Playing with the Drummer (Head Over Heels, #3)

by Robin Covington

[Cocktails and Books]

How much of herself will Lita sacrifice to get the job of her dreams? Will she betray her best friends just for a chance at her own show? Although I can’t say that I would struggle with a decision like this, in my book betraying someone’s trust is wrong no matter how you sugar coat it, I can’t help but sympathize with Lita’s situation. Not only is this the job she’s been working towards for years, she still feels this need to prove to everyone, including her parents that she’s someone other than a celebrity’s daughter.

First and foremost, I want to say that I have not read the previous books in the series. However, that being said, I had no difficulty following the storyline, the intricacies of the characters and their relationships with each other or their history. And boy what a history it is. Lita and Rocky have a history unknown even to their best friends, but the author does a phenomenal of letting the reader get a brief look at it without sacrificing the current story or making it so you need to have read the previous two books to be able to follow along.

It seemed to me that these two characters are all wrong for each other. Rocky is the reclusive musician with secrets he’s hiding and Lita is, of all things a reporter. Both of her parents were celebrities, which of course means she has spent her entire life in the spotlight… not exactly the place a recluse want to be. Yet when they’re not tearing in to each other verbally, these two are tearing each other’s clothes off. Very much true to life, their issues are not insurmountable. They can easily be overcome if they ever actually sat down and spoke to each other instead of assuming and jumping to conclusions.

Although I enjoyed reading this story, I have to admit that it didn’t wow me. It had all the markers for what I would consider a 5 star review but there was something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on. Perhaps it was their insistence on not learning form their past mistakes, or maybe it was Lita’s willingness to throw her friends under the bus for accolades from people who don’t matter. I’m not sure. Something was missing though.

Reviewed by Iris for Cocktails and Books