Date published: May 12th, 2014
Synopsis: Twenty year old, Allison Slater has been in love with her brother’s bandmate, Rhys McGowan, since she was fifteen years old. But to him, she’ll always be Jake’s little sister and off limits. Now a college sophomore and licking her wounds from a bad breakup, she sets her sights on making Rhys see her as someone he could date…maybe even love. Her opportunity comes when Rhys visits his parents in Savannah where she is attending college. But the night she’s dreamed of turns to heart-break, and she realizes she’ll never be the one for Rhys.
For Rhys McGowan, his nightmare began when he woke up, naked and hung-over, next to his bandmate’s little sister. Unable to remember a thing from the previous night, he only makes matters worse by lying to Allison about not being interested in her. The truth is he’s spent the last year to ignore his body’s reaction whenever Allison is around. His resolve is tested when Allison comes on tour with Runaway Train, as both Jake and Abby’s nanny and to fulfill her fashion design internship. The more time he spends with her in the close quarters of the bus, the harder it is for him to resist.
Will Rhys realize that having a relationship with Allison is worth fighting for even if it means that he has to fight his best friend for a chance?
What I Thought:
I love the older brother's best friend trope. There's something about it that never goes old. I think part of the attraction is knowing the person for a long length of time and having a sort of comfort level with them.
I knew Rhys and Allison had chemistry, having read the previous books in The Runaway Train series and seeing the hints of what was to come. When I finally read Strings of the Heart, I was very happy with what I read.
Usually when it comes to books which have this theme, there is some dickering between the characters about whether or not to go public or even have a relationship. There was some in here and it was appropriate up to a point. In Rhys's case, he had no qualms about devastating Allie with his words and actions but was emotionally closed off when it came to talking about anything with permanence. I really disliked Rhys at those points during the book and my heart hurt for Allie.
Another part of the book I loved was Rhys's relationship with his autistic sister. That part warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face. I really did not like his parent's attitude about her though. I also found Rhys's thoughts regarding Brayden's daughter to be profound and bittersweet. I love that Katie Ashley included the topic as a whole as the incidence and prevalence of autism continues to grow.
I loved the flow of the story. I feverishly read the book trying to cram it all in and hoping it wasn't over when it ended. It was great to see everyone from the previous books and catch up with them. I especially loved seeing the twins and A.J.'s daughter Bella. Bella was just adorable! She provided for some of the most memorable moments and the others can be attributed to tequila.
I know that there is a novella coming out about Lily and Brayden, but I'm not ready to let go of Runaway Train and its members yet. I'm hoping Ms. Ashley will consider writing books for Abby's brothers so we can see them fall in love but also get glimpses of some of our (tamed) favorite rock stars.
Purchase links:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/NABSl6
Amazon UK: http://tinyurl.com/pmydmoh
Amazon CA: http://tinyurl.com/oq5ugj4
Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/NACeYQ
About the Author:
Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.
*A copy was given by the author for an honest review. I was not compensated in any manner and all opinions are my own.*
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