Twenty year old, Allison Slater has been in love with her brother’s bandmate, Rhys McGowan, since she was fifteen years old. But to him, she’ll always be Jake’s little sister and off limits. Now a college sophomore and licking her wounds from a bad breakup, she sets her sights on making Rhys see her as someone he could date…maybe even love. Her opportunity comes when Rhys visits his parents in Savannah where she is attending college. But the night she’s dreamed of turns to heart-break, and she realizes she’ll never be the one for Rhys. 

For Rhys McGowan, his nightmare began when he woke up, naked and hung-over, next to his best friend's little sister. Unable to remember a thing from the previous night, he only makes matters worse by lying to Allison about not being interested in her. The truth is he’s spent the last year trying to ignore his body’s reaction whenever Allison is around. His resolve is tested when Allison comes on tour with Runaway Train, as both Jake and Abby’s nanny and to fulfill her fashion design internship. The more time he spends with her in the close quarters of the bus, the harder it is for him to resist. 

Will Rhys realize that having a relationship with Allison is worth fighting for even if it means that he has to fight his best friend for a chance?

This was one of those books that seemed to be rolling along nicely, with a couple growing closer together, and their relationship developing smoothly. But man, when things started going wrong, they went really wrong. 

Allison has loved Rhys McGowan since she was 13 years old. As one of her brother’s best friends, Rhys was around a lot, though Allison knew he would never notice her as anything other than Jake’s baby sister. When she’s all grown up and Rhys starts hanging out with her in Savannah, she begins to hope that he is finally seeing her for herself rather than as Jake’s sister. 

Rhys is blindsided by his feelings for Allison, his best friend’s sister. The one girl in his life who is supposed to be off limits, because Jake would flip if he learned what Rhys thought of his sister. In trying to avoid Jake’s wrath, he ends up hurting Allison and himself worse than he could have imagined. And now she’s on tour with the band and he is faced with the pain he caused her on a daily basis. 

These two were a lot of fun to watch while they were in Savannah. Allison knew Rhys was the man she wanted in her life, but convincing him that he was right for her was certainly a challenge. Watching them circle each other once on tour together was painful as Rhys tried to distance himself from Allison and Allison tried to ignore Rhys’s comments. But for all the hurt they were each feeling, I was caught giggling several times at how it seemed everyone except Jake could see Allison and Rhys circling each other. 

References to Rhys’s parents had been made in other Runaway Train books, but it wasn’t until this one that we see exactly what everyone means when they talk about them. And it was not difficult to be appalled by them, for all their high society class, behind closed doors they were less than sparkling. We also briefly meet Rhys’s sister and learn exactly why he is so protective of her. The connection between them was the perfect evidence for Allison to use later when convincing Rhys that he was worth it. 

As the final Runaway Train boy to fall, Rhys needed a special woman to catch his attention. But what he didn’t anticipate was it happening so quickly, or who it would be that caught his eye. This was the perfect story for both Allison and Rhys. The alternating POV gave readers great insight into the thoughts, hopes, and hurts of each as the scene warranted without keeping too many secrets from us as readers. 

Now that all 4 members of the band have met their matches, the only thing I’m waiting for in Runaway Train news is the backstory that is coming in Melody of the Heart (Brayden and Lily’s story). 

Music of Heart (Runaway Train#1)

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Our 5 star reviews

For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?

AJ never imagined that after two weeks of the best sex and female companionship he’d ever experienced, he would need rescued by his band mates from his shower prison. Although he tries to forget the sensual brunette whose curves made his mouth water, AJ can’t get her out of his mind…or his heart. Months later when he finally seeks Mia for answers as to why she left, nothing could prepare him for their life-altering reunion.

Melody of the Soul (Runaway Train #3.5)
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Expected July 2014

As Rolling Stone magazine prepares an issue on successful rock star marriages, they sit down with Brayden and Lily Vanderburg. After all, the two have been a couple since they were fifteen years old. But there is more to the story than meets the eye, and their love took a slight detour before finding happily ever after. 
Told in flashbacks from the present to the past, Brayden and Lily share the story of their unbreakable love. 

Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs and one outnumbered cat. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.

She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.