Rock the Heart by Michelle A. Valentine
Add to Goodreads Buy: Nook/KindleFor the last four years, good girl Lane has regretted breaking up with Noel Falcon. She thought she was sensible when she told him his dreams of being a rock star would get him nowhere, but now that he's a rock god and her career is stagnant, she realizes just how wrong she was. When Noel hires the marketing company where Lane is an intern, she’s forced to see him again. If she wants to land her dream job as executive within the company, she has to win him over and secure his account. Too bad Noel is still pissed at her for breaking his heart.
When Lane’s company flies her to a Black Falcon concert to gain Noel’s attention, emotions run high the moment she sees him and realizes she’s far from over him. But Noel’s countless trysts with groupies and his cocky attitude make Lane believe he isn’t the same guy she once loved—now he seems to only want her body. Then after Lane discloses she needs him to procure a job, Noel proves he’s a changed man by forcing her to go on the road with him in order to get it.
After Lane reluctantly takes Noel up on his offer, she becomes willing to do whatever it takes to keep him satisfied, even if it means succumbing to his seductive ways. Lane soon finds deception is a dangerous game and she’s not the only one playing.
Kim's Rating:
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Kim's Review:
"You're my heart Lane. You're my everything."
"I'll do anything you want to make this happen between us, including give you time because I can't lose you again. It hurts too f**king much."
It was a good first effort for Michelle A. Valentine. The 2nd book in the series will be Rock My Bed and I will probably continue the series to see where she goes with it.
I
had been really looking forward to this book. I love rock star books
and this one sounded like a really good story. The cover art is done
very well and really helps sell the book. So I bought it as soon as it
was released(early!).
I
had really high hopes. Maybe too high. Although there was really
nothing extremely wrong with it, it just was not a very intense read.
She tried to make it emotional. You could tell they really loved each
other and should be together, but things happened so fast. One minute he
is hating her, the next he is wanting to keep her with him forever.
Noel is supposed to the Hot Rock Sex God at 22 years old.
It should be against the law for someone to be so hot and sweet. It's definitely an instant panty wetting situation.
"This next song goes out to the girl who shredded my heart without hesitation back in high school. It's called "Ball Busting Bitch," and Lanie, this one's for you."
"This next song goes out to the girl who shredded my heart without hesitation back in high school. It's called "Ball Busting Bitch," and Lanie, this one's for you."
But
he is also the sweet one in the relationship who cannot let go of their
past or an idea of a future. He loses his rocker edge really fast and
spends a lot of the book either begging or apologizing to her.
"Just stop, okay. You're ripping my heart out and you don't even know it."
"You're my heart Lane. You're my everything."
"I'll do anything you want to make this happen between us, including give you time because I can't lose you again. It hurts too f**king much."
Noel
had so many mood swings and was quite erratic. He could go from sweet,
jealous, and childish in no time. Lanie just really had no back bone.
She kept saying she was going to be professional, but lasted about 5
minutes. She was either doing exactly what she said she was not going to
do or running from him the entire book. She finally did stand up for
herself towards the end atleast. Even the big drama was not enough to
get me that emotionally invested.
Noel: "Why do you always fight against the inevitable? You've always made things so difficult."
Their
chemistry was good and had some good love scenes. It is labeled erotic,
but compared to other books in this genre, this is not that erotic. In
general, the story was just missing a little something.
Her casting on her her blog was
pretty spot on and I can see where she drew her inspiration for Noel
and the band. The other band members were likable and fun additions to
the story. Riff is outrageous and supposed to be a real player, but she
also showed his sweet side with Lanie and with Lanie's friend Aubrey.
The twins Trip and Tyke were also really into the rock star groupie
scene, but were also nice guys.
Honestly, I have seen similar stories and it is hard not to compare the books. But if
you like stories about rock bands, it is an easy read and sweet
couple. I did like it... even if I did not squeee with excitement over it. It
could have just used a little more rocker edge and angst. I do have to
admit that even though the end seemed to resolve pretty fast, I get
warm fuzzies thinking about the last song and it was a little swoon
worthy.
It was a good first effort for Michelle A. Valentine. The 2nd book in the series will be Rock My Bed and I will probably continue the series to see where she goes with it.
Tammy's Rating:
3 out of 5 Stars
Tammy's Review:
Sorry if this is kinda wordy....
My friend and I bought this book together the other day and she actually read it before me. She wanted me to hurry up and read it so she could hear my thoughts on it. She thought it was a so so read for her compared to some of the other rock band stories she has currently read. The truth is I am MUCH harsher with books then she is so I was nervous to read this after some of the things she talked about. I have a certain type of bad boy I like and certain qualities in these bad boys will honestly piss me off to no end making me not like the book very much. So I had a dilemma on my hands. I had to try and go into Michelle's book with a clear open mind, because from what my friend said this guy was gonna, fail for me.
Ok, so here are my honest thoughts.....
