Customer Reviews

Rock Star (Indigo Love Spectrum)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the story of a good girl, an intelligent woman who was born and raised in a small southern town where everybody knows everybody. She's the owner of her own business and successful. She meets the quintessential bad boy rock star. The sparks begin to fly. The male character Bryan is one of the sexiest characters that I've ever read about. The heroine, Callie I didn't relate to very well. For a strong supposedly independent 29 year old woman, she had to get permission from her father to date this guy.

Still, this is a very good debut romance. The writing for this story is closer to a 5 and that is what saves it and makes it worth the read, but I gave it a four because of the strong racial currents in the story. The negative social commentary on the perceived trials of interracial dating detracted from the better story of the romance between Callie and Bryan. The heroine was supposed to be a strong savvy business woman but her character appeared at odds with herself because she was way too concerned with what other people thought. She came off as incapable of making an informed decision on her own (how such a person could survive and prosper in business becomes suspect). And too quick to deny her own happiness and that of the man she knows loves her all because of a few negative reactions by small minded ignorant individuals which included her father.

Both the heroine and her parents seemed to be more concerned about the color of Bryan's skin rather than the effect his famous lifestyle would have on their sheltered daughter. Bryan's life style was much more interesting and would have provided sufficient controversy as the central focus of the story instead of the racial conflict the author provides.

Over the years I have read a few IR romances and, I have recently started reading them again. After discovering this book on Amazon and seeing the great reviews it has received, I set out right away to get a copy. When I finally found a copy, I couldn't wait to tear into to it but when I finally did, I felt let down in a major way. Bryan and Callie as a couple had so much potential and I truly loved the idea that Callie was a black woman and not half black like a lot of books portray their lead characters but by the end of chapter 4, you are left wondering why you should even turn the page. In a way, I would've much preferred Bryan and Tonya as a couple because she seemed to have more of a spark that might have played off better against Bryan than the lackluster Callie. Bryan on the other hand seemed to have far too many issues going on to even consider being in a romantic relationship. If you truly want a great IR rockstar romance then I suggest you read CRUSH which came out around the same time as this one. Again, I really wanted to like this one...

I enjoyed reading this book, Callie and Bryan were likeable and the emotions were definitely up and down. Bryan was very clear that he wanted Callie from the moment he saw her and never made race an issue. Callie tried to deny that their relationship was anything more then friendship because she didn't want to deal with a relationship especially one that would bring too much attention to her.

Callie is from a small town in Alabama with a strong family bond and Bryan is a Rock Star based in LA without a typical family, which had Callie questioning his integrity and motives. Callie wasn't sure of how she would fit in Bryan's Rock Star World. She had concerns about how others would see their relationship and being the eldest child she wanted to set a good example for her younger sisters.

The couple's relationship was threatened when someone Bryan considered family betrayed him. Bryan and Callie had to figure out what they really wanted from each other and if she could live a life that would, at times, be public. Callie was the one most affected by the betrayal, so it was understandable that she had doubts about continuing her relationship with Bryan.

This book was a very good read, but I felt the story dragged a little at the beginning of the middle, which prevented me from giving it 5 stars. I am happy I continued reading because the story did pick-up. I also felt that Callie sometimes acted more like a 20 year old than a 29 year old because she, at times, came across as naive and overly concerned about pleasing others.

Well I must have read a different book. Based upon the reviews here and in the Interracial-Multicultural Romance Readers website, I bought Rock Star and I don't understand all the praise for this book. Believe me I had high hopes for it, but it just didn't hit the mark for me. It's odd, because I liked Bryan and the depth of his feelings for Callie (which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1), but I just did not enjoy the entire ride because I kept being nagged by the question of what did he see in Callie? She had no depth, no spunk, no real sense of self. As characters, they weren't equal. I couldn't even bring myself to care about the so called romance that was supposed to be blossoming between them. It's far from the worst I've read, but in all-good consciousness there's no way I could offer up the praises the way others have.

This was a really good story despite a few flaws and I cannot wait to read this author's next book.

This was a very good romance and the development of the relationship between Bryan- the white rock musician- and Callie- the black bookstore owner- was very realistic. Bryan was in the small Alabama town recovering from his grief over the death of a friend. Callie is the owner of a business in the town and they become friends and then fall in love despite their differences. As I said the romance development part of the story is realistic and the love scenes were HOT but there were a few flaws- in my humble opinion- that kept this from getting 5 stars.

I thought that the portrayal of her family and friends' opinions of the interracial relationship was realsistic. Some people were accepting and some were not. Some were downright hateful about it. This is what I would expect from this situation. However, I did not agree with some of the author's views regarding the interracial problems. One of the issues that the author brought up time and again was the idea that it would be a popular stereotypical belief that a black female would only be with a white male for the perks and benefits that he could give to her. I do not believe that this would be a major stereotypical issue in an interracial relationship and think that the problem would focus more on the sole fact that there is an interracial relationship. But this author is in an interracial relationship and I am not so maybe she has a better idea of the prejudice this faces than I do.

