). Even when Kat is trying to push Adrian away, she knows that she really doesn't want to and caves in far to easily. Adrian may say he's not good enough for Kat and Abbey, afraid the sins of his past will taint what they have, but he also knows he can't let the two of them go because they make him want to be better. Kat and Adrian may struggle with who he is and what he's done is his past, but with the help of her friends (who very easily except Shrimpy McLobster), they help the two of them realize that what they have is much more than his past and her relationship with her dead husband.

Jessica Topper took a story that could have gone in any direction and created a story and cast of characters that emotionally connected with and liked. The story was engaging and made it hard for me to put down. I will definitely look for more from Jessica Topper in the future.

[EBookObsessed]

Katrina Lewis never realized how much one e-mail could change your life. As the new volunteer librarian at the Lauder Lake Library, she was looking for a program to entertain the children when she decided to try and locate Adrian Graves, the writer of the theme song to Maxwell MacGillikitty, Feline Private Eye, her four-year-old daughter Abbey’s favorite TV show.

Adrian was not receptive to the idea of playing at the library, but Katrina eventually convinces him to show up. Katrina is also hoping that his appearance at the library can be a boost in his career. Although Adrian is not what she expected, he was a hit with the kids, and a bit of a hit with Katrina herself. She hasn’t had any interest in a man since her husband was killed three years ago, but she finds there is something compelling about Adrian.

As their sparks begin to sizzle into a true romance, Katrina is shocked when she finds out that her Adrian Graves is also “Digger” Graves, lead guitarist for the Corroded Corpses, her brother’s favorite heavy metal band growing up.

Katrina feels the fool for not realizing her new lover is actually the former rock star, who before he disappeared from the limelight was heavy in the whole sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll lifestyle. She confronts Adrian on his duplicity, but finds she understands more than she thought she would why he hid that part of his life that he long since put behind him.

Adrian walked away from rock stardom and got his life cleaned up ten years ago. After years of heavy drug use and being used by his manager, his friends, his ex-wife, and his estranged daughter, Adrian was delighted to find someone who just treated him as Adrian Graves, the unknown musician. Over the next few weeks, Adrian gives Kat a look into his battered soul and walks her through the ugly world of rock stardom.

And ugly though his scars may be, it just might be Katrina’s scars that keep them from finding true happiness. Although Adrian is willing to open up his life and pain to her, Kat hasn’t fully comes to terms with the sudden, tragic loss of her husband. If Kat continues to keep the ghost of her dead husband between them, she might just lose the man who would fill the emptiness in her life, as much as she fills the emptiness in his.

THOUGHTS:
Absolutely compelling. I just loved these characters and their dynamics. Little Abbey is, of course, adorable and opens her heart to Adrian as only an innocent child could. Adrian was on the road when his own daughter was young and was never able to truly develop a relationship with her. Abbey accepts and loves Adrian in a way his own daughter never did.

Although Adrian cleaned himself up, without the drugs and his music, he really didn’t have anything in his life. Meeting Kat and Abbey made him realize that he was existing, but not really living, and Adrian knows that they are the best thing that ever happened to him. (Again, my favorite, the damaged hero trope.)

Although Kat thinks she has moved on from her husband’s death, she too just exists to take care of her daughter. She has family and friends who supported her emotionally but she never truly shared her grief with anyone and keeps her memories of her lost husband to herself. Whenever Adrian visits Kat and Abbey, he is surrounded by photos of the man that he is in a way competing with, but Kat won’t speak of her dead husband to Adrian.

I enjoyed watching this story unfold and watch these characters heal each other as their feelings blossomed.

Received an ARC from netgalley.com courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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