Rock the Heart was a quick easy read that I thought had just the right amount of drama for the size book it was. I would however not term it Erotic Romance, nowhere close but then take into consideration I am a chick who enjoys BDSM so to me this would be Young/New Adult. Now there is nothing wrong with that as I really enjoy that type of story too, but I went into this story expecting some erotic scenes from a hot tatted bad boy rocker. I think you know where I am going with this. So I was a little disappointed to find that the sex scenes were not what I was expecting, but were perfectly fitted for a NA/YA series. I did enjoy RTH.
This story seemed to move really fast, I had to remind myself that they were high school loves, and that the story really wasn't fast for them. Now this is where I needed more Michelle. I needed you to move their getting back together a tad bit slower and be more descriptive here so we could feel their feelings. For them it seemed like forever, but for us readers it felt like instant love. This for me is a BIG NO NO. I can't get into books like this. I am sure it happens in real life, but for me I need something more. I need real feelings. I need to feel them falling back in love. Even if they have been in love their entire lives. Remember they were separated for 4 years and each had a life of their own. Now this is a personal thing, n0t anything the writer should change as others really enjoy books like this. I didn’t feel true chemistry until after the Dock scene, and mainly I felt it after the drama broke out. There was the pain and the love I was looking for the first half of the book. One thing I did really like, or that at least stayed with me through the book was the phone call Noel took where he was not arguing with someone. There was no other mention of it in the book, and I waited anxiously for the moment the shoe dropped and we found out that that call was all about. Good play Michelle, I totally couldn’t get that call out of my head.
Now here is the part I dread, breaking down my thoughts on the characters. This is where my harshness tends to come in, so please forgive me I in no way mean to offend. I liked the characters, but they left a lot to be desired about them.
Noel, let’s start with our bad boy. I was so excited to get to know him. He started out all badass. You meet him and he has had his heart trampled on by his true love from high school. When he sees Lane, again, he is quite the ass and seriously, who can blame him. Who says women should be the only ones who get to be angry and revengeful?
"This next song goes out to the girl who shredded my heart without hesitation back in high school. It's called "Ball Busting Bitch," and Lanie, this one's for you."
With a line like that how can you not love this guy and oh let’s not forget he is one hot badass fucking rocker! Huh, that bad ass stopped there. Yeah, right there. After that point Noel lost his edge. Seemed he was another male I was reading about who was a bit bipolar in his moods (I say this in no disrespect to those who suffer from this). Noel was either in love, jealous, angry, or groveling. All within seconds of each other. He would start to show his sharper edge and then his man card was taken away and he would be groveling, begging, and apologizing every other page.
Seriously badass rocker dude, you don’t need to beg your woman or apologize for that matter when you are not in the wrong every single time. Us girls get it and will eventually realize that we were the one who did wrong that time and apologize to you. Give us some time to see it.
Props though to Michelle for making Noel show his tears when he was upset or sad. Nothing sexier than a man not afraid to show his vulnerable side. Also, nothing sexier than a man who knows what the hell he wants and goes for it, doing whatever it takes to get it. Noel had some great qualities but the groveling every other page wasn’t one of them. Why should anyone have to apologize that much when it wasn’t totally their fault. I also loved that Noel held onto his love for her, she was his true love. Even at 22 he knew what he had with her was something he wasn’t willing to give up a second time.
Lanie, now there is a chick I wanted to slap hard. I am much harsher on my heroines. Not sure why just am. Chalk it up to me being a woman too and I expect more from them. Girl, you pissed me off to no end. You broke his heart 4 years ago because you said he would put his music before you. Why did he need to give up his dreams, but you didn’t have to sacrifice any of yours? Not to mention many other times during the story that you wanted him to put you first before everything else. Wrong chick, love is a give and take works both ways. You are damn lucky that man still loves you! He apologized to you over and over for things that weren’t even his fault and you should of actually been the one doing the begging, the apologizing. Let’s not forget the groveling. There was only one instance in that book where you deserved the apology and the begging he gave you and even then, instead of handling it like an intelligent adult you ran...hmmm something you did the entire book. What I hate the most about heroines, are the ones who run over and over and over again.
Ok with that being said, this was Michelle’s first book. Writing isn't easy and I would never want to try it. Plus unfortunately you can't please everyone and I am just one person. Did I regret the read? Nope I didn’t. Because there were some really great parts to it. I started to really enjoy the book after they met at the dock scene, the drama after that worked great for me and truly loved the ending. I also loved the secondary characters. I will read book 2 in the series. Can’t wait to find out who is featured in that story. I am hoping Riff! Who by the way was my favorite character.
3 out of 5 Stars
Tammy's Review:
Sorry if this is kinda wordy....
