3.5 stars
NEED YOU NOW by Emma Douglas is the first book in the Cloud Bay series. The gorgeous cover with a beach and ocean attracted me to this contemporary romance book.
Cloud Bay, a little town on a small island, is heavily populated one week of the year when throngs of people come for the annual legendary music festival put on by Harper Inc. Faith, daughter of deceased rock star Grey Harper, works hard to ensure that everything goes smoothly and seamlessly at CloudFest.
Caleb White, star tennis player, surprises everyone, including his coach, when he announces his retirement. Liam, an entertainment lawyer, invites Caleb to accompany him on a weeklong holiday at Lansing Island during CloudFest.
We meet Faith's friends Ivy and Leah, others who work at Harper Inc., the Fraser brothers and Faith's sister, Mina and Lou her mother and will probably get to know them better in upcoming novels in the series Cloud Bay. If you enjoy reading romance novels and learning a little about the music industry, music festivals and tennis, I highly recommend you read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC of Need You Now by Emma Douglas enabling me to read it and write a review.

4.5 Stars!

New author, new Series, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Caleb White, a recently retired tennis pro, heads to Cloud Bay for some relaxation and the music festival Cloudfest. Faith Harper is Cloudfest's coordinator and daughter of its deceased founder. When the two cross paths, Faith is willing to break her own relationship rules and allows Caleb into her island life - at least temporarily.

Caleb was wonderful. I was back and forth with the sometimes frustrating Faith. Yet, they were great with each other. Although fast, the romance was realistic, believable, and well-written. As were the music fest details. Simply an overall well-written story with a lovely ending. This book sets up the next story in the series nicely. I think I'm even more intrigued by that potential coupling and look forward to reading it next. (This is my voluntary and unbiased review of an advanced copy of Need You Now via the publisher and Netgalley)

Caleb White, tennis player extraordinaire, needs a distraction from his recent decision to retire. When he visits Cloud Bay he meets the perfect distraction — Faith. Faith runs a huge music festival, mostly because she’s the daughter of a famous (and deceased) rock star, but also because she’s really really good at it.

I was hooked on Caleb and Faith, separately and together. But I wasn’t hooked on the music festival because music festivals just aren’t my bag. I kind of wished for more island-ish happenings – like catching rays, boat rides, and digging toes in the sand. But that’s just me. I have no idea how I thought this book was going to be about coastal living, but I was definitely wrong! I was right about one thing however – that Emma Douglas would give me a happily ever after.

So there’s rockers and romance… and family dynamics, a little bit of dysfunction, some nice architecture (hello million dollar coastal homes), and a good look at ambition, which I loved. If you also appreciate outdoor festivals, rock band life, and all things musical, this book is for you.

What can I say? When you put the words small town anywhere, I’m sold. When you double that with island, then I’m there. So NEED YOU NOW by Emma Douglas was just the kind of read I could enjoy in this summer heat. Maybe fantasizing about sipping margaritas facing the water, with a light breeze on my gradually tanning skin? Ah, the beauty of summer..

Before getting too carried away with the fantasy, let’s say NEED YOU NOW brought together that relaxing feel of the island and the comfort only a small town makes you feel. I enjoyed my time in Cloud Bay. It was an extra joy to be presented with a music festival that was the heart of the town and the story. The heroine, Faith, is the daughter of the rock star who founded the festival, and she carries on with the tradition even after her father’s death-who, by the way, seems like a colorful character albeit just as much difficult. I liked that Faith and Caleb’s story revolved around the festival. It was a nice stage for their romance.

As much as I enjoyed the setting and the main attraction, I liked the characters as well, especially Caleb. Somehow, he was the one I could connect with the most compared to Faith. With Faith, I felt like there was an arm’s length between us. Caleb though, he was charming and not overly persistent. His way of charming into Faith’s heart was through, well, his easy charm. He was the kind of hero who didn’t possess the pages, but subtly became a favorite character, without trying too hard.

Faith, on the other hand, was much harder for me to bond with. I read every necessary information about her, everything to do with her choices-not much drama here- but somehow I still lacked that one final step into clicking with her.

