What a great start to a new series. I love music but I don't always love stories that involve musicians because often the story ends up very superficial about the industry and how the star can never find someone who loves them for them and not their job. This book was nothing like that. The characters were very real and easy to love and relate to. Dylan and Charley are just two ambitious people who love their jobs and what the do and they meet and have amazing chemistry. The story naturally unfolds and is paced well as we see how their ambitions and hang-ups with relationships are in conflict with the natural chemistry driving them together.

Charley is living her dream. As a DJ spinning records at a Country Music station in Nashville she’s behind the microphone and away from the crowds that terrify her.

But that all changes when she meets Dylan. He’s the eponymous Rising Star of country music. He’s not interested in the trappings of stardom, the women and the parties –– but he is interested in her.

Charley is determined to not follow in her mother’s footsteps and give up everything for a man, and Dylan has the future of an entire record label riding on his shoulders. Both have their careers and lives pulling them in different directions. And with a relationship that is only weeks old he is on tour and away from her leaving her to face the end of her career alone.

I love music. All music. I listen to everything from Patsy Cline to Bad Religion. I love it all. But I don’t like books about the music industry. For me the song is the story. I don’t want to look behind the veil. Calling a spade a spade, I find the ‘business of fame’ vacuous and empty.

So when I picked up this book I wasn’t expecting to love it. Hell, I was worried I wouldn’t even like it.

I shouldn’t have worried. Rising Star is everything I want from Contemporary Romance. It’s everything I want from a book. It’s perfect in every single way. It’s one of those books you don’t want to end.

Solid Gold 5 Stars!

Fans of the tv show Nashville are going to love this series! This is a great story of a singer songwriter working hard to make it in the music business. He's had one shot and blown it so now he can't let anything get in his way. Dylan Monroe has everything planned out. That is until he meets one of Nashville's up and coming DJ"s Charley Layton. Charley is smart, sassy, and beautiful. Everything he never knew he wanted. But now that he has her how can he keep her and kick start his career?? Terri Osburn did a great job with this one and you don't want to miss it. Definitely a recommended read.

This book was just okay. I felt like it needed more to hold my interest though which was an issue.

The book pretty much went as expected, with no major surprises.

Charley was raised in the backwoods by her grandparents after her mom died. She has always dreamed of being a Nashville radio DJ,making her own way and not depending on anyone. Not only does she not have time for a relationship, she doesn't want one. After his first album never even made it out to the public, Dylan is getting his second chance at becoming a country star. But when they meet, the sparks fly and Dylan knows he wants a relationship with Charley, but she won't let any man alter her dreams. But when he finally convinces her to take a chance on him, he goes out on tour for 3 months and they will find out if their relationship can withstand the distance.

This is a sweet, steamy romance that will have you cheering for their relationship to succeed. Dylan is a gentleman and every woman's dream guy, while Charley is a strong, independent woman that won't give up on her dreams. This book was a delight to read and I recommend you take Dylan and Charley's journey.

I received an ARC Copy courtesy of Montlake Romance through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Rising Star is book one in the brand new series, Shooting Stars, by Terri Osburn. I have only previously read one short story by Terri but I fell in love with it. Why I never read anything else is the big question here. I decided to jump in now because this is a new series and well, just look at the cover. I can’t say no to a man that looks like that in his Stetson. This book was amazing. It was everything, fun, sexy, the Hero was seriously swoony. Sometimes when I fall in love with a book right from the start, I wait for the feeling to fade, for the story to dim a little bit. But that never happened. I loved it more with every page. And that ending. I had to wipe my eyes. So after all this build up, let me tell you about it.

Charley Layton is twenty-five years old and has only been in Nashville a few months. She came from a small town where she was a DJ for a radio station there but to work for a well known station in Nashville was her dream and now she was living it. She was the newbie but that was fine. She would gain everyone’s respect. This was all she’s ever wanted to do. She has made a pact with herself that relationships are a big NO! She has to concentrate on her career. She is an independent woman and she won’t give up her dreams for anyone.

