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Review

I absolutely adore this series! I could easily name seven hundred and twenty five thousand things that I adore about this series, but that will take too long, so I’ll just talk about book 6 – Mace and Stella.

God, I love Mace!! I never really got much of a feel for him in the earlier books of the series, apart from a brief (and very interesting) appearance in book 2 (Rock Chick Rescue), then again at the end of book 5 (Rock Chick Revenge), where he was discovered sharing an intensely smouldering eye-f**k with Stella, lead singer of the Gypsies.

Mace and Stella had history – a brief but intense romance which left Stella broken hearted. When Mace forces himself back into her life (in true Hot Bunch Guy style), it’s the usual tug of war, denial of feelings and stupidity that goes on until she finally caves.

“Broody Mace looks pleased?” I asked. We all knew what that meant. Been there done that, had the t-shirt.
Stella had been laid.

Seeing the two of them come back together was very intense. Yes, Stella had some baggage from her past, but Mace was the one with the truly tragic background. He had very strong feelings for Stella but was so damaged by what happened to his sister it broke my heart.

“I can’t be the star in your sky when you’re the only star left shining in mine.”

And this leads us to the little twist in this usual Rock Chick formula, where Stella is the one who realises that Mace is it for her, and she latches on and refuses to let go. She opens up to him, fights for him and forces him to deal with his demons, literally pulling him through it all. And I loved that about her!

This book is a lot darker than earlier books in the series. Not only because Mace’s past was so tragic and he and Stella had so much to deal with, but also because, for the first time, all of our Rock Chicks were in danger. And not the kind of danger that leads to the usual bitch fights in a strip joint, stun gunning, food fights and hilarious car chases… but REAL danger. This leads to some emotional scenes as the protective tenderness of the boys come out, and at one point I actually cried, the scenes were so beautifully written!!

On the upside of all of this danger though, we get to spend a lot of time with all of the Rock Chicks and the Hot Bunch (yay!). Including the big wedding we’ve all been waiting for!!! The REALLY exciting part is that we get multiple POVs – quality time with each of the couples from the previous books – and not just any time, but gorgeously swoony, intimate time (particularly with Hank and Roxie *sigh*). I also love that we got our very first glimpse into the secret world of the Hot Bunch! Watching the boys in all of their uber-badassness without their girls around was brilliant.

And now to the music…

The Rock Chicks are big music fans of course, and music has always played a part in the series, but this book has a real focus on it and really should come with its own soundtrack. In the beginning of the book Kristen Ashley encourages her readers to listen to the songs that Stella uses to express herself while reading the scenes. I did this and it was AMAZING!!! So do yourself a favour, and read this book with a source of music nearby. Ashley does a sensational job of describing a scene, bringing the emotion, and then when she adds music into it, it’s almost multi-sensory overload!

If nothing else, when Pearl Jam’s ‘Black’ makes it epic appearance in the book, be sure to play it and it will absolutely give you tingles!! ‘Open Arms’ by Journey will make you cry, and Blink 182s ‘All the Small Things’ – SHITSOFUCKIT – the visual image that goes with this song is burned into my brain forever!!!

Once you have read the book, this quote will make you shiver and squee all at once – “Get out here, babe, I wanna kiss you.”

Which brings me to the Epilogue, which is FREAKING EPIC!!! I’m a little confused why Ashley chose to put an Epilogue which is based 5 years into the future at the end of book 6 and not wait until the end of the series (especially as it gives us spoilers for the next two books). But regardless, I’m so glad I got to read it, everything is wrapped up in a gorgeously happy HEA.