Love Songs For the Road
Farrah Taylor
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing – Bliss
Date of Publication: January 13, 2014
ISBN: 9781622661640
ASIN: B00HFUAOWW
Number of pages: 220
Cover Artist: Jessica Cantor
Book Description:
A rock star. The nanny. A love that could rock their world.
The only thing rock star Marcus Troy loves more than making music is his kids. So finding just the right nanny to take on tour with them is important—as is proving to his ex he deserves joint custody. Falling for his employee wouldn’t just be fodder for the paparazzi: it could ruin everything.
Too bad the perfect nanny turns out to be beautiful, vibrant Ryan Evans. Ryan’s never left her small Montana town before, so she jumps at the chance to see the country. And as much as accidental fame doesn’t gel with shy Ryan, what does is her relationship with her capricious, smoking-hot, shockingly good dad of a boss. Marcus is nothing like what she expected. But when the whole world’s watching them, will life in the spotlight be too hot to handle?
Review:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book had a strong start–a real “meet cute” in which Marcus also manages to demonstrate his awesome dad abilities–loved it! Ryan wasn’t too overwhelmed by her new boss’s star power to stand up for herself, which was fantastic–for much of the book, she was a really strong character. I liked that she had such a solid understanding of kids and was able to get a handle on Marcus’s two, Charlotte and Miles, right from the start.
As Ryan says at one point, “Adults were crazy; kids were a piece of cake.”
Charlotte and Miles really steal the show. Whether they’re interacting with Marcus, Ryan, Smitty (lead guitarist), or a combination, they practically jump off the page–especially six-year-old Marcus. You can really tell that the author has spent a lot of time around children–no frighteningly fictional kids here!
The setting of being on a national rock tour was definitely different one–it makes for an interesting view into the life of a famous musician. One can only imagine how difficult it must be to be so much in the public eye all the time, and Ryan naturally is not at all used to the pressure. That said, however, the two times that she snaps–one early on, one about halfway through–really seemed out of character for her. They do play a big part in future events, but still those two scenes just didn’t sit right with me.
It felt like Marcus and Ryan’s relationship progressed a bit too quickly, especially given the previous experiences of the two (Ryan was badly hurt by a cheating boyfriend, and Marcus hadn’t had any relationships at all since his bitter divorce four years earlier). Initially, both felt the attraction and resisted, knowing that it wasn’t a good idea to act on it–and rightly so. (The image of big, burly Smitty acting as a cautioning angel on Marcus’s shoulder was particularly amusing.) Next thing you knew, though, their resolutions were out the window. I almost thought I’d missed something there, because it still didn’t seem like a smart idea to me–hormones or no. It seemed at odds with the more mature Marcus and his dedication to his kids, not to mention usually level-headed Ryan.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted them to get together–but the timing didn’t feel quite right there.
Marcus–and Ryan, by going along with him–made a decision during his last concert stop that really had me questioning his judgement. He was called on it, though, and ended up realizing that he’d made a poor choice, which went a long way toward redeeming him–and that aspect of the plot.
The ending, like the beginning, was strong. I appreciated that their relationship, when not on tour, slowed down to a reasonable pace given their lives and situations. I finished the book with a smile, the overall feel-good ending overshadowing the earlier elements that had given me pause. I’ll definitely be interested to see what Ms. Taylor has for us in the future.
B+ rating.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author:
A reading specialist with a masters degree in Early Childhood Education, Farrah Taylor has taught first grade in Northwest Montana for over a decade. She is thrilled to be publishing her first novel, Love Songs for the Road. Farrah, a lifelong music lover who has spent far too much of her savings on concert tickets, is glad to finally be seeing a return on the investment. She lives with her husband, Ty, and son, Latham, in Polson, Montana.
