Review: Fame (The Addiction Series #2) by Meghan Quinn

Synopsis

The moment you think everything is perfect in your life, it can all come tumbling down on top of you.

Shattered Souls hasn’t seen each other in months. Deception and ghosts from the past have torn them apart, leading them their separate ways. When they realize they need to solve their differences and get back together for the sake of the band, they can’t find their lead singer, Rook Tyler, who’s been missing for months.

Twisted Perfection is just coming off the high of yet another tour but this time, they weren’t riding the coat tails of Shattered Souls. Even though they’ve become more popular, all of the success from the last tour means nothing to Maisy as she continues to struggle daily from the loss of Rook.

Fame finds both of the bands but sometimes, it can be lonely at the top. Both bands realize if they want to succeed, they have to drop their differences and join together, but it’s never that easy. Lovers, drugs, people’s pasts and death get in the way, while they try to travel down the bumpy road toward fame.

My Review

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Warning: This review may be a bit spoilery so read at your own risk. 

When Meghan Quinn writes, I imagine that she sits there typing and twirling her imaginary mustache. And then when she finishes a book, she laughs. A very evil laugh. No, really. Have you read her books? Good lord, she loves to throw unexpected plot twists at her readers.  

It's six months after the end of Toxic and things are not going well for guys of Shattered Souls. Rook has disappeared and Landon and Grey are not speaking. Cruz keeps trying to find Rook, but all of his attempts are coming up empty. They haven't been together in months and it doesn't look like things are getting better anytime soon. 

Meanwhile the members of Twisted Perfection are coming off another successful tour. Maisy is dating someone else, but still isn't over Rook. Kaid is still acting as the glue holding the band together and Willow is enjoying her success, maybe a little too much. Although she is in a sex only relationship with Cruz, she is still harboring feelings for Grey, although she hasn't seen him in months. Then after a photo shoot, she hooks up with the photographer and he introduces her to cocaine. And it is all downhill from there. She somehow manages to hide the abuse from everyone, but they are all so wrapped up in their own dramas, hiding it is very easy. Willow definitely brought the drama in this book. She became such a bitch and I wanted to smack her upside the head so many times!  

Despite being apart for most of the book, we still get a little bit of the Rook and Maisy love story. He intentionally hurt Maisy as a way to protect her and is Rook punishing himself for that. Grey eventually tracks him down and finds him in a terrible state. He brings Rook home and when Raisy are reunited, it is not all sunshine and rainbows. They have a lot to work through and starting over as friends is how they are going to do it. But even after everything you can still feel the love between the two of them. I can't wait until they are together again. I love them together. 

“You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re independent, and you’re, hands down, the most amazingly gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. That day, the worst day of my life, there was a reason that all happened, and I’m going to make sure you know what went down, because I can’t live without you, Maisy. I just fucking can’t.”

With that, he leaned back in his chair as a lonely tear streamed down Maisy’s face. She could feel him starting to wear a hole in the wall she’d erected around her heart.

Eventually things start to calm down and it seems as though the bands are getting back on track. It looks like Kaid is finally going to get a lady friend for himself and Cruz is in a sort of real relationship (I stress the "sort of"). Maisy and Rook are on good terms and Grey and Landon have reconciled. But then BAM!! We not only get one plot twist, but TWO FREAKING PLOTS TWISTS. Two BOMBS that not only made me yell at my ereader, but also made me cry. I cried like a freaking baby. 

And cue Meghan Quinn.....

Now when do we get book 3?  

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00SXUQ3DW

Review: Toxic (The Addiction Series #1) by Meghan Quinn

Synopsis

“You’re an addiction I can’t overcome, no matter how hard I try.” – Rook Tyler

His life consists of his best friend, Jack Daniels, his favorite drug of choice and women. Rook Tyler lives for performing at night and wasting the rest of his days washing away the pain from his childhood so he doesn’t have to feel anything...ever. The only people he trusts are his band mates from Shattered Souls and he wants to keep it that way. His life was completely under control and simple until he heard the voice of Maisy Madison filter through The Tavern speakers. 

Growing up in the foster care system with her two other band mates from Twisted Perfection, Maisy finds herself doing pretty much anything to get her and her band noticed but nothing seems to be working. One lucky night, Shattered Souls, the most popular band in the country, decides to show up at their little concert and luckily signs them on the spot. But the arena venues and massive amount of fans isn’t what has Maisy shaking in her heels. It’s the deep baritone voice of Rook Tyler that has haunted her dreams for years which has her wondering if she can actually go through with the tour. 

