ARC Review: Rock Addiction

Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss #1)

by Nalini Singh

Blurb:

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…
Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.
A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

Themes: contemporary, rock stars, light bondage

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Holy shit I never expected that!  I have read all of the psy-changeling series books, by Nalini Singh, and when I heard she was taking a foray into the world of the contemporary romance novel I was skeptical to say the least, but wow was I proven wrong.  There was so much heat in this story that I could have started a fire had I found myself setting the book down in dry grass.  A powder-keg of passion, turmoil, insecurities and personal demons, this story of a rock star and the ordinary woman who steals his heart is nothing short of genius.   Singh takes us into the mostly unexplored world of New Zealand, her home country I understand, but one that I have never had as a setting for a story I've read, though a few scenes cross over into Australia.  This setting—which I have encountered very seldom—gives a vivid and detailed new world for the reader to explore while keeping the core of her greatness at the core.  Singh’s ability to take to people from differing viewpoints and walks of life (and species in her para-romances) and show them that they are really all the same inside and allowing them to fall in  love is a skill that should never be neglected.  I am beyond thrilled to have had the chance to read these and as the band undergoes changes and we learn more about these sexy rock stars, I cannot even begin to guess the drama and excitement in store for readers. 

This story begins with the most basic of all tales:  boy wants girl, boy propositions girl, girl can’t resist and gives into a night of unbridled passion with a man she knows can never be permanent.  But oh how things devolve from there, in only the best of ways.  Fox sees Molly at a crowded party, and though she immediately intrigues him, he knows that he has to tread carefully with a woman like her, because he is determined that their relationship last much longer than the single night she is looking for.  When he gets her into his arms he shows her the true depths of her passion and they quickly become addicted to one another.  Molly’s past has made her more than wary of the spotlight, closer to terrified of it truthfully, but she finds she can’t resist Fox and the chance to explore the heat between them.  Soon both of them start having deeper feelings, but with those feelings come the insecurities, fears, and issues with trust that are amplified by their individual pasts and their hopes for the future.  Two people from different social stratospheres, two different continents, and two different lifestyles, brought together in lust and eventually something more, what could make for a greater story?

Molly, oh Molly, what a sad tale her life is.  Her childhood and the tragedy that shaped her formative years, has left her with issues that are too numerous to name, not the least of which is her intense anxiety of public attention on her life.  She has admired Fox from afar, much like every other woman in the world, for a while and when she is faced with the chance to have one night with him, there is really no way she can deny him.  But her one night of sexual hedonism quickly becomes a relationship that she can’t fight and she is willing to give just about anything to keep. While I felt sorry for Molly a good bit of the time, I reveled in the way she gradually came into her own, finding her footing with the rock star that has pushed his way into her life, without giving up any of her spunk, sweetness, or down-to-earth nature.  While I wish she had been able to get over her fears earlier, it was obvious that the growth was happening and sooner than later she would come to accept the changes to her life.  I also loved how she seemed to always know what Fox needed, even when he didn’t, and was determined to give it to him, even if he fought her and railed at her.  She is simply the perfect complement to his personality, his other half, his soul mate.

Fox certainly lives up to his name; he is the gorgeous front-man to a rock band that has stormed the world and has lived the lifestyle that comes with that fame for a long time.  However, now it has lost some of the gloss for him and he realizes it’s time that he has a mature relationship for once, though the lust he feels for Molly on sight is nothing short of a teenage fantasy.  He certainly has his own hang-ups and fears that he brings to the relationship, but by focusing on Molly’s needs he finds his own issues are not enough to keep him from claiming her as his own.  I loved seeing him force molly out of her comfort zone and being there for her every step of the way, with only a few exceptions.  By forcing her to express her fears and overcome them, he shows his own steel core of character and makes himself into the perfect hero.  My biggest worry as the story progressed was his temper and tendency to brood, but like I said earlier, Molly is able to give him what he needs, even in round-about ways, and they overcome those flaws together.  There is definitely an undercurrent of fear in their relationship for a long time, from both sides, but Fox is obviously willing to do just about anything to make Molly his and keep her happy and it shows in everything he does. 

In the end I found myself salivating for the next story in this series, which it turns out is actually a novella that takes places in the same time period as this story—Rock Courtship.  Fox and Molly were obviously not characters you could imagine making a life together, but Singh is able to bring them together in an explosive combination of drama, passion, overcoming fears and finding love.  Fox is the quintessential bad boy with a heart of gold, a rock star with a desire for a deeper connection to his woman and the desire to find his true mate.  Molly is damaged goods for sure, but her inner strength far outshines the tragedies that have shaped her past and she is able to overcome all her fears, with the love of a good man.  Together Fox and Molly are able to carve out a happy life for themselves, even living in the spotlight, and their love is one that will last a lifetime and personally I cannot wait to see when they start having kids, *wink, wink*. There were definitely a few sad moments in the band’s lives during this story and I am hoping things get better for a few of the band members soon. Singh has won me over again and I will never again doubt her greatness when she starts a new project.  And just as a bit of a hint the novella that follows, revolving around Molly’s sister and Fox’s band mate happens at the same time as this story, so try to pick out the hints of their romance as you read Fox and Molly’s life-changing love in Rock Addiction.

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.