It’s her birthday so her roommate has taken her out for the night. You know that old cliché of the eyes that meet across the bar and sparks erupt? Well, that happened. She saw him at the end of the bar wearing that black Stetson and was struck speechless. She was off of relationships but that didn’t mean maybe she couldn’t give herself a birthday present of a one night stand with a very hot cowboy, right?!

Dylan Monroe is a country music singer who is on the cusp of finally gaining some recognition. He had a chance once before and it fell apart. After years of struggling, now is his big chance. He has a single releasing and it’s only the beginning. When he saw the beautiful woman across the bar, he couldn’t look away. And when they talked, he was even more taken with her. When he held her in his arms in a dance, he didn’t want to let her go. And when they kissed, the world stopped spinning.

“His gut said there was something here. Something worth pursuing.”

Clay Benedict is the owner of the brand new record company, Shooting Stars Records. He has put everything he owns into getting this company off the ground and currently, they have one artist, Dylan Monroe. Clay has secrets of his own, the reason he walked away from a very lucrative partnership with his life long friend.

“I’m here for a song, remember?”
“You are a song, Charley Layton.”

So starts Dylan and Charley’s relationship. Perhaps starting a brand new relationship at the same time that a musical career is just taking off isn’t the best timing. Dylan is so taken with Charley, though, that he is determined to make this work. Charley was so determined not to get involved but she just can’t resist Dylan. But what happens when Dylan is on the road and all those young groupies are throwing themselves at him? She hasn’t even known him long enough to be able to trust him.

“Do I seem like a damsel in distress to you?”
“Not in the least.”
“Then why are you always coming to my rescue?”
“Lucky, I guess.”
“Who’s lucky? Me or you?”
“Maybe we both are.”

This book! I loved every page. I am so in love with Dylan. He made me sigh, swoon, just melted me into a puddle. He was just that perfect. One thing that I really loved about this book was that there was so much more than just the relationship between Dylan and Charley. There is a whole story with Clay of Shooting Star Records. Charley’s roommate, Mattie was a character. Dylan’s roommate, Casey, had a bit of a story going on. So, there was a lot happening. Did I convince you yet? I hope so. I am so glad I finally jumped on the Terri Osburn bandwagon. I can’t wait for the next book in this series, Falling Star, which will feature a brand new star for Shooting Star Records, Chance Colburn.

This is a good story and a good start to this new series. Charley and Dylan are great. Charley thought she didn't want a permanent relationship, but then she met Dylan. Charley's mom gave up her dreams when she met Charley's father. Charley was never going to let that happen to her. Dylan is one of those steady men that would make you think of forever. Dylan is a singer who is on his way to the top. Charley may be a radio personality, but she doesn't like the limelight. Can Dylan convince her that she can have her dream and a good life with him too?

I have been a fan of Ms. Osburn from the beginning of her writing career. This book to me is a departure from her previous works. Set in Nashville its a story of an upcoming artist named Dylan and a DJ called Charley. Though it is a departure from her previous novels it was an intriguing plot that i have not read before. Not only is the story up Dylan trying to make it in the music business we meet several secondary charcacters. We meet Casey(whose the drummer in Dylan's bad) who is nursing a breakup from his girlfriend. There is Clay who started his own music label and having Dylan being his only signed artist and being nervous how it would turn out. Matty Charley's roommate who is anti-man and is not too happy with Dylan being in Charley's life. As stated I loved seeing some of the happenings that goes to make a singer a star. I loved the steady built of the story and the characters and how it played. A great addition to Ms. Osburn's work.

3.5☆
This is my first book by Terri Osburn.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.

