Book Review: Rock Star

By Sara Steven

He’s a rock star with stage fright. She’s a therapist with a dangerous secret…Sebastian Roe was shot onstage during a concert five years ago, sending him into a creative tailspin and leaving him with a deep fear of performing. But his love of music is too strong to keep him off a stage forever, despite the fact the police never caught the gunman. He just needs a little help getting back in front of an audience, and figures announcing a U.S. tour will force him back onstage. Unfortunately, it's bringing up his worst nightmare and puts his sold-out comeback tour in jeopardy. 

Mia Merrill was in the audience the night of Sebastian’s fateful concert. She loves his music and wants to help him overcome his PTSD and get him back onstage, but there’s another reason she’s determined to become his therapist. She’s the reason he was shot. Driven by guilt and a need to atone, Mia takes Sebastian on as a patient. Romantic sparks fly between the two during their therapy sessions, but no sooner do they start to make progress on Sebastian’s stage fright than the gunman announces he’s back to finish the job. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Rock Star is such a fun read! The subject matter may be serious, but the connection between Sebastian (“Bash”) and Mia really helped to give some levity to the seriousness surrounding Bash’s attempted assassination. The “good girl” therapist and “bad boy” rock star was a really nice juxtaposition, and both characters need to learn to come out of their shell more, for different reasons. Bash is terrified that what happened five years ago could happen again, while Mia lives within particular rules and guidelines she’s set for herself, often using her profession as a means of protection from getting too close to Bash. What happened to Bash also had a huge effect on her too. Trust hasn’t been easy.

The PTSD angle was portrayed well. Mia attempts to give Bash tools to help him to find ways around his anxiety, and the experiences he has while he works through it felt real. There are no easy paths to healing. There were some obvious setbacks and fears while he finds his footing to get back out onto the stage, and while on that journey he dives deeper into who he really is as a person and more importantly, who matters most to him. He may not know Mia well, but she can see him for who he really is, stripping the rock star persona until the person who is left is the man Bash ultimately wants to be.

Of course, what kind of rock star story would this be without some steam between the primary characters? There was a lot of “will they, won’t they” build up, because Mia doesn’t want to cross lines with her client, and Bash doesn’t want the help of a “shrink.” But Bash had been Mia’s musician crush for years, and Mia wants the man behind the persona, so it is inevitable that there could be more to this than either of them could have ever bargained for. 

I had some inkling on what would happen when the truth is revealed, and more importantly, the truth behind the shooting. It wasn’t until towards the end of the book that it really dawned on me that what I thought might be a possibility really is the answer, and I wondered how it would end and whether Bash would be safe. It was a crazy, fast-paced adventure and I was there for it! It was a definite five-star experience!   

Thanks to Author Marketing Experts for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Leigh Court:
Rock Solid
Rock Steady
Rock On

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