Helpful Score: 3
The rock-n-roll lifestyle...tour bus orgies, fanatical groupies willing to do anything to please, big egos, sexy and possessive men who like to experiment and get it on non-stop and lots of hot bandmates, Rock Hard has it all. I loved the book from beginning to end and I am so glad I took the chance on it after not being thrilled with the first book in the series. The whole rock and roll theme is so appealing, I love to imagine how they exist on the wild side. Olivia Cunning portrayed it beautifully and I think realistically in my mind.
What drew me in to this story were the characters, Sed and Jessica. Their personalities were explosive especially around each other. When they fought they were ruthless to each other and they loved violently too. The first 3 pages hooked me! ***SPOILER*** Sed and Jess were poor and struggling and madly in love with each other, but young in handling a relationship. When Jess finally sees her dreams coming true as she is accepted to law school, Sed can't live without her and denies letting her go. Jess will have none of his caveman attitude and throws his engagement ring at him and leaves. His ego won't let him chase her and her pride won't let her return to him. Page 4 fast forwards 2 years, both still miserable without each other. She becomes a stripper to pay for school funds and he becomes a huge success with the Sinners always with 2 or 3 girls willingly giving and fulfilling his huge sexual appetite. When Jess and Sed encounter each other at her strip joint- she is performing for Brian's bachelor party (book 1 hero) Sed flips out causing a big ruckus. There was a very funny scene when Jess goes badass all over 3 girls that are with Sed in his bedroom, he knows she is out there listening so he gets a little revenge inciting her jealousy, it was awesome. The fireworks continue and Sed's caveman tendencies regarding Jess resurface; so does the sexual chemistry. There were definitely some very creative sexual positions, I think one time she was hanging upside down... let's just say it was very inventive and satisfying.
Even though the sex was hot and there was a lot of it, I didn't feel it was overkill as in some erotica I have read lately. The author does a very good job of giving erotic details in the beginning when it is new and exciting and then tapering the length and details later in the book where it sometimes gets monotonous. Even though it was the wild party life of touring there were many issues and conflicts to overcome in the story; addiction, sexual harassment, medical issues, as well as, foreshadowing of possible secrets that will be uncovered in future books. The ending was fabulous too! I won't give any hints except to say it warmed my heart, made me smile, it was very thoughtful and satisfying.
If you loved the first book you won't be disappointed in Sed and Jessica's story and if you were like me about Book 1 take a chance on this one.
What drew me in to this story were the characters, Sed and Jessica. Their personalities were explosive especially around each other. When they fought they were ruthless to each other and they loved violently too. The first 3 pages hooked me! ***SPOILER*** Sed and Jess were poor and struggling and madly in love with each other, but young in handling a relationship. When Jess finally sees her dreams coming true as she is accepted to law school, Sed can't live without her and denies letting her go. Jess will have none of his caveman attitude and throws his engagement ring at him and leaves. His ego won't let him chase her and her pride won't let her return to him. Page 4 fast forwards 2 years, both still miserable without each other. She becomes a stripper to pay for school funds and he becomes a huge success with the Sinners always with 2 or 3 girls willingly giving and fulfilling his huge sexual appetite. When Jess and Sed encounter each other at her strip joint- she is performing for Brian's bachelor party (book 1 hero) Sed flips out causing a big ruckus. There was a very funny scene when Jess goes badass all over 3 girls that are with Sed in his bedroom, he knows she is out there listening so he gets a little revenge inciting her jealousy, it was awesome. The fireworks continue and Sed's caveman tendencies regarding Jess resurface; so does the sexual chemistry. There were definitely some very creative sexual positions, I think one time she was hanging upside down... let's just say it was very inventive and satisfying.
Even though the sex was hot and there was a lot of it, I didn't feel it was overkill as in some erotica I have read lately. The author does a very good job of giving erotic details in the beginning when it is new and exciting and then tapering the length and details later in the book where it sometimes gets monotonous. Even though it was the wild party life of touring there were many issues and conflicts to overcome in the story; addiction, sexual harassment, medical issues, as well as, foreshadowing of possible secrets that will be uncovered in future books. The ending was fabulous too! I won't give any hints except to say it warmed my heart, made me smile, it was very thoughtful and satisfying.
