Almost Paradise: Rockstar Romance

Rock & Roll Forever, Book 1

By: Mary J. Williams

Narrated by: Daniela Acitelli

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

One year. One rule.

No Sex.

Nobody said anything about falling in love.

Music was Jax's life. He knew what he wanted- fame, fortune - and nothing would stand in his way. Then, he met Skye, and everything changed. Suddenly, she became part of his dreams. Too bad her family had other ideas.

Skye’s ambitions reached beyond her small hometown. But teaching was a practical profession, acting wasn’t. When she met confident, heart-melting Jax, she started to believe dreams might really come true. He offered her a way out. One year on the road with his band. After that? The world would be theirs for the taking.

But Skye was devoted to her family. Her father used guilt as a weapon, one she was powerless to defeat. He agreed to let her go on tour under one condition. A relationship with Jaxon Cross was off limits.

Jax wanted Skye. Not having her body didn’t stop his love from growing stronger every day. But his feelings made him vulnerable. When he believed she betrayed him, their world imploded.

Secrets and lies tore them apart. Can an out of the blue second chance heal two broken hearts? Falling into bed is easy. Falling in love again could change everything.

A stand-alone rock star romance. Grab your copy today.

©2019 Mary Williams (P)2019 Mary J. Williams

Hot and Cold!

I always love a rock star book and this story had characters who were amazingly well-crafted with depth of character and multi-leveled personalities to make them realistic and believable. Razor's Edge, a fledgling rock band, discovered singing in a small bar, is given the chance to open for The Ryder Hart band by manager Joplin Ashford. Jaxson, Kane, Morgan and Beck have been together since they were really young and their friendship has gotten them through many ups and downs together. They lost their female singer, but Jax knows that the bartender, Skye, has a beautiful singing voice and he pulls her up on stage to sing a duet with him. Her voice is dazzling and Kane asks her if she would like to tour with them for one year. Her father is a miserable, angry man who hates musicians since his wife left him to be a singer. He resents Skye for wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps and he constantly puts pressure and conditions on everything she does. He finally relents and lets her go on tour as long as there's no sex and no falling in love. She and Jax have developed a particularly close friendship and they both want to take it farther, but Skye's father has an iron grip on her guilt and she blindly follows his orders. I really liked this cute couple until Jax grew weary of waiting. I can't believe that he would be so heartless and cold that he would taunt Skye about being with other women. I stopped thinking he was one of the really good guys and he never fully redeemed himself. Granted, he had seen Skye "kissing" Morgan, but he accused her of cheating without waiting for any sort of explanation. The sad thing is, she did nothing wrong but his eyes saw something that wasn't there and they split apart, wasting 6 years that they could have been together. Present day, the band is broken up, but Jax has gone out on the road as a solo artist and is at the top of the charts. It's hard for Skye to watch him without wishing things had worked out differently and that she would have had the backbone to stand up to him and tell him what really happened. She needed to tell him just what was in her heart. I didn't expect her to be so weak, especially after the strength she showed within the group when dealing with each of her bandmates. Skye and Jax reunite, in a fashion, at a party where Jax is singing and writing the score for the movie that Skye always wanted to try out for the lead. Her audition went really well and now she just has to wait for a call. They find each other at the party and the chemistry and sizzle are still there, but Jax disappoints me again and in a worse way. As much as he desires Skye, he resents her, too. Their night of sweetness and passion turns cold when Jax simply sends her away. I lost the connection between the two and barely found it again before the end of the story. The ending comes a little too quickly and I really need to know how they are doing even a month into the future. I want to see a much smoother resolution. Now I need the stories of the other members of Razor's Edge. 
The narration is beautifully done by Daniela Acitelli. Her characters are clearly defined and the vocals are dynamic. It definitely feels like she's telling the story, not reading the story!

Awesome

This is the story of Jax and Skye and Razors Edge. 
Jax is the lead to the band Razors Edge. They are playing the college circuit. One night, the female lead doesn’t show up. Skye is waitressing at the bar they are playing. Jax convinces Skye to fill in and she is phenomenal. 
That same night, they are approached for a music contract. The guys in the band want Skye to join them in the big time. Fighting against her overprotective dad, Skye agrees with the condition to stay celibate. Problem is Jax wants her.
They survive a year, both celibate. A big misunderstanding breaks the band up at the end of the tour. Five years later, Skye tries out for a part in a movie. Jax is going to do the soundtrack for the same movie. They meet at the pre party and go away together for the night. Eventually, they fix the misunderstanding and take the chance on each other again.
Opinion
The narrator, Daniela Acitelli, does a fabulous job. Her tone and inflictions help move the story. She is a smooth reader.
The story itself is very endearing. Jax comes from a family committed to each other. Skye comes from a controlling family. The way that Jax helps Skye see this, without being obvious, is perfect. 
I love the build up of their love story. (It foreshadows others stories as well. I suspect that will be part of the next three books in the series.) Their attraction is instantaneous but they can’t act on it. This leaves me wanting more. With the deprivation comes a misunderstanding and the big climax in the book. I love how the resolution fixes it and how their love is just as strong as it was the first day.
I cannot wait until tomorrow when I can start book two, Almost Blue.
A big thanks to Daniela Acitelli for sending me a copy of the audiobook to review!

Wonderful story! Flawed but likeable characters.

Jax is the lead singer in a band named Razor’s Edge; singing along with his friends Morgan, Kane, and Beck. They get a lucky break when Joplin Ashford ‘discovers’ them and her uncle Danny, a legend in the music business, offers them a spot as the opening act for The Ryder Hart Band. Jax has been spending time with Skye, and getting to know her while performing at a bar where she works. Turns out Skye can sing, and on their last night performing, Jax persuades Skye to join him in a duet. She’s really good at it, and when the offer arrives for the tour, Kane suggests that Skye join them on tour.

