Kit and Noah’s rock star romance is finally here in the newest addition to Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss Series!!
Blurb
Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.
Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.
When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.
Excerpt from ROCK REDEMPTION by
Nalini Singh
Kit groaned at the sound of her phone. Reaching out blindly toward the nightstand, she hurled mental curses upon herself for forgetting to turn it off so she could catch some uninterrupted sleep before her four-a.m. makeup call.
It’d be fun and great for her career, her agent had said when recommending Kit take the superhero flick. Coming off two serious and emotionally wrenching projects, Kit had taken Harper’s advice and jumped on board the high-budget, high-octane venture. Unfortunately, Harper had forgotten to mention the four hours it would take to put her into the head-to-toe makeup required for the role. Daily.
“What?” she snarled into the phone without checking to see who it was.
“Hey, Katie.”
Every cell in her body snapped wide awake. Lifting her eyelids, she just stared at the ceiling through gritty eyes. Her heart thumped, her throat moving convulsively as she swallowed. She hated that he could still do this to her, hated it, but her visceral response to Noah wasn’t something she could stop. She knew because she’d tried for the past two years and three months.
“Noah,” she said flatly. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Two fifteen,” he answered.
Kit should’ve hung up. God, he’d hurt her. So much. But there was something in his voice that had her sitting up. “Are you drunk?” One thing she knew about Noah: no matter his bad-boy rep, he was never wasted. He might give a good indication of it, but look closely and those dark gray eyes were always sober.
“Probably.” A silence, followed by, “I just wanted to hear your voice. Sorry for waking you.”
“Wait,” she said when he would’ve hung up. “Where are you?”
“Some dive.” He took a deep breath, released it in a harsh exhale. “I’m sorry for being an asshole. I wanted to tell you that. I don’t want to go without saying that.”
“Noah,” she said, a horrible feeling in her stomach. “Where exactly are you?”
“The Blue Flamingo Inn off Hollywood Boulevard. Far, far, far off.” He laughed, and it held no humor. “It has a neon sign of a blue—surprise!—flamingo that’s flashing right through my window. Looks like someone stole the curtains.”
Having already grabbed her laptop, which she’d left beside the bed after answering some e-mails before sleep claimed her, she found the Blue Flamingo Inn. But Noah was already gone, having said, “I love your voice, Kit,” in an oddly raw tone before hanging up.
He didn’t pick up when she called back.
“Damn it! Damn it!” She shoved aside the blanket under which she’d been buried, having turned the AC to ice-cold as she usually did at night. Shivering, she tugged on a pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt over the panties and tank top in which she’d gone to sleep.
Pulling her black hair into a rough ponytail to keep it out of her eyes, she ran through the house, phone in one pocket, credit card and driver’s license in the other. In the kitchen, she grabbed her keys off the counter and shoved her feet into the tennis shoes by the door that led to the garage.
She was in her car and on the way to the motel three minutes after Noah had hung up, mouth dry and an ugliness in her gut. “Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay,” she kept saying, the mantra doing nothing to calm her down, but at least it kept her mind focused.
She wanted to call Molly and Fox, or the others in the band, but no one was currently in the city. Schoolboy Choir had completed the final show in the band’s hugely successful tour just over two weeks earlier. Day after that, they’d all gone their separate ways to recharge and regroup.
“Much as I love these guys,” David had said with a grin that reached the dark gold of his eyes, “I’ve been looking at their ugly mugs daily for months. We need to go blow off some steam separately before we start snarling at each other.”
At the time, Kit had nodded in understanding, having had that same experience while working on location for long periods. Tonight, however, she wished the others were all here, not scattered across the country, because something was very wrong with Noah.
“Noah doesn’t do drugs,” she told herself as she drove as fast as she dared, not wanting to risk getting pulled over and further delayed. “He isn’t the kind to—” She couldn’t say it, couldn’t even think of Noah ending his life. “No,” she said firmly, her hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. “Noah isn’t like that.”