If you loved the first book you won't be disappointed in Sed and Jessica's story and if you were like me about Book 1 take a chance on this one.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a little disappointing to me. I just didn't enjoy it as much as the first book Backstage Pass, which totally sucks because I was really looking forward to reading Sed and Jessica's story. I am a big fan of reunion stories but this one just fell a little flat for me. I didn't feel any sparks between Sed and Jessica like the way I did for Brian and Myrna in the previous book. I will say that this book was very emotional and not as light as the first. I actually found myself tearing up quite a few times when certain things happened with some of the band members.
Sed in Rock Hard seemed like a completely different person to the one we were introduced to in Backstage Pass. There we saw a man who just uses women and doesn't seem to care about others feelings. He has no qualms about sleeping with any of his friends girlfriends including all of Brian's previous exes. Though we could see that he was hurt by the ending of his relationship with Jessica, we still saw that he was still very angry that she was able to break his heart. In Rock Hard, we never see that anger. As soon as he sees Jessica again all is forgiven and he is instantly in love again. I would have liked to see him coming to terms with everything in his past with Jessica before latching onto her so fiercely.
As for Jessica, I never really warmed up to her. I just don't know what it was about her. I think I may have just been put of a bit by her scheme to seduce Sed and crush him. All because she seems to think that he's an egotistical jerk who is full of himself. I don't think she ever really got to know Sed until the end of the book. Even then I still didn't really feel like she tried to much. Does she love Sed because they have great sex together or does she love him because he's a great guy inside? I just don't know.
Also, another thing that really bugged me is how Sed treats Jessica towards the end of the book. Here we see a little bit of the Sed that we met in Backstage Pass. Jessica decides she wants to stay on tour with him and the Sinners and that she is possibly thinking about dropping out of school. Instead of listening to Jessica and trying to talk her out of it he immediately pushes her away and treats her as if she's a groupie. Claiming that he doesn't want her around and that she needs to get away from him. Huh? Seriously? Sed spends the entire book going on about how much he loves her and how he's never going to let her go again only to push her away when she makes a dissucion he doesn't like. Ugh!
All in all, this was an okay read for me. It's definitely not as good as the first book but I still loved reading about the guys of Sinners. I love seeing the comraderie between them and how much they all truly care for one another. Plus, the scenes with them together are just plain hilarious.
Sed in Rock Hard seemed like a completely different person to the one we were introduced to in Backstage Pass. There we saw a man who just uses women and doesn't seem to care about others feelings. He has no qualms about sleeping with any of his friends girlfriends including all of Brian's previous exes. Though we could see that he was hurt by the ending of his relationship with Jessica, we still saw that he was still very angry that she was able to break his heart. In Rock Hard, we never see that anger. As soon as he sees Jessica again all is forgiven and he is instantly in love again. I would have liked to see him coming to terms with everything in his past with Jessica before latching onto her so fiercely.
As for Jessica, I never really warmed up to her. I just don't know what it was about her. I think I may have just been put of a bit by her scheme to seduce Sed and crush him. All because she seems to think that he's an egotistical jerk who is full of himself. I don't think she ever really got to know Sed until the end of the book. Even then I still didn't really feel like she tried to much. Does she love Sed because they have great sex together or does she love him because he's a great guy inside? I just don't know.
Also, another thing that really bugged me is how Sed treats Jessica towards the end of the book. Here we see a little bit of the Sed that we met in Backstage Pass. Jessica decides she wants to stay on tour with him and the Sinners and that she is possibly thinking about dropping out of school. Instead of listening to Jessica and trying to talk her out of it he immediately pushes her away and treats her as if she's a groupie. Claiming that he doesn't want her around and that she needs to get away from him. Huh? Seriously? Sed spends the entire book going on about how much he loves her and how he's never going to let her go again only to push her away when she makes a dissucion he doesn't like. Ugh!
All in all, this was an okay read for me. It's definitely not as good as the first book but I still loved reading about the guys of Sinners. I love seeing the comraderie between them and how much they all truly care for one another. Plus, the scenes with them together are just plain hilarious.
