Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Les and Evan have hit it big in the music world. The men met by chance years ago and Les’ lyrics paired perfectly with Evan’s music, but they haven’t been able to find their rhythm lately. Their first two albums were huge hits, but their third was not as successful and they are struggling through the end of a tour. The one song that was a hit on the album, however, is one Les wrote for Evan, although Evan has no idea.

Les is the faster moving one of the two. He never turns down a good time, or a drink, or a bed partner, and his antics fill the tabloids. Evan is more even, but he’s been picking up after Les for a while and he’s reached his limit as he has no intention of letting his chance at success slip through his fingers. Their chemistry onstage has been legendary, but offstage there is a whole lot simmering beneath the surface.

The sexual chemistry is a tangible thing between the two of them, which was only inflamed by a spontaneous threesome months ago. Evan is completely off his game and Les wants more from Evan, but he has no idea what it all means or what to do about it. The men need to write new material and a secluded cabin is their go-to place to do that. But when a private moment is made public, a publicity stunt has the men pretending to be more than they are. It’s anyone’s guess if these men can write more hit songs, repair their friendship, and possibly fall in love all at the same time.

This is Neve Wilder’s second published book and the first I have read by her. Dedicated is a character-driven book, told in dual POV, and is sometimes soft and sometimes filled with banter with a little bit of emotional angst. The book focuses solely on Evan and Les as they navigate their professional relationship, as well as their personal one.

The two men are close friends and having two hit albums behind them showed what they could do in the music world. It was one of those things that when they met, it was a given they would work together as their styles complement each other so well. The men are a study in contrasts, as Evan is more routine focused and stable and Les is wild and free. Evan has been holding the two of them together, but it’s getting too much for even him. Les has been attracted to Evan from the start and is now fully in love with him, only Evan has no idea. Evan has never dealt with hard core attraction and has no idea how to process what he’s starting to feel for Les. Evan also doesn’t know how to process the unexpected threesome he had with Les and a random girl and every part of their relationship is suffering.

There was a lot to like here. The friendship between the men is the focus and although both guys were exhausting at times, the author was able to sustain the feel of what these guys were going through and what they needed all the way through. There was a great push and pull between the men, and in some ways this was a slow burn romance, and in some other ways it wasn’t, as Evan and Les were inevitable and the connection between the two of them is what you read romance for.

The book is long and while I was able to get a great sense of both men, the pacing was a little slow and off for me at times. The book is told in dual POV and the chapters are clearly marked, but their voices sounded similar at times, and on the longer chapters it became less clear at times who’s POV we were in. And, after all they had to get through, the ending didn’t go far enough for me and I would have liked some more time to see them enjoy themselves as a couple at the end.

The author states that this is the beginning of a series and there will be other couples, but there is no indication if we will see Evan and Les again. This book certainly needs the right audience for it and I hope the right readers find it as I would certainly read something else by this author and would look forward to more in this series.