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Review

3.5 ‘Virgin and the Rock Star’ stars

This is the first book in the Exodus End series – a spin-off to the Sinners on Tour books, featuring the hugely successful metal band, Exodus End. We have been introduced to the group in the last Sinners book – the Exodus End lead guitarist, Dare, is the brother to Trey Mills of the Sinners, and Trey’s girlfriend Reagan has joined Exodus End as a guitarist for their tour – and I loved getting the chance to get all up in the lives of another bunch of hot and sexy rockers.

Toni has been hired to write a video biography of Exodus End and will be joining them on their North American tour, getting up close and personal, while she does her research. Toni has lived a very sheltered life. She has been the primary carer for her young, disabled sister, completing her education online and having very little interaction with the real world. And I’m sure you can imagine what happens when an attractive but incredibly naïve woman ends up on a bus with bunch of highly-sexed rockers.

Yep, it’s about to get steamy! And if I could give you one piece of advice before taking on this book, it would be – don’t take it too seriously. When Toni meets the boys of the band, she appreciates their gorgeousness (as any hot-blooded woman would), but it’s with bassist Logan that she feels a connection – in fact when he first touches her they both experience a spark, and then it’s all on, and Toni soon finds herself on a journey of sexual discovery that she never could have imagined!

Logan is an adrenaline junky, a party boy and, of course, a manwhore of epic proportions. He’s up for pretty much anything, and from his first glance at Toni, he knows he wants her, and he always takes what he wants – so he does… repeatedly. But Logan gets more than he bargained for when he finds that after their first encounter he can’t get enough of Toni. Desperate to be with her all the time, insanely jealous of anybody who even comes anywhere near her, and not interested in any other woman, it’s all very new for him and he struggles to come to terms with what he is feeling, having never experienced anything like it before.

“You’re crazy,” she said with a laugh. And thank God for that.
“When it comes to you, I don’t know how to be sane.”

The romance is really fast moving, and all a bit unbelievable – within an hour of meeting the boys, Toni is having mind-blowing, virginity-shattering sex with Logan in the back of a tour bus, the next day she’s in love with him and the day after that she’s all upset because Logan won’t tell her that he loves her. WTF? I just brushed it off, not taking it too seriously, and given the setting and the intense nature of their lives I was happy to go along with it and enjoy the book for the fun read that it is.

And despite the speed with which it progresses, it’s a really sweet romance. Shy, inexperienced, reclusive Toni opens herself up completely to Logan and, eager and insatiable, she’s ready and willing to learn anything that Logan has to teach her. And more than just in bed, he teaches her how to break out of her comfort zone and really experience life. And in return, Toni shows Logan what it is to feel and to love, and to experience a deeper connection with somebody than just sex. It was gorgeous watching him fall for her and come to accept his feelings for what they were and seeing his vulnerability for her was really sweet.

“I don’t want to break your heart, Toni.” He lifted her hand and pressed it into the center of his chest. His heart thudded against the back of her hand. “Not when seeing you upset breaks mine.”

And amid the constant sex and heart-to-hearts, they have fun together, and there are lots of funny, silly moments that had me laughing out loud.

“He nipped her skin, and her entire body jerked.
“Oh!” she gasped.
“Got yourself a vampire fetish?” he asked with a chuckle.
“What? No, of course not. Vampires aren’t real.”
“But I’m all about bringing your fantasies to life, babe. If you want to be banged by a sparkling dick, I’ll go get the glitter.”

I loved Logan as a character. He’s got the biggest heart, and the moments where he revealed himself like that totally made me swoon. Toni was a bit annoying and so many times I just wanted to tell her to grow up! There seemed to be a lot of inconsistencies with her behaviour, with her swinging between naïve virgin to sexed-up bombshell from moment to moment. Like, she’s afraid to use the word “pussy”, but then drops the terms “beaver cleaver” and “yoghurt cannon” (ewww btw!) into conversation like it was nothing. But together they work really well, and I liked the chemistry that Cunning managed to create for them.

I also really enjoyed getting to know the boys in the band. With Toni delving deep into their lives for her book, we get the chance to get up close and person with each of them, and I’m already excited for each of their books. And as a group, the dynamic between them is sensational and I loved their constant back and forth. Similarly, the description of the concerts and the way the boys love their music is really well done, and I honestly got chills in some of those concert experiences.

This was a surprisingly long read, but it sets up the rest of the series nicely and builds to a big (although unsurprising) climax. Throughout the book it was pretty obvious to me what was going to end up happening and when it happened, the emotional impact on the characters was huge, but I also thought it was eye-rollingly stupid…

But nevertheless, it’s happened, and the repercussions lead really well into the next book which will be Reagan’s.

I’m looking forward to reading more.

3.5 stars.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Exodus End World Tour

Sinners on Tour