Michelle R. (mreneerouser) -
Helpful Score: 2
I loved Backstage Pass. Ok, so I know it is not some literary masterpiece, it was an erotica novel with a cute "feel good" side story to it. Because of my love for book 1, I actually purchased book 2.
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am with book 2. It was plain horrible. I hardly ever give one star. I usually can find something worthwhile about a book but this book was not only bad, it annoyed me.
Jessica-
There are bitchy, demanding girls and then there is a bitch. Jessica was a bitch. I found nothing appealing about her. If she wasn't having sex with Sed, she was bitching about being wronged, about not wanting Sed to control her, about how hard her life was. Because she was so bitchy, the last thing I wanted to read about was Jessica getting it on with Sed. She deserved some serious lonely nights. Seriously, this girl had no redeeming qualities. I cannot remember anything positive about her personality.
The story-
What story? Let's see, Brian hates Jessica because he thinks that she left Sed and that turned Sed into a man-whore which in turn made Sed steal Brian's previous girlfriends. At one point in the story, Jessica tells Brian the "truth. Just like that, Brian takes her word as gospel and the entire issue is cleared up without Brian even asking Sed if Jessica was telling the truth.
This entire law school scenario was so laughable. First, what law school did Jessica go to? I went to law school. I graduated law school (no comments about my grammar from the peanut gallery). My books cost more than Jessica's alleged tuition. The sexual-harassment-professor-giving-blow-job-to-the-dean side story, bleh, it "sucked" (no pun intended-- ok maybe pun was intended but I know it was a bad one)
Overall-
I literally hated reading anything to do with the main characters (sorry Sed, you where the unintended victim of Jessica hatred). I can't believe I finished a book where I only partially enjoyed the stories of the minor characters in the book.
1.5 stars (.5 stars for inciting me to rant- passion is good)
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am with book 2. It was plain horrible. I hardly ever give one star. I usually can find something worthwhile about a book but this book was not only bad, it annoyed me.
Jessica-
There are bitchy, demanding girls and then there is a bitch. Jessica was a bitch. I found nothing appealing about her. If she wasn't having sex with Sed, she was bitching about being wronged, about not wanting Sed to control her, about how hard her life was. Because she was so bitchy, the last thing I wanted to read about was Jessica getting it on with Sed. She deserved some serious lonely nights. Seriously, this girl had no redeeming qualities. I cannot remember anything positive about her personality.
The story-
What story? Let's see, Brian hates Jessica because he thinks that she left Sed and that turned Sed into a man-whore which in turn made Sed steal Brian's previous girlfriends. At one point in the story, Jessica tells Brian the "truth. Just like that, Brian takes her word as gospel and the entire issue is cleared up without Brian even asking Sed if Jessica was telling the truth.
This entire law school scenario was so laughable. First, what law school did Jessica go to? I went to law school. I graduated law school (no comments about my grammar from the peanut gallery). My books cost more than Jessica's alleged tuition. The sexual-harassment-professor-giving-blow-job-to-the-dean side story, bleh, it "sucked" (no pun intended-- ok maybe pun was intended but I know it was a bad one)
Overall-
I literally hated reading anything to do with the main characters (sorry Sed, you where the unintended victim of Jessica hatred). I can't believe I finished a book where I only partially enjoyed the stories of the minor characters in the book.
1.5 stars (.5 stars for inciting me to rant- passion is good)
pretty good!
Sed & Jessica's story. Lead singer Sed has been on the path of debauchery and heartbreak after Jessica walked out on their engagement two years prior. A wrecked man who goes through groupies to hide his pain with meaningless sex. Jessica buries herself in studies to become a lawyer. They run into each other in the most unlikely of places, setting off a chain of events that has dire consequences for the entire band. Brian & Myrna are getting ready to be married but Myrna steps in for a little counseling to help Sed and Jessica. Myrna offers Jessica a job to tour with her and the band playing matchmaker. Sed & Jessica are forced to spend time together "using" each other but really getting to know each other again. It's a love/hate that accumulates into sex, growing feelings that really never went away, & who's gong to break first. Meanwhile, Trey has a major setback, Jace comes out of his shell, and Eric rises to some challenges. A solid book better than the 1st in the series (Backstage Pass) Looking forward to the next book