Another great read by Terri! Loved the chemistry between charley and Dylan! Theirs is a sweet romance that proves that love at first sight exists! Can't wait for the next installment of the series...(hoping to see more from Elvis and Matty)

This was a fun one to read. I loved how Charley and Dylan met, but knew that Dylan keeping what he did a secret would cause problems. Dylan could have taken advantage of things, but he didn't, instead he showed Charley a good time with the low key things they did. It was fun to see their romance evolve, but I knew the issues that were coming, you could see it coming. It was interesting to watch Dylan get his eyes opened. I loved that even though Dylan didn't know what was going on with Charley, he went after her, letting her know that it was her he wanted. I loved how this one ended, loved the change the two of them made in their lives and how both of them seemed to find their dreams together.

Please note I received a copy of RISING STAR from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five Stars and here’s why:

Terri Osburn wrote a love letter to Nashville and country music in this fast-paced, romantic story full of sweet and sassy women and hella-hot, sexy guys. What’s refreshing about RISING STAR is that each character is well written (love that Ruby – so wise, too). RISING STAR is full of humor and heart with a page-turner of a plot. I simply couldn’t put it down until I devoured the whole book in one afternoon!

Charley is a rising radio personality who wants to succeed on her own terms. Dylan is a music artist who is a stand-up, solid guy. When their worlds collide, sparks fly and chaos ensues, as their careers and certain situations become impediments to their potential for love.

Highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to read Ms. Osburn’s next Shooting Stars book!

This book totally stands alone and does not end on a cliffhanger. It contains both cursing and on-screen sex, so if those thing will cause you to leave a bad review, you should probably skip this one.

One of the things that Ms. Osburn does beautifully is to write male characters who are darn near perfect. They don't have to be swaggering “alphas” (a term that in the romance world seems to be synonymous with 'total a-hole') who order their women around and act like total jerks to be sexy, they're just really great guys who are confident and sexy while being unashamed to love. I adore that about her books and Dylan fit perfectly into that mold, being just a solid, good dude despite being a rising country star. He didn't put on airs or pretend to be some ridiculous 'alpha male' in order to look important, he was just a good guy who happened to also have a talent for singing and I loved that. Even when things went south with Charley, he loved her enough to figure out what was going on and to fight for her, which made me swoon. Charley was a strong, smart woman who was incredibly likable as a character. I found myself heavily invested in this story as I read it, just wanting these two to get their act together and find their happily ever after. The side characters in this one were really great. They added a lot to the story without overwhelming it – even though Matty made me want to grind my teeth more often than not. In the end she came through but for more than three quarters of the book I had no idea why Charley even talked to her.

Ms. Osburn's books are always written with humor and heart, and this story is no exception. I loved the banter between Dylan and Charley as they drove toward the Pharmacy, and the dozens of more subtle moments that made me chuckle while I was reading. This book also felt a little bit like a love letter to the city of Nashville.

If you enjoy a book set in the music scene that features two very likable characters who belong together, you should read this book. I hope that Ms. Osburn has plans to write stories about the other band members and even Matty, because I would happily read all of them.

I requested and was generously granted an ARC of this story via NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to write this review, I did so because this book is great.

Rising Star is a fast, fun read. I fell a little in love with Dylan, with his strong male presence, and Charley, with her own set of issues. If you're at all a music fan, you'll enjoy the story of an up and coming singer and his journey to love. And if you like an independent woman, you'll be on Charley's side as she works her way through her own needs in life to find her happy ending. I really loved Terri Osburn's Anchor Island series, so I was pretty thrilled to see that she's starting a new series. I can't wait to see where she goes next.

Four and a half *Country Music* Stars! I liked this book. I didn't love it. It took me awhile to read due to meds giving me fits. Everytime is lay down to read I'd fall asleep. There were times when I was reading and could've sworn I'd read it before. But the deeper I got the better it got. It had its slow moments but wasn't bad. If your a country girl like myself or a country music fan. I'd recommend this book. I got my romance steamy at times. I also got my HEA. And a little look into their future. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!!

I really enjoyed this story, some of the things I liked were the personality of the heroine of the story. Charley was a strong and witty character. I liked the fact that she was not portrayed as a damsel in distress, and that she could definitely handle herself. I liked how sweet Dylan the male lead character was depicted in the story, he was such a gentleman! He definitley won my heart with those date surprises he elaborated to win Charley’s heart! I wish the story was longer because I want to know more of how their relationship progressed at the end of the book, but alas it was a great book! It left me wanting more!