The romance was well paced as well, except for, perhaps, the last minute-and I mean that literally- back and forth about Faith’s reluctance for a romance. If her background with having a father who was a rock star was examined a bit more, and integrated into the story, then she could’ve been more reachable for me.

Those who like small town romance will still like this, I believe. A nice summer read, and as the first book of the series, I have a strong feeling it’ll only get better in the coming books. I already found myself looking up the next couple and the one after that, and excited to read those stories after all.

I’m adding three spoonfuls of this story into my hodgepodge.

I want more Cloud Bay NOW! Faith was a character I could really identify with - she worked hard, looked after everyone, and put herself second often. Caleb was a good match for her, and watching them fall in love and work through their issues was very enjoyable.

My first read by Emma Douglas was very enjoyable. The characters were sexy, sarcastic & laugh out loud funny at times. The island setting was perfect with the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop for the sexy encounters of Faith & Caleb. The excitement of a rock festival is what brings two lonely, confused people together. What they find in each other is a distraction from the things going on in their lives they don't want to deal with. But distraction turns into something more & hidden fears surface for Faith & the fact that Caleb hasn't dealt with his abrupt life change is just another problem for her to try to figure out. I liked how this story was told from both points of view & nothing was repeated between the change of character telling the story. The author kept my attention throughout the book with witty conversations but, also with sexy banter & innuendo, as well as an interesting storyline for well developed characters. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Definitely recommend.

I've got to admit, I've kind of gotten tired of the typical contemporaries that have been flooding the market, Billionaires, Royals and MC gangs, so it was refreshing to come across this book. I guess I've always had a desire to see what's behind the curtain of a Rock Star's families life. It was fascinating to get just a taste of what it takes to set up a Woodstock type concert. Faith Harper was a kick-ass character who knew exactly what she wanted out of life and what she didn't. It was fun to see her interact with Caleb, a national tennis star who has retired, and is just as use to the limelight as she is. It's always fun to see a casual romance blossom into the real deal. The only problem I had was with the resolution of Caleb and Faith's romance. It was a bit cut and dry and happened way too quickly.

Lansing Island is filled with rock stars and fans. They are all there for CloudFest. Faith Harper is in charge. She's carrying on the tradition started by her father, Grey. He was the lead of Blacklight. After his death, she took over. Now she's so involved with her father's legacy that she put her life on hold. Will this year be different? I liked Faith. She's dedicated to her family and is a strong woman. When she meets Caleb White, champion tennis player, she feels a connection. I loved their flirty dialogue and their intense chemistry. The story pulled me in. I wanted a HEA for Faith and Caleb. He's a good man who isn't sure what to expect out of his new life. Their romance was the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. The island is a perfect setting for them to discover each other and their future. I enjoyed the secondary characters and want to see what life has in store for Lou and Mina. I want to come back to Lansing Island to see what happens next.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.

Need You Now is the first book in the Cloud Bay series from Emma Douglas. It is Faith Harper's book, who is the oldest daughter of Grey Harper who was the front man for the band Blacklight. The trilogy will feature each of Grey's 3 children with Faith's story being first.

I loved Faith Harper so much! She is such a strong character. She basically had to take over running the family business following her dad's death with very little help from either of her siblings. She has always kept her private life away from Cloud Bay and has been pretty successful until Caleb White shows up for CloudFest with one of his friends.

I adored Caleb from the moment he appeared on the page. He was sexy and fun with a sweetness about him at times I really wasn't expecting. I loved that he and Faith saw each other the moment he arrived on Cloud Bay and basically had an instant connection. I found myself falling for Caleb and Faith as a couple early on. They had amazing chemistry and each seemed to understand some of the pressure the other lived under in a way others couldn't understand.

I loved that Caleb was ready to admit his feelings for Faith first. There is just something about the hero owning his feelings first that gets me every single time. I hated that Faith ran scared for a bit, but based upon everything she had seen growing up and with those people in relationships around her, I totally understood her hesitancy about a lasting relationship. I have to say I loved that she talked to her sister Mina and her mom Lou to get her head on straight. I have to say that Lou is absolutely one of my favorite characters in the book. She was totally and completely full of awesome!

