Title: Heart of Rock
Author: Karen Gerrard
Published: June 2012, Silver Publishing
Format: Ebook provided by author for review
Irishman Brogan Byrne is at the pinnacle of rock music success in 1974. Handsome, charismatic, with a three-octave voice, you’d think he had it all. But Byrne sinks to new depths of depravity with women, liquor, and drugs.
Carly Montgomery is an ambitious record executive offered an opportunity to be manager for the last leg of Byrne's tour. Though she's detached and tough as nails, Carly's cool facade comes under attack. Somehow Byrne manages to slip by her frosty defenses.
Brogan, for his part, is broken inside. A memory weighs on his soul and affects his actions. Is Carly the one woman to help him forget his guilt and heal his heart of rock?
CONTENT ADVISORY: This title contains MF, FMF, and MFF sexual situations.
This story begins with a prologue in Belfast 1970 with the main character, Brogan, and his girlfriend out walking after a night on the town. Without giving anything away, this prologue really sets the scene for why Brogan is the way he is. It’s very vivid and heartbreaking.
Jump forward to 1974 and Brogan is a class A jerk, and that’s being nice about it. He’s rude, condescending, pompous, abusive, and an addict on top of it all. He’s screwing up his life, and that’s why Carly is pretty much assigned to be his new manager. She’s got to keep him on track to finish the tour without self destructing and taking the whole band and tour down with him.
I have to be honest. I don’t love Brogan. I don’t even really like him. I love his hair, which is perfect on the cover to his description in the book. And there are times that his cockey responses are amusing. But as a person? Nope, he is definitely not on my list. However– I can totally understand why and I have complete empathy for this man. It’s really terrific that Karyn Gerrard has been able to create a character that you can completely dislike, and still care for him at the same time. I don’t know how she does it, but she did it well.
And then there is Carly. I like her. She is tough and funky. Under the red and black hair, the makeup, and the tough girl exterior is an actual real person. I would have liked to get to know her a bit more in depth, as there were some hints to her past. I think she is intriguing. When these two come together, despite the odds against them, there is passion.
Overall I enjoyed this story. I wish there was a little bit more to it, or maybe a sequel? I like these characters and I would look forward to getting to know them a bit more, or seeing what happens next. I know there are some fans of rock and roll romances, and I think this would be a big hit with them. There are some sensitive subjects touched on here, and I think they really bring an edgy, raw quality to the story. I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a quick read.
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Karyn Gerrard News:
Karyn has3 upcoming releases this fall and just signed another contract with Decadent!
- The Hero Sandwich, an M/F, F/M/F written with Gayl Taylor comes out November 9th with Breathless Press.
- Knight of Christmas, a Victorian era holiday historical comes out November 24 with Silver Publishing.
- The Blind Cupid, a historical/light BDSM/erotic romance short story is coming in December with Decadent Publishing's The Edge line
- And she also just signed a contract with Decadent for My Highlander Cover Model~coming soon!
Previous Posts About Karyn and her books!
