Rough Rhythm releases tomorrow!
Synopsis:
God help the woman I take home tonight.
Band manager James Brandon never expected to find the elusive satisfaction he’d been chasing, let alone stumble upon it in some sleezy Hollywood meat market. Yet the girl’s quiet pride spoke to him from across the bar, louder than a shout. Troubled, hungry and homeless, she’d placed her trust in him. But after losing the grip on his dark desires that one fateful night, James has spent the last four years atoning for letting her down.
This time I’ll finally crack him.
Rock band drummer Lita Regina has had enough of James’s guilt. She wants the explosive man she met that night in Hollywood. The man who held nothing back and took no prisoners—save Lita. And she’ll stop at nothing to revive him. Even if it means throwing herself into peril at every turn, just to get a reaction from her stoic manager. But when Lita takes her quest one step too far, James disappears from her life, thinking his absence will keep her safe.
Now it’s up to Lita to bring James back…and ignite an inferno of passion in the process.
Reader Advisory: ROUGH RHYTHM contains fantasies of nonconsensual sex, acted upon by consenting characters. Readers with sensitivity to portrayals of nonconsensual sex should be advised.
My review:
Rough Rhythm is the 5th novella in the 1,001 Dark Nights 2016 lineup and is also part of Tessa Bailey’s Made in Jersey series, a series I already adore. I am a huge fan of Ms. Bailey’s and am always excited when she has a new release. After reading this story, I’m once again reminded just how much I love her writing…it was incredible.
Drummer Lita Regina and her band’s manager James Brandon have had quite the interesting and precarious relationship. They have been in each other’s lives after meeting years earlier in a unique and somewhat desperate situation. Ever since that night, things have been a push and pull between them and, at times, reaches a fevered pitch…mainly because neither one of them can forget what happened that first night. Of course, it was for very different reasons. James was trying to ignore what happened and keep Lita at arm’s length while Lita doesn’t want to forget it but, in fact, repeat it. Their emotions run high and are beyond intense. They will only be able to keep up this dance for so long before their feelings consume them both and history repeats itself…only this time it’ll be for keeps.
I don’t even know where to start in telling you all what I loved most about this novella. With each book Ms. Bailey writes she pushes herself farther as an author and I appreciate it beyond measure. James and Lita’s story was highly intense and beyond sexy, hot, and passionate. I loved the push and pull between them and how emotional things have become. Where this story picks up is pretty much at the breaking point in their relationship. James has dark desires he doesn’t want to admit to and he broke my heart when it came to his denying himself the comfort he once found in Lita. On the other hand we have Lita, who is equally confused when it comes to her yearning for what James once gave her. Her determination in getting James back into her life and into a romantic relationship had me wanting to stand up and cheer while I was reading. I love when a heroine goes after what she wants even if it scares her and there’s uncertainty lurking beneath the surface. She knew deep down the risk was worth it and not taking the chance with James would be a choice she would forever regret. Together they are so damn hot and I couldn’t stop reading once I began. This was certainly a roller coaster ride of emotion and had one of the best endings! Loved it all from start to finish.
Whether you’re already a fan of Tessa Bailey and her alpha males and spectacular heroines or this is your first taste, I know this will be a book you won’t soon forget. Thank you, Ms. Bailey, for another fan-freaking-smoking-tastic read!
Five Loves
Book links:
About the author:
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention. She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
Visit Tessa Bailey’s website