Raised in poverty and violence, Gabe Reed wears a could-care-less attitude like a shield. He expects life to suck. It always has, and he is usually the one to screw it up even more. Drumming for the college band Luminescent Juliet started as a way to release the built up rage inside of him. But when the band signs with a label, Gabe begins to envision a different life. He just needs to stay out of trouble and follow the court orders of his probation.
April Tanner knows most people view her as perfect. From her icy looks to her college four point, she cultivates the persona since it helps keep people at a distance. Because behind her perfection, April constantly struggles with a past that she is trying to atone for but can’t face.
Though Gabe and April seem worlds apart, fate throws them together and forces them to see beyond the fronts they each present. But even an emerging friendship mixed with a growing lust might not be able to overcome the walls built of guilt and insecurity and abuse that stand between them.
This story can be read as a standalone.
*New Adult for language and sexual situations.*
This intensity, this desperation, this is what I want from him. His fierceness send music in my veins, the notes a fast, rhythmic crescendo that exposes his need for me, and drives my need to equal the wildness of his. Together, we’re a flying, building tempo, our sensual energy changing to prestissimo- the fastest tempo- in an instant.
Ever since I was first introduced to this fantastic series a couple years ago, I’ve been waiting for Gabe’s book. Something about the silently brooding and manwhorish drummer has always called to me. And after finishing his book, I gotta say that Jean Haus has definitely saved the best for last. I absolutely loved it!
While you may technically read this book as a standalone, I highly recommend you read the series in order to truly get the appreciation for all the side characters. The author does a fantastic job of giving all the background without making it be redundant for those that have been following the series; but it’s definitely best read as a series. Jean Haus is one of those authors that I wish more readers knew about. Her ability to weave music into her writing always gives an additional layer to her books. It’s actually one of the things I’ve grown to love most about her writing. She doesn’t just write a rockstar romance, she gives you the music element to go along with it.
Gabe Reed is the drummer for Luminescent Juliet. He’s a man of little words and barely contained violence. His less than favorable childhood pretty much assures this…
His band is on the route to true fame, but his position in it isn’t quite as guaranteed. His anger issues and short fuse to violence has given him a record. And although he’s not quite as threatened by Romeo’s girlfriend for the position of a drummer that he had originally lost to her now that she has her own band, he’s still filled with doubt. The last thing he needs is the presence of the ice princess at his court mandated group meetings…
April Tanner isn’t what she appears. Keeping a tight reign on her facade is the only thing that keeps her from coming apart at the seams.
While she may understand that the perception of what she seems to be is what causes the look of contempt on Gabe’s face every time he sees her, it doesn’t help her fight her attraction to him any more. When Gabe walks into her group therapy meetings, she’s forced to deal with the tension between them head-on and it’s not long before the spark between them fly.
As different as Gabe and April are, somehow together they make perfect sense. Their road to a relationship is rocky at best and filled with dark secrets and tragic pasts. But it’s also beautiful and emotional. As cold as April comes off on the outside, inside is she’s shattered.
Her friendship with Romeo and ties to the band hurt her as much as they help her for reason that are trickle fed to the reader. She keeps such a tight control on her life and her emotions, and yet at the same time she’s punishing herself for a tragic past and attempting to atone for it.
Gabe has issues of his own. He definitely doesn’t make it easy on April with his assumptions of good girls like her being too good for the likes of him. As much as he fights it, he also can’t help the bond he soon begins to feel for her. When he offers to complete a bucket list from April’s cousin that passed away tragically young is the catalyst for their unlikely relationship.
I have to say that I absolutely loved these two together. As much as neither of them are perfect, together they made perfect sense. Rock My Heart was the perfect combination of emotional and sexy. It’s everything I’ve come to love about NA and wish more books in the genre had. It’s not the typical cliche ridden romance. The characters and their stories have so much depth; and that goes even more so for this book. I absolutely loved it and would recommend for any lovers of NA or rockstar romances.
