Blogging by Liza: ROCK REDEMPTION (ROCK KISS #3)

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

Release Date: October 6, 2015

Rock Kiss #3

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza’s Review:

I’m a huge fan of Nalini Singh and devour her books as soon as they hit my kindle. I’ve adored all the books in the Rock Kiss series and was super excited to get a chance to read Rock Redemption early.

There has always been something special between Kit and all the members of Schoolboy Choir, but there was always something extra special between Kit and Noah. In fact, I’ve wanted Kit and Noah together since we first met them, but Noah managed to sabotage his chances with Kit rather than share his darkest secret from his past. Luckily for Noah, even though he broke Kit’s heart, she still cares enough to make sure he doesn’t destroy his life.

I love that Kit has no problems giving Noah hell for risking his life and yet she still just wanted to hold on to him to keep him safe. I loved watching them slowly reconnect and become best friends again. I especially loved when they had to start pretending to date to help Kit’s career and could tell they both loved being together. Kit and Noah had the best chemistry and I absolutely loved the connection they had to one another. While they shared a steamy passion for one another, I really loved the tender times between them even more.

Of course with the secret from Noah’s past and Kit having a stalker, it wasn’t an easy road for them to be together. I had a pretty good idea early on what Noah’s secret might have been, but have to say I had my heart ripped out as he told Kit the story. First I wanted to kick both his parent’s asses for how they treated him after the truth came out, and then I just wanted to give Noah a hug. With Kit’s stalker, I love the build up and the misdirection throughout the story. I figured out the identity of the stalker, but not the reason behind it.

I really enjoyed Rock Redemption even though I cried like a baby while reading parts of it. I do wish Noah had shared his past sooner with Kit, but based on how his parents had treated him, I understood his fear of sharing with anyone. Rock Redemption is a beautiful romance that will pull every single emotion out of the reader.

Nikki’s Review:

Getting my hands on this book is like when my 10 year old gets a new video game! I may have done a totally cool and awesome "mom dance" in my living room. Said 10 year old ran for the hills huffing in embarrassment. I have adored this series from the first book. But if I'm being honest, I struggled a wee bit with this one. But I still loved it! Does that make sense?

Kit is hopelessly in love with bad boy rock god, Noah St. John. But he isn't good for her...at all. Noah devastates her and breaks her heart before they ever have a chance of being anything more than friends. So she walks away. Away from the friendship that means everything to both of them, and away from the constant reminder that Noah doesn't want anything more than said friendship.

When the shit hits the fan and Noah is in an awful place, he reaches out to the one person who can soothe his tormented soul. And Kit goes running because, how can she not? Even though he hurt her, she loves him still. Noah has been destroyed by a horrific time in his childhood. He uses sex with groupies as a way to block out those memories and find just a moments peace. He's not willing to drag Kit into that mess. He cares too much for her. So pushing her away is the only thing he can think to do.

This story was raw. It was heavy and sometimes difficult to read. I wanted so badly to see Noah's anguish taken away. But I also wanted to smack him. His constant push and pull with Kit was absolutely awful. The poor woman was his doormat and emotional punching bag. I'm not sure I could have been as steadfast, as Kit. I'm pretty sure I would have slapped his pretty face 100 times over and moved the hell on! I also admired her strength. She didn't just walk away and write Noah off as too difficult. She stood by him and hurdled herself over his enormous walls. As much as I hated watching her get stomped on, I was proud of her loyalty and devotion to the man she loves. We should all be so lucky as to have someone in our corner who's willing to go the distance.

This wasn't an easy love story. These two fought so hard to find a small measure of peace. Sometimes it made tears burn the backs of my eyes. I couldn't put it down. It's been a while since I've found a book that has made me want to forget life and keep turning the pages. At times I wanted to throw my reader across the room though. I was so incredibly irritated with how long it took Noah to finally be honest with Kit. I felt that part was dragged out too much. I know the reasons for his pain are awful, but it started to get a little repetitive with her begging him to share his story. I think that his unwillingness to be more open really hindered the intimacy between them. The love scenes didn't happen until about 80% of the way through. I know it had to happen this way. It was better for them both but it wasn't until Kit was privy to Noah's story, that I finally felt their true and intimate connection.

I loved visiting with the band members and other supporting characters. I can hardly wait for Abe's book! I'm imagining a good ugly cry for his book. The dialogue in this novel was brilliant. I felt as though I was standing in the room listening in on the conversations. The story was so incredibly solid. I was rocked to my core with the realness of the situation. It was clear that money doesn't always make life easy. That you can be vulnerable and drowning without a way to scream for help. Nalini Singh pulled this heartbreaking story together so completely. I devoured it. I needed to see these two find their way to the surface. They became important to me. By the end of the book, Kit and Noah got their happily ever after, but you walked away knowing that life would still throw them some curve balls. That Noah would still retreat to a dark place at times. But what made it easy for me to let go of the worry, was that Kit would always be there to bring him back into the light.