Rock N SoulRating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Tyler Lindsey is just trying to make ends meet working in a hotel. He has an average life with a demanding girlfriend. When famous rock star Chris Raiden checks into the hotel, Tyler finds himself scouring the late night markets to complete Chris’ room service order. Only when Tyler finally gets to Chris’ room, he finds him dead from an overdose. Tyler’s girlfriend, who was the band’s biggest fan, promptly breaks up with him.

Tyler’s biggest problem, however, is that Chris’ spirit is somehow attached to him and Chris has to go where Tyler goes. Both Chris and Tyler feel there is a larger purpose at work here and Chris knows he has unfinished business with those he left behind. The only thing to do is travel across the country and get it all taken care of. An unlikely friendship develops between Tyler and the troubled rock star and Tyler really likes being with Chris and Tyler has all of these emotions and feelings coming at him in full force. But he can’t even touch Chris and Chris can’t possibly stay in the world of the living for too long, can he?

A paranormal ghost love story certainly requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief and this book certainly follows suit. Told from Tyler’s first person narrative, we get to know him well fairly well throughout the entire story. He’s focused on his job, has a girlfriend who treats him badly, and then has the shock of his life when he not only finds Chris’ body, but then Chris appears again in sort of a tandem state with him.

Chris was the guitarist for a successful rock band. He’s admittedly an “emo-narcissist,” he had a lot of personal issues that drove him into drugs, and by the time he died he had alienated almost everyone and the only person taking his calls was his dealer. The afterlife does provide some perspective for him, but his wit remains and he and Tyler spend a good deal of time trading barbs. As a spirit, Chris no longer needs to worry about eating or sleeping, but his sex drive on the other hand remains solidly intact.

The banter goes on for quite a while. By halfway through the book, the dialogue takes us through many many pages but does not continue to advance the story much and the entire pace was exceedingly slow for me. Due to financial reasons, the guys can’t set out on their trip right away and this fact seems to appease the spiritual world until they both know it’s time to get moving. Chris’ unfinished business was not all that exciting and had a been-there-done-that kind of feel to it. It also was incredibly easy for Tyler to convince everyone that Chris was really with him and a good portion of it lacked the intended impact. There was a side story involving Tyler’s cousin that took up page time, but then fizzled out at the end with no clear resolution and much of it was oddly or too conveniently placed for me.

Tyler doesn’t have any issues with his feelings for Chris. He considers himself bisexual and has had minor interactions with men in the past, but Chris is the first man he wants more with and Chris starts to feel the same way. Their friendship and mutual attraction became prominent, but the transition to them falling in love was not as well laid out on the page and there was something missing there for me. But all the while keep in mind that Chris is indeed dead.

The ending then had me sort of squinting at the page. It’s difficult to end a book like this and wrap it all up and it was somewhat off balance for me and was lacking the detail I needed to fully buy into it. The writing itself was well done overall and there were some great moments when the guys were connecting in a variety of ways. The book offered a unique premise along with some familiar threads woven in and if you enjoy a ghost romance this one may work for you.

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