Limelight

NSB, Book 4

By: Aly Stiles

Narrated by: Zachary Webber

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A standalone NSB novel.

I’m unpredictable. A genius, an underachiever. I’m the song, the voice, the passion, the pain. I am failure. I do music because it’s what I am, but sometimes that’s not enough. A slave to my nature, I wait for it to show mercy and drop a gift in my lap. Because the music chose me. I’m its victim not its gift.

She destroyed my career. Ruined my life. Pushed me from the shadows and exposed my lies. She’s the fire that destroys lesser men, and now her flames are aimed at me. She loves to watch me burn, but the part we never saw coming?

Sometimes it takes a fire to ignite a spark and slay the darkness.

©2018 Alyson Santos (P)2019 Alyson Santos

Not your traditional rock star romance

Jesse is a character I was interested in reading about from the moment I met him in Tracing Holland. I could tell he was a sweet yet damaged soul and I couldn’t wait to see where his story would go.

Jesse is the leading man of Limelight and was touring with NSB and Tracing Holland. Until a few mistakes and a horrible post from an entertainment blogger had his label and manager dropping them. His hard life only got more difficult from there. Jesse had an awful past, a childhood no one should ever have to experience. Thankfully he has his brother Patrick and bandmates in his life. Still, sometimes he just can’t cope with what’s going on and leans on substances.

Jesse feels a lot of pressure within the band to write new material and help get them out there again, but time after time he succumbs to his demons instead. Then he meets Mila Taylor. Mila is the said entertainment blogger that ruined his career. What I appreciated most about Mila is that she recognized she was wrong about Jesse and she admitted it and helped him fix it. I felt the connection between them and I loved them together, even though I wasn’t sure I would at first.

This book was beautiful, but it broke my heart. I was in a full on crying fit towards the end. I’m still not okay with what happened, but my heart will mend I suppose. I was so proud of Jesse and all he accomplished through everything he went through. I really loved his character. And Mila as well. I can imagine it’s so difficult being in love with an addict but I think she did the best she could with helping him, being there for him, and not enabling him.

This series is different than most of your traditional rock star romances and I love that about it. This book is heavy, emotional, and puts friendship and familial relationships at the forefront of the story. It’s very character driven and beautifully written. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber so definitely check that out. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Especially if it’s in this world of musicians she’s created!

Incredible

When you combine the extraordinary talents of Alyson Santos and Zachary Webber you are in for an incredible experience. The storyline is intense and ZW brings it to life the way the words were intended by the author.
I have both read and listened to Limelight and would have to say that this book is the rare instance when I enjoyed listening over reading.

Emotional story and wonderful performance

This is a brutal story of pain, the aftermaths of abuse, drug addictions and anxiety woven into music and words, enhanced thanks to Zachary Webber's wonderful performance. The last chapters had me in constant sobs and tears. Brilliant combination of author and narrator.

can't wait to read more

this was my first Alyson Santos book. I really like her lyrical writing style. also, yay Philadelphia set books. a great intro to the world of NSB. this was book 4, but I was able to follow along no problem.

A book to get lost within, more than once.

There are only a handful of audiobooks I feel like I could listen to more than once, and this is one of them. The writing is brilliant and Zachary Webber brings the character, Jesse Everett, to life. Pack tissues.

This one broke me...

I’m unpredictable.

A genius, an underachiever.

I’m the song, the voice, the passion, the pain.

I am failure.

I do music because it’s what I am, but sometimes that’s not enough.

A slave to my nature, I wait for it to show mercy 

and drop a gift in my lap.

Because the music chose me.

I’m its victim not its gift.

She destroyed my career.

Ruined my life.

Pushed me from the shadows and exposed my lies.

She’s the fire that destroys lesser men,

and now her flames are aimed at me.

She loves to watch me burn,

but the part we never saw coming?

Sometimes it takes a fire to ignite a spark

And slay the darkness.

I used the blurb here because I still don't know how to explain this book. 

Told entirely through Jess Everett's POV, it's a lyrical and strange deep dive into a tortured soul. Jesse's been through terrible trauma and the only way he finds to reconcile the ghosts that haunt him with the music that literally invades his thoughts is through drugs.

When we first meet Jesse it is through a post by Mila Taylor, the all-powerful music blogger - daughter of an icon herself - and she's trashing him. Her posts basically ended Limelight's career and, after being dropped by their label, they're relegated to small local gigs. 

This is a very character driven story and we see everything exclusively through Jesse's eyes. We get sucked into the vortex of his despair and it feels almost voyeuristic. His mind is populated by music and lyrics and his ghosts and you are right there with him. 

It's an unconventional "romance". It does have an HEA, or at least a very hopeful HFN. I'm glad that it's a closed door romance basically because we are already so much into his mind that going there would feel a little lurid almost. 

It's beautifully written. Sometimes you laugh and you will have your heart broken because you just can't believe how Jesse can take so much pain. Be advised - it's not your regular, fun rockstar story. It's the journey of a tortured soul to whom music is salvation. 

Narration: Pick the audiobook. Zachary Webber is beyond amazing. From Jesse's tortured soul, to Mila's Yorkshire accent, to Jonas... he's narration gold. But then again, this is no surprise. 

Possible triggers: drug use; PTSD; child abuse; child abandonment; living in foster care; loss of a sibling; grief; drug overdose; fatal car accident; violent acts committed against a main character; parental abuse

What a roller coaster!

The hero's a lot more forgiving than I am. That's for sure. Also, if drug use is a trigger for you -- this is not going to be a fun ride for you. But otherwise, the struggles were real, and I was feeling all the feels. Hearing ZWebb doing a female British accent was a lovely bonus. ;)

So So Sad

This book was a heart breaker the struggles poor Jesse was going through. I felt so bad for him and his brother who basically alway helped Jesse. The death was tragic, never saw that coming. Wish it was different. Thank goodness for Jesse’s girl.

Oh the angst....but so good!!

This story is going to tear your heart into tiny little pieces. Get the tissues out. There's so much pain and sadness initially that I didn't think I could take it but thank goodness Zachary Webber narrated the entire story. He was and is amazing!! This is another wonderful rock band and musicians journey that makes you feel everything.
And yes there's a love story and loss that you won't forget. Enjoy the ride.

5 stars

I have listened to this story a few times now. I read the series and the author told me about how amazing the audible is. I would definitely agree. This book is incredible. All of them in the series are but this one rips my heart out.