My friend and I bought this book together the other day and she actually read it before me. She wanted me to hurry up and read it so she could hear my thoughts on it. She thought it was a so so read for her compared to some of the other rock band stories she has currently read. The truth is I am MUCH harsher with books then she is so I was nervous to read this after some of the things she talked about. I have a certain type of bad boy I like and certain qualities in these bad boys will honestly piss me off to no end making me not like the book very much. So I had a dilemma on my hands. I had to try and go into Michelle's book with a clear open mind, because from what my friend said this guy was gonna, fail for me.
Ok, so here are my honest thoughts.....
Rock the Heart was a quick easy read that I thought had just the right amount of drama for the size book it was. I would however not term it Erotic Romance, nowhere close but then take into consideration I am a chick who enjoys BDSM so to me this would be Young/New Adult. Now there is nothing wrong with that as I really enjoy that type of story too, but I went into this story expecting some erotic scenes from a hot tatted bad boy rocker. I think you know where I am going with this. So I was a little disappointed to find that the sex scenes were not what I was expecting, but were perfectly fitted for a NA/YA series. I did enjoy RTH.
This story seemed to move really fast, I had to remind myself that they were high school loves, and that the story really wasn't fast for them. Now this is where I needed more Michelle. I needed you to move their getting back together a tad bit slower and be more descriptive here so we could feel their feelings. For them it seemed like forever, but for us readers it felt like instant love. This for me is a BIG NO NO. I can't get into books like this. I am sure it happens in real life, but for me I need something more. I need real feelings. I need to feel them falling back in love. Even if they have been in love their entire lives. Remember they were separated for 4 years and each had a life of their own. Now this is a personal thing, n0t anything the writer should change as others really enjoy books like this. I didn’t feel true chemistry until after the Dock scene, and mainly I felt it after the drama broke out. There was the pain and the love I was looking for the first half of the book. One thing I did really like, or that at least stayed with me through the book was the phone call Noel took where he was not arguing with someone. There was no other mention of it in the book, and I waited anxiously for the moment the shoe dropped and we found out that that call was all about. Good play Michelle, I totally couldn’t get that call out of my head.
Now here is the part I dread, breaking down my thoughts on the characters. This is where my harshness tends to come in, so please forgive me I in no way mean to offend. I liked the characters, but they left a lot to be desired about them.
Noel, let’s start with our bad boy. I was so excited to get to know him. He started out all badass. You meet him and he has had his heart trampled on by his true love from high school. When he sees Lane, again, he is quite the ass and seriously, who can blame him. Who says women should be the only ones who get to be angry and revengeful?
"This next song goes out to the girl who shredded my heart without hesitation back in high school. It's called "Ball Busting Bitch," and Lanie, this one's for you."
With a line like that how can you not love this guy and oh let’s not forget he is one hot badass fucking rocker! Huh, that bad ass stopped there. Yeah, right there. After that point Noel lost his edge. Seemed he was another male I was reading about who was a bit bipolar in his moods (I say this in no disrespect to those who suffer from this). Noel was either in love, jealous, angry, or groveling. All within seconds of each other. He would start to show his sharper edge and then his man card was taken away and he would be groveling, begging, and apologizing every other page.
Seriously badass rocker dude, you don’t need to beg your woman or apologize for that matter when you are not in the wrong every single time. Us girls get it and will eventually realize that we were the one who did wrong that time and apologize to you. Give us some time to see it.
Props though to Michelle for making Noel show his tears when he was upset or sad. Nothing sexier than a man not afraid to show his vulnerable side. Also, nothing sexier than a man who knows what the hell he wants and goes for it, doing whatever it takes to get it. Noel had some great qualities but the groveling every other page wasn’t one of them. Why should anyone have to apologize that much when it wasn’t totally their fault. I also loved that Noel held onto his love for her, she was his true love. Even at 22 he knew what he had with her was something he wasn’t willing to give up a second time.
Lanie, now there is a chick I wanted to slap hard. I am much harsher on my heroines. Not sure why just am. Chalk it up to me being a woman too and I expect more from them. Girl, you pissed me off to no end. You broke his heart 4 years ago because you said he would put his music before you. Why did he need to give up his dreams, but you didn’t have to sacrifice any of yours? Not to mention many other times during the story that you wanted him to put you first before everything else. Wrong chick, love is a give and take works both ways. You are damn lucky that man still loves you! He apologized to you over and over for things that weren’t even his fault and you should of actually been the one doing the begging, the apologizing. Let’s not forget the groveling. There was only one instance in that book where you deserved the apology and the begging he gave you and even then, instead of handling it like an intelligent adult you ran...hmmm something you did the entire book. What I hate the most about heroines, are the ones who run over and over and over again.
Ok with that being said, this was Michelle’s first book. Writing isn't easy and I would never want to try it. Plus unfortunately you can't please everyone and I am just one person. Did I regret the read? Nope I didn’t. Because there were some really great parts to it. I started to really enjoy the book after they met at the dock scene, the drama after that worked great for me and truly loved the ending. I also loved the secondary characters. I will read book 2 in the series. Can’t wait to find out who is featured in that story. I am hoping Riff! Who by the way was my favorite character.
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