The force is almost too strong. He can feel her everywhere he goes and no matter how much he tries to resist her, he finds himself gravitating towards Maisy, wanting to hold her, kiss her and touch her. He knows he shouldn’t get involved. He knows no matter what, he will end up hurting her but he can’t help it, his soul is connected to hers and the pull is too strong for him to resist. 

Rook warned her time and time again but she doesn’t listen, she doesn’t want to listen. She needs him and she doesn’t care that she knows deep down in her heart that their relationship is going to end in disaster.She refuses to acknowledge that no matter what they do, their love is toxic.

My Review

Free copy received in exchange for an honest review. 

Okay. Where do I start? In true Meghan Quinn fashion, this book has a lot going on. Yes, Rook & Maisy are the heart of this book, but their bandmates got a lot going on as well.

The band Shattered Souls is a chart topping group made up of two brothers, Landon and Grey, and their friends Cruz and Rook. There is also Quinn, Greys girlfriend, and the band's stylist. The five of them have know each other a long time and although they all come from different backgrounds, they are extremely close.

Then we have Twisted Perfection, consisting of Maisy, Willow and Kaid. The three of them grew up together in the foster care system and saw music as a way out. They have been struggling for years to make it and after a chance encounter with Shattered Souls, they find themselves going on tour as the opening band.

The minute Rook sees Maisy he is drawn to her. And he hates it. Rook doesn't like to feel. He'd much rather be drunk, high and numb to the world. And there was a reason Shattered Souls needed a new opening band and that reason was because Rook can't keep it in his pants. 

So when he meets Maisy, he starts to doubt everything about himself. The more he gets to know Maisy, the more he wants things with her. Things he has never wanted. The two are deeply connected and throughout the book Rook tries to explain it all to Maisy:

“I know I haven’t been that obvious, but there is something about you Maisy that my soul wants. Whenever I’m around you I want to be holding you, touching you, feeding off of you. My body craves yours and I’ve been a stupid ass to deny myself for this long. Well, I’m done. I want you, Maisy.” 

“Before she could protest and start a fight, he continued. “I don’t share, Maisy. I’m not good at being in a relationship. I've actually never been in one, so I most likely will fuck up more times than I make you happy, but I can’t stay away from you. I need you to be mine, but I’m warning you, if you decide to be with me, I’m not perfect and I will most likely hurt you. I’m fucked up in so many ways. I have issues and I’ll bring them into our relationship. You just can’t give up on me easily. If you’re willing to deal with that, then I want you to be with me.” 

"Rook told Maisy that whenever they were near each other he would be either holding her hand, touching her, or making some kind of skin contact. He needed the warmth for himself, but he also wanted anyone walking by to know that she was his, that was why he was still holding her hand, sending her that reassurance that he was there for her." 

“Never, not even possible, so stop thinking that way. When it does happen for us, it’s going to be so much more because we have a connection. We’re connected by our souls and no one can change that.” 

“None,”he responded. “Because I didn’t fuck you last night. We made love and I’ve never done that with another woman before. You were my first all-nighter, you were my first multiple times in a night and you were the first woman I’ve ever woken up next to. Sex before you was a release that I needed, it was never about connecting with someone like we connected last night. It was a meaningless act so my balls didn't fall off.”

It's all very intense, like these two were made for each other intense, soulmate intense. But both Rook and Maisy have a lot of demons in their past that come to the surface, so their relationship is not all sunshine and roses. They are constantly facing obstacles that puts their relationship to the test and the book ends on a major cliffhanger. One that had me crying and thanking God that I already had an ARC of the next book. Although I did have to take a day or two to recover...I was left with a massive book hangover.  

The other major storyline is the kind of love square between Grey, Quinn, Willow and Landon. Grey and Quinn have been a couple for a long time, but their relationship is starting to break. Quinn has her own health and self esteem issues and is all over the place. And Grey is attracted to Willow and is doing a really bad job of hiding it. Willow has had feeling for Grey before she even met him and those feeling only intensify once she actually spends some time with him. Meanwhile Landon has been harboring feelings for his brother's girlfriend from the moment he met her. It's all very dramatic. By the end of this book we have some sort or resolution, but you know that everything is far from over. 

Kaid and Cruz are just kind of hanging out in the background. Kaid is the one the girls can run to and confide in. He forms a nice bromance with Landon and it's cute. Cruz strikes up a friendship with Maisy that is never anything more than that, although it drives Rook crazy. He's the fun loving, sarcastic guy of the group and I spent most of the book hoping he would find himself a girl. By the end of the book he does, but it's not necessarily the one I would have chosen for him. 

Like I mentioned earlier, there is A LOT that happens in this book, but the author did a great job of keeping everything very clear. I look forward to reading the next book and seeing what happens next.  

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00I791PJQ