Pop Star (Famous Book 1)

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No matter how successful I get, I’ll always want more. Because hiding behind a career is easier than going for what I want. And what I want is to be loved. Truly loved. In Pop Star we get to know him a lot better and his reactons are very different. Here, it becomes clear that he's just a lonely guy, trapped by his contract, that has never been free to experience the world. The biggest point was still the characters. The MCs were adorable, each in his own way. Harley was so much more than his façade let out. He was burnt by love and had trouble trusting people, which wasn't very surprising considering his job. His days with Eleven had molded him into the persona he was on-stage and he thought no one could ever see the man behind the mask. But Brix did. Although Brix's Army training had left him pretty buttoned-up, I enjoyed the fun, playful, often-mischievous interactions that the pair engaged in nearly from the start. Brix was not only a guardian at the gates, but also a friend with good advice that Harley needed to hear. I’ve been avoiding the dreaded B word for as long as I can, but after a close call with a rambunctious fan, I can’t do it anymore.

I did especially love Brix's coworker, Iris, who totally reminded me of Maddy (from " Fake Out") in regards to his personality. He was a totally fun, crazy character and I can't wait to read his book. And the origin of his name was hilarious.With this particular book, Harley and Brix are each other’s love-interests, and they were a genuinely good fit together. Harley needs a guy like Brix, and Brix needs a guy like Harley. It works perfectly. In comes Brix, a former military man who works for Trav, the head of a company called Mike Bravo, that works in some unsavory types of cases that might involve killing and the like...except this is a special case, with Gideon, Harley's manager, being Trav's cousin who calls in a special favor. And so, armed with a batch of potentially indelicate questions – because who likes to discuss failure? – I began to reach out to musicians from various genres and eras, those who hadn’t died young, but were still here, still working, to ask them what it was like in the margins. And yet, just as Donelly would ultimately return to her old band, Merchant is also entertaining the idea of new music. “Maybe,” she says. “My daughter is off at college now, so I do have more time to myself … ” The question of whether anyone is listening any more doesn’t seem to trouble him unduly. When I ask what, if anything, he misses from the old days, he replies: “I miss the unbridled, bold, naked stupidity of youth’s vibrant electric hubris.”

On the tour’s opening night in New York, the venue was just a third full. “I thought: ‘Where’s the rest of the audience? Maybe they’re still out in the lobby?’” There is a lot of aspects that have contributed to making pop music what it is today; many genres can crossover into pop music and it encompasses a lot of different styles and techniques making it hard to pinpoint exactly what constitutes as pop and what doesn’t. The general consensus is that pop is usually played on electronic instruments and is often a short, upbeat and simple tune. We delved a little deeper and found some more facts about the hit music genre: An M/M romance about an ex-boy-band pop star and his broody, ex-military bodyguard?... If this isn’t a premise that reaches out to my soul like a siren’s call, I don’t know what is.

Don’t miss out! I LOVE PARIS, the brand new DORK DIARIES, is out now! Have you read all the DORK DIARIES series? Still, this wasn’t close to being as funny and fun and generally as good as the Fake Boyfriend series. Maybe because I dig sports romance more in general? Maybe it was because the characters didn’t feel quite so well-developed and as relatable? Maybe because I wasn’t that emotionally involved? Probably all of the above. I really liked these two guys together, but also separately. They had some great banter and chemistry going on and they were both very likable. It had that nice role reversal of the muscled-up bodyguard craving to bottom for a smaller guy. But I found myself skimming these scenes because there were a lot of them and the guys vomited feelings all over the place, repeatedly.

The setting of this story kind of has two sides to it. It has a music/pop star side (which will continue with Spotlight) and a bodyguard/secret military agency side (which will continue with Iris). Both of these sides were fun, and the mix of the two made sure that there was more variety in the story than there would have otherwise been. I was a bit sad when the Fake Boyfriend series came to an end but learning what comes next from this author makes it a little better. Either way, I still hope there'll be more from the old characters in the future!Brix and Harley become really close and Brix starts feeling not only attracted to Harley who isn't his usual type, but also very protective over him and his mental state. He does all he can to make Harley smile a real smile and to help Harley remember it's OK to take a break and to have some fun. Harley of course feels the same attraction and really enjoys how Brix has been able to see past the pop star and to see him for who he is. Brix loves being needed by Harley. They both fulfill something that has been missing in each others lives. They have both been pretty alone. They have both fell into their work and forgot to have other relationships. To have people they can depend on and they find that in each other. Some I speak to use that time as an opportunity for personal growth. David Gray and the Darkness’s Justin Hawkins discuss the growing conviction that they might have autism and ADHD, respectively, both convinced this played a key part in the art they made. “I love upheaval, I love emotional disasters, and mismanaging every relationship I’ve ever had,” Hawkins suggests, which sounds less like introspection than a robust embracing of who he is, sod the consequences. The angst was kept to very manageable levels, and the flip-floppy steam was on the hotter side, but not so prevalent that I ever felt like skimming my way past the nekkid scenes. And when he shows up, he not only screams badass, he’s another B word I try to stay away from: boyfriend material. Brix is ex-military who works for a company called Mike Bravo. He is used to leaving for periods of time to go on missions that are a lot more dangerous than watching some pop star. He has no idea who Harley is and only agreed to the job as his bodyguard because, as his boss points out, he could use the money. Brix is in serious medical debt and knows this money will help put a big dent in it. Brix has secrets to and he has a really hard time letting people in. He's been working with the same people for 4 years and they still don't know where he goes every Sunday or where all his money ends up because they can take one look at his crappy car and know he's not spending it on himself.