If you’d like to read the rest of this chapter, as well as the next, click this link: http://nalinisingh.com/books/rock-kiss-series/rock-redemption/
Review
★★★★★ stars
I don't know why I'm surprised at how much I loved this story. As a regular reader of Nalini Singh's books, I should've known she would find a way to write an amazing story while keeping it fresh and entertaining. I really felt like Kit and Noah's story has been in the making from the first book and I'm so glad it's finally their turn to shine.
Noah and Kit have been friends since before both of them became famous. They have this bond that ties them closely together, or at least Kit thought so. I was as devastated as she was when that proved to be false. I completely understand why Kit retreated from their friendship, but I also can see how she'd jump at the chance to help him when he called. Kit isn't selfish. She loves and cares for her friends with her whole being. There's little she won't do to help someone she cares for.
Noah is hurting so badly. There were moments when I was afraid he'd hurt himself. I really wanted to comfort him and let him know things would be okay but he was going to need to make the effort to get help, and all of this was before I knew what had happened to him. I hurt so much for Noah. I hurt even more knowing those who should have helped and comforted him, failed him and continued to do so. I didn't like the how Noah handled his issues only because they didn't help him and they involved using other people, but it was amazing to see how different he was when it came to Kit. He was willing to make sacrifices and do things different to help her, which made me realize Noah really did care for Kit even if he thought he couldn't show it the way she wanted him to.
One of the aspects that took me by surprise was the emphasis on the emotional and mental well being of Noah and Kit. It's also one of my favorite parts of this book. Kit and Noah have this chemistry that's palpable. You can tell Kit is empathetic and willing to do whatever it takes to help Noah. She never lets him fully retreat, even when he's hurting her, and the same with Noah. He may lash out, but he knows he's hurting her even if that isn't his intent.
I really loved how Nalini handled the trauma Noah had experienced. It's not sugar coated and it was often painful to read just because I could see the effects it had on Noah and his quality of life. Would I have loved to see Noah acquiesce to getting the professional help he needs? Yes, but it was still something he would need to get on his own. It's kind of like Abe. Abe was abusing drugs and went into rehab, but he wasn't ready to quit yet and so relapsed until he was ready to quit, which allowed him to kick his habit. Speaking of Abe, I'm very excited his book is next. While it's clearly evident in this book things are not finished with his ex-wife, I can't help but wonder why they broke up in the first place. I also loved seeing Molly, Fox, Thea, and David. It's wonderful to see them happy and doing well.
It may seem like this book was all emotional and focused solely on Noah and what he needed, but that's not the case, but Kit and Noah also set fire to the page when they became intimate. The build up to it was slow, but it was fitting with the story and with Noah and Kit. I also really liked how Kit's career was involved. I had no idea who was causing Kit so much trouble up until the very end. I kept guessing through out the book, and while I had my guesses, I was never really sure. While much of the story content is heavy and deep, there are also many moments of laughter and lightness I really enjoyed.
I really feel like Nalini Singh played up to her strengths in this book. She gave us this imperfectly perfect couple and made me fall in love with them. I laughed with them, hurt with them, and loved with them. The story is fast paced, and will captivate you as it did me. I dare you not to fall for Noah and Kit, just like I did.
*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
NOW AVAILABLE
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1hP7G54
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1XBZsOB
iBooks: http://apple.co/1ITi0i7
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1VIYoXo
The Rock Kiss Reading Order
Rock Addiction (Book One) Rock Kiss Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/WqA2rj
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1G9piir
Nook: http://bit.ly/1t5T7Zt
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1ng9zE9
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1lPqB19
Rock Courtship (Book 1.5) A Rock Kiss Novel:
- Amazon US: http://amzn.to/XXjjxG
- Nook: http://bit.ly/1COgaC6
- Kobo: http://bit.ly/1pEeCy6
Rock Hard (Book Two) Rock Kiss Series- Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1BXhHWB
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1G9oslz
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1utQDee
Nook: http://bit.ly/1KEyBIx
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1APyqnU
- Rock Redemption (Book Three) Rock Kiss Series
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1hP7G54
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1XBZsOB
iBooks: http://apple.co/1ITi0i7
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1VIYoXo
Author Information
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don't forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.
GIVEAWAY
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