Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

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One of the best things about running a blog is getting to read books before release day, and we follow a lot of authors so we keep up with who's working on what. So, one day Nalini Singh tweeted that her new contemporary romance, Rock Addiction, was available from NetGalley, and we were all over that!

 It's quite a departure from her usual urban fantasy fare, her Guild Hunter series and Psy-Changeling series. I generally prefer UF/PNR to straight romance but I do enjoy a good love story from time to time, so I downloaded Rock Addiction and jumped into Nalini Singh's new rock-and-roll world.

 What did I think of Rock Addiction? Would I recommend it to you, Saucy Readers? Click through to find out.



  
A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…
Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.
A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…
Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…
~~From Goodreads


Rock Addiction is a solid first-in-series, and I LOVE that Nalini Singh is trying something completely different from what has been successful for her. Major props for taking a chance! I am sure that many readers will love this book to pieces, although it does have a few of the things that I dislike in my romances, but that didn't keep me from turning pages. I finished it in just a couple of days, which is always how I know I've enjoyed a book.

The female protagonist turned out to be tough and smart, and winning combination, and the male protagonist was sinfully sexy. The problems felt real, although some of the baggage was addressed repeatedly. We revisit and rehash Molly's issues that made her so closed off and frightened of the world, many, many times. I could have done with a little less harping about
her past and a little more living in the present. Fox's issues are explored and addressed, but not ad nauseum like Molly's, which is probably because we have Molly's POV through most of the book. The sex was so-hot-I-forgot-how-to-spell hawt. And there was a lot of it. Never a bad thing. 


 
 I have to mention the things in the book that fall into my Literary No-Nos list. There were several things that made me roll my eyes very hard, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the book. First of all the relationship that develops is based on insta-attraction. I think it's pretty well done, with great chemistry, but I'm not a fan of love-at-first-sight. Secondly, the 20-something heroine is a virgin and only tells the hero at the last second. Why? Why is this a thing? Do people actually do this, because I just don't get it. Then, both of the main characters were irrationally possessive of the other, stopping just shy of peeing on each other to mark their territory. And the unfounded jealousy was a bit ridiculous as well, but, again, I just don't get jealousy in a relationship built on trust, so that doesn't work for me in a narrative. I know that many readers don't mind any of these issues in their romances, and it's personal taste that makes me avoid stories with these issues. Like I said, I really enjoyed the story in spite of my issues.

Despite breaking several of my romance rules, I found Rock Addiction an enjoyable read, that I would recommend to readers who love devilishly sexy rock stars and don't mind a little eye-rolling with your romance. I'm interested in learning more about the band members and seeing everyone happily paired off, so I'm sure I'll read future installments. All in all a fun read.

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