Skye has some back history with an over-protective father and an absent mother. She’s got issues to deal with, and her father gives her conditions that she has to abide by in order to go with the band. Over the course of the book, Skye matures and finds her voice and the confidence to pursue her dreams. Jax has to figure out some issues as well, especially after he jumps to an erroneous conclusion regarding Skye, which causes all kinds of fallout.

Nevertheless, both protagonists eventually grow up and figure things out. The pace in this book is steady, and the conflicts are fairly easily discerned. This is the first book in a series of four, and each seems like it will stand alone, with an inter-connected storyline. This is a wonderful start to what appears to be an interesting group of musicians.

The narrator of this audiobook does a decent job with the recording. In trying to enunciate clearly (which is great), she speaks slower than normal. Upping the speed slightly brings it to a more acceptable speaking rate. That's my only complaint, and easily remedied. The quality of the recording is fine, and there aren't any noticeable extra or unexplained noises.

Touching, heartfelt story of second chance love!!!

Almost Paradise book one of the Rock Star Romance series by Mary J. Williams is a fabulous Audiobook!!! It’s the story of Jax and Skye. He’s determined to be a huge star and won’t let anything stop him. He meets Skye and everything changes. But, she has obligations and he has to go on the road. Then she crushes him. They don’t see each other for years. Finally, they can hash out everything that happened in the past. But, is it too little / too late??? Can they recover from all of the hurt, pain and betrayal?

I really enjoyed this story!!!!! It was well-written, the characters easily identifiable, and the storyline was good!!! The narrator of this book, Daniela Acitelli, accurately depicted the characters!!!

Wonderful book!!!!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

Well written and narrated rockstar romance!

If the rest of the series is anything like this first book , then we’re in for a treat! The story is of the lead singer of the band and a young woman who goes on tour with them. Sweet romance, sometimes angsty, sometimes heartbreaking, but altogether perfect. We watch the duo mature throughout the book and eventually get their HEA. Looking forward to the next book.
I accepted a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great Series!

If u like rockstar romances or even just good reads then don’t this four book series! I loved it!

Rockstar and waitress

This was a great story. I really enjoyed it and the outcome. You could really feel the emotions. This was a first with this narrator for me but she did a great job.

Audiobook Obsession

Great love story.

A waitress and a singer in the band meet and are attracted to each other. She has a beautiful voice but isn’t interested in a singing career. He insists that she join his band on stage. They make fantastic music together. When opportunity comes knocking, her father tries to stand in the way. Eventually the band breaks up and everyone goes their own way. Years pass...

It just didn’t keep my interest

The story was good and it had a nice flow. The characters were interesting but I could not connect with them or their plight. I did listen to this on audio. Daniela Acitelli did a good job.

Fabulous Story & Narration🎧Captivating & Heartfelt

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Mary J. Williams is a gift author, the story she created grabbed my attention and my heart, it captivated me from start to end. The characters are complex and well developed, they are realistic and easy to relate to. The books starts off with Jaxon ‘Jax’ Cross and his friends, fellow bandmates of Razor’s Edge, Kane, Beck and Morgan playing bar scene. There is a great camaraderie amongst themJ both on and off stage. Jax is attracted and intrigued by a waitress in one of the bars, Skye Monroe, he has had his eye on her and when their female singer fails to show up to sing with the band they ask her to join them on stage to sing. Skye is a nice girl but she has issues, the main one being a controlling father who she lives to please. Joplin Ashford scouting the bar scene for talent approaches Razor’s Edge with an offer to go on tour as an opener, the offer included Skye. She gets permission from her father with a stipulation she can not get romantically involved while touring. The band goes on tour and start to make a name for themselves. The chemistry between Skye and Jax is electric but Skye holds back because of her father. The fame, the success and the stress of touring is starts to get to them, they are still great together while on stage, but once off stage their relationships are taking a hit. When Jax misinterprets something he see he loses it and walks away from the band. The story fast forwards five years, Jax a successful solo artist is coming off a world tour, he more bitter now and his success has not brought him happiness. Joplin had approached him asking to fulfill her Uncle’s dying wish, a “Razor’s Edge” reunion. She approaches Skye as well and both give a flat out no. Skye is working in her hometown, doing community theatre with hopes of getting the lead role in a movie, a role she always wanted to play. Going to audition reunites her people from her past including Jax. They departed in a bad way and have spoken to each other since the band’s breakup. They both held a lot of animosity towards each other but their reunion did not turn out as plan. I loved how everything plays out, it is well plotted with plenty of drama, angst, heartfelt moments, heartbreaking ones and a slow burn romance and a second chance to love and live. Thank you Mary J. Williams for this wonderful story and the emotional rollercoaster ride.

I listened to the Audible edition, Daniela Acitelli is a fabulous narrator and voice artist. She brings the characters to life, giving each their own voice and personality. You could hear how much heart she puts into her work as she projects the emotions of the characters as well as drama of the story into her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for this wonderful listen🎧

Lovely story.

With a sweet story divided by time, this second chance romance is just that. Romantic and with enough interesting characters to warrant searching out the rest of the series.
The narration by Daniela Acitelli is warm and expressive. She captured the sweet heart of the romance and conveyed the strength of Sky's character to a tee. I did have a couple of eye blinking moments differentiating between characters but not to the detriment of my listening experience. A truly lovely listen 💖💖💖💖

Rockstar Romance

Almost Paradise is a wonderful story by Mary J. Williams. The storyline is excellent, a well-written rockstar romance packed with passion, secrets, and deceits. Jax and Skye are lovely characters, genuine and engaging. I love that they fall for each other before they become famous. The narration by Daniela Acitelli is great. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.