Summary
Tate Gordon is the lead singer of Saving Tate, the hottest new rock band in Seattle. Having been mentored by music legends, Berrettini, for several years, the group are about to head out on their first world tour. Tate’s excited, but he’s struggling at the same time with the secrets he’s been keeping. His friends don’t know the truth about his youth or the confusion running through his head. Will Tate’s past destroy everything the group have been working for when his past returns in a chance encounter?
Zoey Danson is a hot commodity in the record industry, and her boss wants her to travel with one of his top clients, Saving Tate, as they embark on their world tour. She’s not entirely sure about being stuck on a tour bus with four famously horny men but mounting debts, thanks to her deadbeat mother, mean she doesn’t have a choice.
When Zoey ascends the steps of the tour bus, looking hot and carrying a clip board with a full itinerary, sparks instantly fly between her and Tate. Can these two keep it professional, or will their instant attraction lead to an explosive disaster no one could have foreseen?
Excerpt
I finish tidying up after the guys leave. We’ve been practicing hard recently as we’ve got our first performance in a few days. The gig is nothing special. I’m only fifteen, for Godsake. It’s not like I can perform in clubs yet. We’re the supporting act at a concert being held in school to raise money for new sports facilities. It’s slightly ironic as Liam, Cameron, Austin, and I are never likely to be found on the sports field. We’re not jocks. We’re the weird kids working on our band, day and night, dressed in ripped jeans and t-shirts printed with logos of the groups we’ve managed to see in concert. Today I’m in my Iron Maiden t-shirt. It’s one of my favorites but the black has seen better days—it’s faded to a gray color.
I tuck my Les Paul Studio 2016 into its bag. It’s not the Les Paul Standard 1959 that I want to own eventually, but I’m lucky my parents are rich enough to afford a good guitar for me. It was their present to me this year for my fifteenth birthday. It was the first time my dad realized I wasn’t going to join him in the future, working as an accountant. I was destined for other things. So he embraced my career choice, soundproofed the garage, and bought me the guitar. I don’t play it all the time. I’m the lead singer of our band, Saving Tate. Why I need saving, I’m not entirely sure, but I’ll go with it because it’s a cool name. When my voice broke, I developed a deep and raspy tone that fits perfectly with the songs we play. Hopefully, we’ll get discovered one day and make it big. Until then, it’ll be performances in school halls.
Finally everything’s put away, and I head back into the house. Needing a drink, I open the fridge and down a whole carton of milk. My parents are out at a society function tonight—my mother is big on the scene—and they’ve left my sister in charge of me. Heidi is five years my senior. She’s a bit of a disappointment to my parents because she left school with very few qualifications and hasn’t been able to hold down a job for longer than a few months ever since. She came home the other week with a new job, stripping is very lucrative apparently. My parents threw her out of the house, but evidently, she’s sensible enough to be allowed back to babysit me. I’m fifteen—I think I can look after myself better than my sister can. Heidi and I used to get on really well when we were younger. She mothered me until she turned sixteen and discovered boys and God knows what else. Since then, we fight constantly. I really do love my sister, but it’s been bliss with her not being in the house recently.
Placing the empty milk carton into the trash, I make my way through the silent house.
“Heidi.” I call out. There’s no reply…so much for looking after me. I bet she’s snuck out to see one of her deadbeat boyfriends. “Heidi.” I call again. “Fuck’s sake.”
Cursing, I stomp up the stairs, faint music is coming from what used to be her bedroom. She stripped it bare when she left. I’ve moved my desk in there now and have been using it as a writing room. I’m determined to make the band a success, and I need a place to concentrate.
“Heidi, you better not be reading what I’ve written.”
I shove open the door—it ricochets off the wall and almost comes flying back at me. When I look in the room, I see Heidi slumped down in the comfortable chair I’ve brought in here. Her eyes are closed, and she looks like she’s sleeping.
Review
(audiobook) I felt the writing wasn’t good enough to reconcile the very basic romance that wouldn’t exist without instalove–they barely speak to each other before they decide they’re it for each other–and the heavier topics that are treated with respect.
It might seem a bit too convenient, but both main characters experience the tragedy of a loved one’s addiction, and the consequences. While her mother’s addiction makes Zoey’s life miserable, and forces her to accept an odd job–following a rock band closely during a tour–the death of his sister because of her addiction had a huge impact on Tate’s life and somehow lead to the creation of his band.
Most of this plot element revolves around Zoey and Tate learning to deal with those tragedies, in very different ways. And besides the romance, it’s the most important element. It defines the characters–the way Zoey manages her mother says a lot about her strength and resilience, and the decisions Tate makes because of his sister’s death redefine who he is as a celebrity. I really enjoyed this part of the story.
The romance, not so much. Tate forgets his playboy ways as soon as he sees Zoey–yeah right. And then, he doesn’t have to do much before the inexperienced Zoey falls into bed with him. A minute later, they swear they’ll love each other forever. Okay, maybe I exagerate, but it isn’t far off. I couldn’t buy it, to be honest.
Not the case for the other characters, though. It seemed like Tate’s whole band guessed his feelings for Zoey right away. As for the characters themselves, I wasn’t impressed. They weren’t shown in a favorable light, what with having orgies in front of Zoey and not caring much about people. The fact that they follow Tate in his generous endeavours barely redeems them.
The narration wasn’t bad, though I wasn’t a fan of the voices the narrators did for the opposite sex. But they conveyed the feelings quite well, and offered a little something more to a just decent book.
Quickie
- Series: Saving Tate #1 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #rockstar romance #celebrity romance #forbidden romance #workplace romance
- Triggers: addiction, drug abuse, death, suicide attempt
- Main couple: Zoey Danson & Tate Gordon
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + I loved the talk about celebrities’ responsibilities
- – way too instalove for me
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