Blog Tour: Irresistible Refrain

Blurb:

Two years ago everything changed for the remaining members of the Seattle rock band Tempest.

Two years is a long time.

Too long to keep on remembering.

Not nearly long enough to forget.

In trouble with nowhere else to go songstress Lace Lowell seeks refuge with the band during their stop in New York City. It's a risky move for her because they are both there, two impossibly good looking men whose lives are inseparably entwined with hers. One who bruised her heart and one who smashed it into pieces.

Warren “War” Jinkins, the mercurial lead singer of Tempest, has always had a thing for Lace. But then again so does his best friend and band mate.

Bryan “Bullet” Jackson, the sinfully handsome tat-sleeved lead guitarist, has a bad boy reputation befitting his nickname. For the past two years Bullet’s had a rule with the groupies: one time, never twice, leave ‘em satisfied, but always leave ‘em.

Two guys, one woman, and a host of dark secrets all together within the tight confines of a tour bus as the group travels cross country.

Can the past be forgotten and buried?

Will friendships prevail?

Or will the three of them succumb to seductive impulses too addictive to resist?

** Irresistible Refrain is a gritty rock and roll tale intended for mature readers seventeen and up. Contains sexual situations, strong language, and drug use. **

 

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Teaser:

Bryan
I seriously contemplated telling her right then and there that she was the only woman that had ever been important to me when I heard the door slide open behind us.
“Guys it’s four fucking a.m.” Voice gruff with disapproval, War’s appearance brought our intimate predawn reunion to an end. Looking wan and strung out, the lead singer of Tempest shuffled into view wearing a pair of red boxers and scratched his bare chest. “Come on back to bed, babe.” He held out his hand to her while shooting me an irritated glance.
She patted my knee and I took the cue to scoot out of the booth ahead of her so she could exit.
War threw a proprietary arm around her shoulders as soon as her bare feet hit the floor. “Night, Loser.”
“Night, Asshole.”
War gave me the finger before he closed the door.

I stared at it for a long time. Nothing had fucking changed. Twenty thousand people screaming my name during my guitar solo at the Garden, plus two twins, but none of that mattered to me. Not when my best friend had the woman I’d always wanted.

Review:

3.5 out of 5 stars

We were asked to be part of the blog tour for the first book in the Tempest series by Michelle Mankin and even though I had never read her books before, I was excited to read this one based on the synopsis alone.  And the cover, I mean who doesn’t love the tatted guy?  Definitely hot, definitely worth reading!  I did receive an arc in return for my honest opinion, so lets get on with the reviewing!

I have a confession, I love rock stars, I love tattooed hotties, and I really love a good love triangle.  This story begins as a flash back to troubled teens Bryan Jackson and Warren Jinkins and some bad rebellious choices they made. You are also introduced to Lace Lowell who along with her brother Dizzy, grew up with Bryan and War.  There are many flashbacks and horrible pasts that the characters have to face. 

When you flash to the present War is the lead singer of Tempest the newest up and coming band.  Bryan is the lead guitar and Dizzy, Sager and King also fit in the band somewhere too.  They each have their own personality and I can’t wait to read more about them in this series.  This book is what I imagine a true rock band deals with on a daily basis.  I can just imagine Steven Tyler reminiscing about Aerosmith days with some similar stories.  Truly, it is the cliché sex, drugs and rock and roll.  (Though not necessarily in that order)  War is the typical lead singer who demands everything be done his way, all the time.  He continuously holds a past over Bryan’s head and basically pisses me off.  He is also a drug addict.  And he uses the drugs to almost control Lace.  I don’t think he means it as a control technique but I am not sure as an addict he would ever see it.  Bryan is really sweet, but he has issues too and allows War too much control for a time.  And poor Lace.  I really love her as a character.  You see her grow up in flash backs and see why she is the way she is. 

So, who will win in this love triangle?  War, Bryan or Lace?  Or will they all lose in the end?  Read this book and find out.  You won’t regret it. 

I am betting that this was a difficult book for the author to write.  It tackles the difficult subject of drug addiction.  At first when I was reading about the drug use, it made me cringe, but I know the reasons why she includes such graphic details and I applaude her for the courage to write about such a hard topic.  In fact, a portion of all her first day sales went to covenant house. They counsel and assist at risk teens like my heroine in the story. This is an excerpt from the mission statement on their website http://www.covenanthouse.org/ Homeless kids have rights. They have the right to a home ... the right to food ... the right to guidance and an education … the right to be free from sexual, emotional, or physical abuse ... and the right to be free from exploitation. These kids have the right to be safe and – most important – to be loved.  It makes that click on Amazon basically seem free for me. 

About the Author:

Michelle Mankin is a young/new adult romance writer as well as a self-proclaimed giant…inside her own mind.

For many years, she toiled in the insurance industry as an underwriter. Somehow, the boredom didn’t kill her, and the hours of looking at facts and figures provided ample time for her mind to wander.

Love Evolution, Love Revolution, and the latest novel, Love Resolution are rock ‘n roll romances. The first is based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the second on Much Ado About Nothing, and the third on The Tempest. The first three books in the Black Cat Records series combine the plot underpinnings of the famous playwright with the drama, excitement, and the indisputable sexiness of the rock ‘n roll industry.

When she is not putting her daydreams down on paper, you can find Michelle traveling the world with her family. Sometimes for real and sometimes just for pretend as she takes the children to school and back.

 

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