Something else that I found that I surprisingly liked was that the author sprinkled scenes of the supporting characters, outside of the storyline of the main characters. I am hoping the author might someday use these scene’s as a segue to writing more books focusing on these characters.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, If you liked the synopsis of the book go ahead and give and read it, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more from this author!

I enjoyed this story of a strong, career focused county DJ, Charley Layton, who has landed in Nashville and while she is afraid of attention and limelight, her fan base is quickly growing. Charley meets the sexy Dylan Monroe and can't resist the one night fling they share.

While Charley wants to focus on career and let that be first in her life, Dylan has different idea about the two of them when a chance second encounter brings him face to face with Charley.

Dylan is an upcoming country star and is being interviewed by Charles at Eagle 101.5. While he too needs to be career focused, Dylan can't help but be extremely attracted to Charley. Breaking her walls down, Dylan gets Charley to give his relationship a go, until his manager tells him he must play up the eligible bachelor side for his fans.

When Dylan goes on tour and leaves Charley behind drama ensues as insecurities arise and Dylan gives in to the fame. While I hated Dylan's manager, Mitch, and I curious as to what Clay accomplishes and how he handles his new company while dodging a former lover. With new talent being signed on upcoming books in this series are sure to entertain.

This one is a pretty standard Romance story it's the length of an average Harlequin/Silhouette series book and follows that format pretty close so if you enjoy this type of book you will like this quick read.

Rising Star, A Shooting Stars Novel Book 1, Terri Osburn

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, General Fiction (adult) 

I have a real weak spot for romances where the men are stars....so this caught my eye. It proved to be a fun read, not a weepy, fast paced heart stopper but a good, solid, realistic romance. 
I loved Charley and Dylan and the secondary characters, their freinds and the band were good too. that means so much to me, if i don't like the characters the story's a fail for me. I have to like them to care about them, worry about them, feel empathy for them, and here they caught and tucked into my emotions. 

I could understand Charley's hesitance about romance, once bitten and all that and her career meant so much to her.
Dylan understood it too, after all his career was very important to him too, especially after the past issues with it. He knew though that they had something special between them and was determined to wear Charley down. 

I liked the way the story played out, it felt very genuine but the only thing stopping it being a five was that somehow the romance seemed very quick, Charley was hesitant, then they were together and then the issues hit.
I sort of missed any real build up to them, it was a very 180 turn and full speed ahead and I felt that left a bit of space that I needed filling, a gap between Charley's determination not to get involved and suddenly there they were totally in love.
Its not a huge issue and won't bother many/most readers but it left it feeling a little light, a bit short on angst and drama for me. 

Stars: four, a fun and moving romance. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

This book was really fun and sweet and I really enjoyed it. It is #1 in the series and each book has a happy ending at the end.I say that because when reading the book, you read a few different view points and so I was not sure it was a serial. But it is a whole story.

It really reminded me of that tv show Nashville which I really enjoy and if you like the show you will love this story. Charley meets Dylan on the night of her birthday. They really hit it off and are so sweet and cute together. But Charley doesn't think she can have a relationship aand so she ducks out on Dylan.

Lucky for her fate has other plans and well I loved watching her and Dylan get to know each other better. There is a lso an element of insta love which I did not feel about the characters. But I did like them together and I enjoyed reading their story.

The big issue/breakup seemed kinda silly. I mean who quits their job, gives up their apt and moves home within a week of not talking to their boyfriend. I understand it was for plot purposes but still it was way too fast. As for Dylan, he doesn't use email? No laptop? He could have called her work. The whole thing was just silly. Luckily this gets rectified fast but it seemed very silly.

I did not love Clay and learning about his love life. I understand he and his agency is probably where the series goes with the next book and the next rising star but I did not need to know certain things about him. All in all a fun stoy that is well written and with characters I like.