I also agree with some of the other reviewers about the over emphasis on race. A big part of the major problem in their relationship was his career as a rock star vs. her life in a small town. As a result of his profession, he is thrown into a completely different style of living than she is used to- travelling, drugs, groupies, paparazzi, etc. Yet, the author focused the problems on race rather than the major lifestyle differences. This problem is in fact barely mentioned even though it would have been a major issue even if both characters were the same race.

Another problem with the story was that the heroine was a 29 year old woman with an MBA who was still overly worried about what other people thought about their relationship. She did not act like a strong business woman who knew what she wanted consistently. She never stood up to her parents or anyone else regarding her man. She was a grown woman but did not always act like it.

One other thing that I am going to pick on about this story is that there was little physical interraction between the characters until they hooked up. The first kiss took a little too long to get to and then the second kiss took way too long after that and then the third was a while in coming but once they started, watch out. The book got hot. I was rooting for the characters the whole time and was dying for them to get together or st least show some hope of it.

Lastly, the book could have been edited a little better. I do not claim to be an english whiz but there were several passages where I was jolted out of the story because of missing words and some grammatical errors. This has appeared to be an ongoing problem with this publisher and I hope that the more popular they get, the better editors they hire. My gosh- the copy I have has the author's name mispelled on the cover. On my copy the name is spelled with 2 Ys.

Regardless of the flaws I mentioned, this was a great story and I found myself believeing that this could really happen. I was hooked on this book from the minute I read the first page and read it cover to cover in one day. As you can see from my review the flaws that I perceived only reduced this review by one star and I will be anxiously awaiting anything else that Ms. Holcomb writes.

I never really finished the book. I couldn't get into it. It was just to contrived to me. I ended up listing it on my book exchange.

Plot Summary: Callie Lawson is a successful bookstore owner in her small hometown in Alabama. She's a proud African-American woman with a tight network of friends, family, and church members who all admire and respect her. Bryan Spencer is the sexy lead singer and guitarist of a rock band who recently lost his best friend to a heroine overdose. Bryan is oblivious to the underlying stigma that an interracial couple will face, but Callie is hyper-aware of their situation, and she makes every attempt to keep their relationship platonic. When Callie succumbs to the passion, their troubles begin.

This is a fairly realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by interracial couples. Instead of glossing over the issue, Holcomb dove deep and laid it all out, no matter how ugly it got. It's easy to shake off disapproval from bigoted strangers, but it's another thing entirely when it's family and their most trusted friends simmering with anger over the color of someone's skin. The approbation was not universal by any means, and there were also touching allies who defended the couple with a bulldog's tenacity.

The relationship was further complicated by the difference between a small-town, church-going family woman, and a sexually dissolute, rock-star hunk. Even if Bryan were black instead of white, their problems would still have been marked because of their cultural separation, especially when the paparazzi set their sights on Callie. Holcomb planted every possible trip wire imaginable, and forced the couple through a social obstacle course that would have had most folks calling it quits long ago.

Bryan's attraction and love for Callie definitely drives their relationship until Callie is willing to open her eyes. I can't say I blame her, even though I found Callie's timidity and indecisiveness trying at times. As a black woman dating a white man, Callie faced the brunt of the criticism, and it cut deep when other black women, even at her church no less, called her a whore or a kept woman. Still, a niggling voice in my mind kept shouting at her to stand up, be strong, and fight back for the man she loves.

I'd give this book a higher rating, but it's too long by a third. I was longing for a tighter, faster-paced story about halfway through the book. I was also frustrated a few times when in the middle of a critical scene, Holcomb would divert into a descriptive passage on another character. If I were the editor, I would have been hacking and slashing through the manuscript until I reached the pure, undiluted heart at the center of the story.

I loved the first 3/4 of this book. I wanted to smack Callie for her issues with her family and not being grown up enough to stand up to her father. She was 29 and living as if she was16; this was ridiculous. To find someone that you love and who loves you is great, but for her to keep him holding on was a little too much for me. Whether your man is a rock star or just your average man like mine you just don't throw love away so easy and give a man hell like she did. It got old to me even though she finally gave in.

This was the first book that I read by this author, I was hooked. I started looking for other books written by her. Did not find any until I brought my kindle. I went on a downloading frenzy. And now I buy every book she writes. If you are looking for a well written story with believable characters, good sex scenes and hunky men this is the author for you. I can't say enough good things about her books after reading so many bad ones by other authors.

I've read at least 15 IR romance novels and this one is the best so far. The author has a real talent for putting the reader in the story. I was surprised that it was her first novel, and look forward to more from Ms. Holcomb.

I've enjoyed many of the IR romance novels that I've read, but this one is so much more substantial. The story is about the connection between two people and not just an excuse to write about sex. Don't despair, the two leads do eventually have sex that is described with all the hot details, but it doesn't feel dirty. Having to wait for Bryan and Callie to get together physically made it so much better. I tingled when I read about their first intimate encounter. I'm still thinking about Bryan!!! If I met him in real life, I would surely melt into quivering puddle. I cannot remember reading about a fictional character who was so sexy! In fact, one of the hottest moments in the book was when he finally pursued their first kiss.

A lot of readers were frustrated by Callie's lack of self/insecurities or whatever, but who says every character has to be totally likeable for the book to still be awesome? In life, we meet people who are annoying, indecisive, naive, etc, but their stories can still be interesting.