Need You Now was a great start to the Cloud Bay series. It was a fun, sexy and emotional contemporary romance that pulled me in from the very first page. I highly recommend Need You Now to readers who enjoy contemporary romances.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

I have to admit that I was not as thrilled with this book as other reviewers. Maybe I had a bad day or just wasn't interested at the time. I did not find any of the characters very interesting. The story got better as it moved forward, but still left me wanting something more from the author. I'm just not sure what it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

3.5 Stars

I'm not a fan of rock star romances or anything closely related to them, but this book had one thing that made me want to read it: the charming small town setting. I can never pass up books set in small towns up and this one was right up my alley.

Faith Harper is no stranger to fame and the pitfalls that come with it, having had a front row seat to the turbulent lifestyle that was her father's and the hurt, disappointment and disillusion she and the rest of his family felt from his behavior; not to mention her own brief brush with fame. These days she's happy managing the Harper empire, especially the yearly music festival that her father and his band mates started and has no time for romantic entanglements of any kind, but one glance at Caleb White is all it takes to get her girlie parts to remind her of all she's been missing.

After an impromptu decision to retire from competitive tennis, Caleb needs to get away from all of it for some downtime and Cloud Bay is the perfect place to do so, especially among the crowds attending the music festival, but his attraction to Faith is so strong that his planned rest and relaxation pales in comparison.

At first, it's all about the lust and passion for Faith and Caleb, but as the days go by quickly it's obvious that they are good for each other in so many ways, enjoy each other's company in and out of bed, and they understand the cost of living in the limelight. But will they be willing to fight for the more they can have, especially Faith who has unhealed wounds from her father's abandonment to deal with?

So, one thing I enjoyed about this story apart from the writing, is the details (too much at times) that the author put into the small town. I enjoy it when an author takes the time to expand on the setting and, so much so that you almost want to pack up and move there to get away from all the stress. But the story also suffers a little because the time spent building up the town and the musical legends was at a cost to the characters. Faith and Caleb were not as well-rounded as I would love, especially Caleb, and I couldn't really connect with them or warm up to them.

The overload of details in the first half of the book means the second half was rushed for me. From Faith and Caleb's passionate interlude to the conflict to its resolution and the abrupt ending, everything moved too fast and left me dissatisfied. However, the things I enjoyed about the story mean that I am invested in seeing how the rest of the series plays out and so will definitely be reading it.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed getting to know Faith and Caleb, but there were moments when I felt like I was going into an existing story instead of a stand alone effort.
Ms. Douglas is a newer author for me, so I don't know if it is just her style of writing or if there is a series somewhere I am missing.
Both Faith and Caleb are interesting characters and I liked their interactions, but I would have enjoyed a deeper dive into who they are vs some of the technical music fest discussions. Some of the secondary characters also seemed to take on a prominence that never really played out through the rest of the story.
From a pure entertainment standpoint, this was a well written, good book. I am curious to read more about Cloud Bay.

This book has everything! Romance, music, tennis, you name it...... Really enjoyed the story of Faith & Caleb, and how Caleb broke her walls down.

The characters were so varied, it made for an interesting read and I learned a lot about the organisation of a music festival!

Looking forward to Liam's tale and, hopefully, Mina's.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R3MAUAKRI9QO38/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01NA00I1K

Faith has this idea that since she is the daughter of a rock star that no mother would approve of her being with her son.  I think Faith has it all wrong.  Faith is a hard worker for her family's business.  She cares lot about family.  Those values that her father, mother, and siblings all taught her.  Caleb just announced his retirement from tennis.  He comes to the island for CloudFest to find out what to do next. 

I think this book was about following your heart.  To grab what you want out of life.

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!
Read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!
Melissa

3.5 stars

Need You Now by Emma Douglas was an enjoyable afternoons read.
The storyline was entertaining, the characters were likable and I liked them together.
Faith and Caleb weren't looking for a nothing more than a good time but the more time they spent together the more their feelings grew and soon they were falling in love.

Overall, I enjoyed Need You Now, it's a lovely start to the Cloud Bay series and I'm looking forward to the next book, A Season of You coming October 3rd.

