Backstage Pass (Sinners on Tour, #1)

by Olivia Cunning

[Angie]

Backstage Pass opens with Myrna exiting a conference where her presentation didn't go so well. All she wants to do is head back to room and sleep, but then she recognizes the group of guys sitting the lounge: it's her favorite band, The Sinners! Forgetting about sleep, she goes over to their table, where she ends up hanging out with them for a bit, while making googoo eyes at the guitarist, Brian, who is beyond drunk. She invites him back to her room, where he is in for a surprise! It's not what he (or I) was expecting and it gave me a good laugh before heading into the sex department.

There is a lot going on plot-wise in Backstage Pass, which is not really something I'm use to in Erotica or Erotic Romance. I definitely don't mind a solid plot in between the sexy times, but I did feel like there was too much happening. Of course, at the center there's the romance between Myrna and Brian. But there's also both of their personal baggage. Myra is divorced, and her ex-husband's harsh words haunt her throughout the book. Plus there ends up being a Suspense Lite plot thrown in involving him, which I could have done without. Brian is a rock star who wears his heart on his sleeve and can't help but fall too fast, but he believes he's found his muse in Myrna. And finally there's Myrna's research that may help save her career (a plot point I was very interested in, but has no resolution!).

Brian was the main root of my annoyance with Backstage Pass. I found him a bit pathetic, since when we meet him, he's completely plastered because he was dumped. Then several chapters later he spends an entire month drunk and mopey after Myrna goes back home. They spent two nights together, and that's how he reacts? I had no sympathy for him, and for a moment wished Myrna would stay away instead of getting involved with him. Brian also has these manic episodes during their wild sex where he just has to start writing down the music, which was interesting the first time, not so much the other times it happened. Also, rimming is not sexy; there was too much of that for my liking.

I did love some of the surprises sprinkled throughout Backstage Pass. I was totally not expecting any menage, but I was very excited when there were two of them! I was worried that Brian was going to fly off the handle, but thankfully, he didn't. But my favorite part had to do with Trey. I won't spoil it, but I totally didn't see that coming and it made me a little too happy but also made me go "awww! *sad face*" We actually get a pretty great introduction to all of the band mates along with their kinks, without being overloaded with information.

Backstage Pass had some stuff I really loved, stuff I wasn't expecting (in a good way), and some really irritating stuff. But I did enjoy it overall, and I think it was a solid introduction to the band. In the beginning my feelings kept flip-flopping from awkward to sexy and back again, since some of the scenes were a bit odd. Also, it started to drag and become repetitive in the middle before the plots showed up again and moved the story forward. While I didn't love Backstage Pass, it certainly made me interested in the rest of the series. I'm especially eager to read more about Trey and Eric!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.