Claire’s ultimate teenage fantasy is about to walk right into her very grown up life…Music journalist Claire Abby is a single mom, dreading her daughter’s departure for college and worried that turning forty will leave her career running on fumes. It’s more than a lucky break when she lands a Rolling Stone interview with ‘80s British rock star Christopher Penman. Claire spent her teenage years fantasizing he was her boyfriend.
In person, Chris is everything Claire feared—sexy, charming, and frustrating. He’s not about to discuss the rumors he’s dodged for a decade. Still, she contains her adolescent fantasies and earns his trust, unearthing the truth and the heartbreaking secret behind it. His blockbuster story is her first priority when she returns home, a nearly impossible task when Christopher starts calling and flirting. There’s no denying his wit or his buttery British accent. And when she agrees to see him? It’s beyond anything her teenage brain ever imagined.
Reg. Kindle Price $3.99
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Bring Me Back
by Karen Booth
Series
Forever #1
Genre
Adult
Contemporary Romance
Publisher
Independent
Publication Date
March 12, 2016
Reg. Kindle Price $3.99
High School. Teenage crushes on the uber famous pop or rock star. For me it was the Beatles, but for Claire it was Christopher Penman of the rock group, Banks Forest. She was pretty obsessed, but then so was I and all my friends over the Beatles. So I related to this book, big time! All that being said, Claire is pushing forty now and Christopher is well over forty.
Claire is a rock journalist when she receives the dream of a lifetime to interview Chris for the cover of Rolling Stone. He’s got a new solo album coming out and Rolling Stone has the exclusive. This assignment for Claire could be a career maker for her, so she takes it very seriously. The posters that were all over her bedroom walls as a teen, are about to come to life for her and she is doing her best to try to compose herself when she first meets him in New York. Chris is doing his best to disarm her by doing everything, but sit still for an interview. Once she finally gets the interview and goes back home, she is shocked when Chris starts calling her-back in North Carolina. The phone calls begin a deep friendship between the two, but Claire must keep it as friends or risk her reputation and that of Rolling Stone, because how would it look if she was having a relationship with him while she was writing the tell all story about him? But of course, the best laid plans and all that…
Claire never married, but has a beloved barely seventeen year old(and still just a junior in high school)daughter named, Samantha. She also has a nosy father who still tries to tell her how to live her life. Chris had a disastrous first marriage to a drug addict. He’s always wanted a normal personal life and children. He sees that in Claire. Claire and Chris are both fairly complex characters and the author fully realized this for both. For awhile, I wasn’t really sure I was going to like Claire, because she is a bit uptight, but I did warm to her character and that coincided with her loosening up a bit. I did have some problems how she handles her daughter’s first sexual experiences. I think sometimes while it’s good to be a friend to a daughter, you still have to be the mom, the one with the level head. She does try, but in the end comes off a bit like a pushover in that area. But I digress. Chris, I liked from page one. He has issues and he tries to use Claire a bit in a way, but gets over that quickly. I didn’t blame him for that, as he has his reasons.
This ended up being a wonderfully written romance for me. Of course it’s not all hearts and flowers and there is strife here and there, but still I loved the whole thing and I am actually almost half way through book two, Back Forever, as I write this. This book is for any woman that had a rock star crush, and I know there are lots of us out there. I highly recommend it to adult romance readers. Adult due to sexual situations.
Reg. Kindle Price $3.99
The review copy of this book was purchased by the reviewer.
About Karen Booth
Karen Booth is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ’80s music, Judy Blume, and the films of John Hughes. Karen writes smart, steamy contemporary romance–big city love stories and rock star romances.
When Karen isn’t creating fictional hunky men, she’s listening to everything from Otis Redding to Duran Duran to Tokyo Police Club with her kids, honing her Southern cooking skills (she makes some mean collard greens), or sweet-talking her astoundingly supportive husband into whipping up a batch of cocktails.
Visit karenbooth.net for more information on Karen and her books. Sign up for her newsletter, which features regular giveaways, at bit.ly/kbnews.
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Woohoo! I’m so happy you gave Bring Me Back a chance and ended up loving Chris and Claire! <3 I really enjoyed their story (and the second book) as it was refreshing reading a book where the characters were my age – and I enjoyed the rock crush element. I can't decide who my biggest rock star crush was but my first one was Shawn Cassidy. 😉 I was a teen in the 80's though…so many to choose from! *ha* I do agree with you about Claire's handling of Samantha's first sexual experience. Since I have teen daughters, that was something I took issue with. Anyway, great review and I can't wait to see what you think of Back Forever. 😀
Oh, I had others besides the Beatles-Monkees, Herman’s Hermits, gosh I can’t even remember them all. I graduated in 1970 so my teens were way before yours. I loved the second book as well! These books made me happy 🙂 Glad you agreed with me about the daughter having sex(2 different guys in one week!!). Thanks Brandee!
I love that Claire and Chris’s relationship develops over the phone after Claire goes home! And that they are both older characters too! Helps us older readers relate!
These books really did deliver all the feels Naomi-and you are right, I like it when the characters are older at times 🙂