*Buy Links*
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*Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy*

Need You Now kicks off a brand new series small town romance fans will want to add to their auto-buy list! Compelling, poignant and hard to put down, Need You Now is a sexy and spellbinding read fans of Jill Shalvis will not want to miss!

Caleb White is a man who knows what he wants – and being a tennis player is certainly not one of them. After speaking to the press about his decision to retire from the sport and making it perfectly clear that he has no plans to renege on his decision, he realises that he needs some time away from the spotlight to rest, unwind and try and figure out what he is going to do next with his life. The legendary Cloud Fest festival looks like the sanctuary he is looking for and Caleb can escape the glare of the spotlight, listen to great music and try and work out what his next step will be. But then Caleb hadn’t counted on losing his mind to gorgeous Faith Harper, the rock star’s daughter and festival director he simply cannot stop himself from thinking about…

Faith knows all there is to know about celebrity and life in the spotlight. Having seen the reality behind the glitz and the glamour, Faith has always been happiest living life in the slow lane. Caleb White’s fame does not appeal to her in the slightest – but his body certainly does! When giving into temptation proves inevitable, Faith is ill prepared for the barrage of emotions that consume her. Theirs was only meant to be a short term fling, so why on earth does she find herself thinking about what a future with Caleb might be like?

As their casual distraction deepens into something more, Caleb and Faith begin to wonder whether they have the courage to take a chance on love…or whether they will continue holding on to an unfulfilled and lonely life…

Emma Douglas has got a wonderfully engaging writing style that will hold readers in thrall and keep them mesmerized until the very last page. Need You Now is a great read about the unexpected twists of fate, falling in love with the last person you expected and healing that I couldn’t bear to stop reading. With a wonderful heroine, a gorgeous and charismatic hero readers will love and plenty of heat, humour and emotion, Need You Know is a first class small town contemporary romance readers are sure to love!

Need You Now is the first book in the Cloud Bay series and has a lot of promise although it missed the mark in a couple of spots for me. This book centers around Faith Harper who is the daughter of a deceased rock star and Caleb White who is the #1 ranked professional tennis player. Caleb just announced his retirement and is visiting Cloud Bay while he figures out what is next for him. Faith runs Harper Inc. and is in the middle of running the huge music festival that her dad established years earlier. Neither Faith or Caleb are looking for a relationship but there is an instant spark between the two of them so they begin a fling which is meant to have an end date since Caleb is on the island for a limited time.

I never really warmed up to Faith and I think that was the main issue I had with this book. I can handle guarded and independent woman but Faith took it a bit too far and I really didn't like how she let other people (who btw had no positive relationship experience) influence her decisions about Caleb. I didn't like the way she treated him and how she walked away without even having a conversation with him. The other issue I had was that the conflict is wrapped up so quickly and Faith just skates on her behavior. It ended in a HFN and I assume we will see more of them in the continuing books.

While there were some great moments in the book it got a bit bogged down in the details of the music festival and I wish that Caleb and Faith had spent more time together. We were introduced to Faith's other siblings and they were definitely intriguing characters. So while I had a few issues with this book I was intrigued enough to come back for Mina's story which is next.

I was fortunate to be given an ARC copy of this book by the author and her publishers, in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Imagine that you are the daughter of a legendary rock star, the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands to come out of the USA. The same legendary rock star who gave you half siblings by different mothers, a dysfunctional yet privileged upbringing and his own brand of love. An upbringing on an island that, since your father’s untimely death and the subsequent breakup of the band, has become the place of pilgrimage for fans wanting to visit a pivotal place in the band’s history – an island that is your home.
Imagine that you are a tennis player, at the top of your game with sponsors and adoring fans following your every tournament. But following shoulder surgery, it is becoming harder and harder to remain in those top rankings and you have announced your unexpected retirement during a press conference. Now said press, management and fans are desperate to change your mind and you need somewhere to just be incognito and happy in your decision.
Faith Harper is the daughter of Blacklight frontman Grey Harper, and she continues to be the face of the Harper clan in Cloud Bay on Lansing Island as she is the organiser of one of the country’s most popular music festivals, CloudFest. Caleb White has gone to ground since announcing his departure from the tennis circuit until his friend Liam invites him to a music festival, CloudFest, with exclusive use of the home of a Blacklight bandmember. Neither is looking for a relationship, much less love…..
This is an easy to read, romantic fiction novel that doesn’t always follow the path that the reader expects. There is a rapport between Faith and Caleb from the moment that they first lay eyes on each other, but they each come with huge amounts of baggage and Ms Douglas does not give us a story where the course of true love runs simply! Throw in a complicated family that encompasses blood relatives and band members, the attention of the world’s paparazzi and a festival full of music lovers, bands, not to mention surprise acts that fail to show, what could possibly go wrong?!
The characters are easy to warm to and I felt that they developed into three dimensional people over the course of the story. It is light – so not for those of you looking for deep literature – but not written in a saccharine or overly sentimental way. Great for a weekend away on a sun lounger or curled up at home for an autumn evening or two. I enjoyed Need You Now and I think that if you are a fan of romantic, contemporary fiction you will too. This gets 4 stars from me.

3.5 Stars - What a good start to a new series – I really like the whole concept of Cloud Bay, from the small town/island setting to the cast of characters.

The music festival was such an interesting and unique backdrop to this story. It really helps tell Faith’s story – it’s clear that this festival is part of who she is and helps keep her connected to the memory of her father. It’s also clear that growing up as Grey Harper’s daughter and seeing the destruction that fame and the need to be in the spotlight can bring has shaped her outlook on love.

I also really liked the background to Caleb’s character. He’s at a crossroads and needs to figure out what is next, and hanging out with his friend and attending the Cloudfest music festival is just the diversion he needs…especially when he meets Faith. I do wish we got to see a bit more of who Caleb was. I don’t think his character was developed as well as it could have been and I ended up feeling that I never really knew who Caleb was or what made him tick. There was a lot of great potential for him and I really wanted to learn more.

As far as chemistry, Faith and Caleb had it in spades. These two were definitely burning up the sheets. And I really liked the fact that it was also apparent that on top of the attraction these two genuinely liked one another. They had an easy banter between them and I liked that neither seemed to take themselves too seriously and their fame and success didn’t keep them from being down to earth.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the pacing of the story was good, but there were a few times that I felt I got bogged down with too many details or extraneous information and it slowed me down a bit. And I do have to say I was also a little disappointed with the ending – it seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly and we were left hanging a bit…so I hope that we get to see more of Faith and Caleb as the series continues so we can find out more about their HEA.

Overall, I really liked this story and think it had a lot of great elements that will lead to a very interesting series. We got to meet and learn a bit about the rest of Faith’s family as well as many of the islanders and there seems to be great potential for some very interesting stories. This one is definitely worth checking out and I can't wait for the next installment.

Need You Now, written by Emma Douglas, is the first book in the Cloud Bay series. The series centers around the Harper family, and the first story is about Faith.

Faith Harper is in charge of running the country's biggest annual music festival, CloudFest. Music has always been a part of her life, especially since she's the daughter of a famous musician, Grey Harper. Her father was known to be a womanizer while he was alive, and was in out of her life while she was growing up. Needless to say, this has made her weary of getting into a serious relationship.

Caleb White, a famous tennis player, is at a crossroads in his life. He has just announced his retirement, and now has to decide what to do with the rest of his life. Needing to clear his head, he decides to take a trip to Cloud Bay to attend the music festival. Little does he know, but his life will suddenly become even more complicated once he meets Faith.

This is an author that is new to me, and I will admit that I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I loved the characters and felt that they were well-written. Caleb was my favorite, and although I liked Faith, I have to say there were times I was irritated by her. With that being said, I do understand her fear of relationships...growing up with a famous father, one that was absent more than he was present, obviously affected the way Faith views relationships. The supporting characters are interesting, and I am looking forward to learning more about them as the series moves forward.

Overall, I thouroghly enjoyed this story of Faith and Caleb. I believe this is a series that holds a lot of potential, and I am looking forward to the next book in the Cloud Bay series.

I would like to thank St Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. My views are my own and are in no way influenced by anyone else.