*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

5 stars

I'm convinced there are readers for just about every book. Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me.

I was excited to read it when I picked it up; I'm always looking for a good romance. The first chapter was intriguing enough, I'll admit. However, it didn't make up for the rest...

Nico's character didn't convince me and Grady's fell flat. The absence of chemistry despite them trying didn't help.

I put the book down a third of the way in, when Nico decided to do exactly what Spencer was telling him not to do: act like he is using him. The worse is that Spencer was supposed to come off as the antagonist. It just made me sigh.

I still gave it a two star rating because there are worse books out there. I'm sure others will appreciate it better than I did.

I love this whole series. Great twists, lovely relationship and a cant put down mentality throughout the series that makes it so good.

Adult romance is a very tricky genre for me. This is entirely a me thing, because it just very quickly rubs me the wrong way. But I wanted to give this a try since I've enjoyed other books by this publisher, and it's LGBTQ+. And I'm quite glad I did!

I was drawn into this book from the very first page, and I enjoyed it so much. It's exactly what I would want from a romcom. It's fast-paced and funny, and I especially liked how detailed the writing was. This made for a very atmospheric read. And the main character is just amazing, I loved him a lot.

I did think the book could have done with more communication between the main character and the love interest, because this was mostly left until the end, while I thought it was quite necessary earlier on in the story as well.

Rep: gay Japanese MC, bisexual love interest, f/f couple

CWs: graphic sex scenes, addiction, alcohol consumption, hospital visit, mention of a panic attack

While I thought the writing wasn't bad, Broken Records, for the most part, didn't end up working well for me. A lot of it had to do with the characters themselves. While I understand that Nico is supposed to be a flawed character, it sometimes felt a little extreme, especially when it came to some of his actions and decisions. Quite a few of the things he did just left me confused as to why? Grady, on the other hand, was a little <i>too</i> perfect and didn't feel very fleshed out. I also had a hard time with "the communication issues" that were present -- a romance "trope" that I really don't like. Overall, this was a quick read and definitely not the worst, but I ultimately wasn't left with a lasting impression.

Broken Records is the first book in the Spotlight series. Nico Takahashi is a LA based celebrity stylist. Grady Dawson is country music’s current IT boy in need of a makeover. I absolutely love country music so I was really excited to get into this one. Ultimately, it was just ok.
My biggest issue was that in no point I felt any sort of emotional connection to either MC. I think it has to do with the writing style, it felt like I was being told the story. Also, the present tense narration drove me crazy.
Grady was perfect. Seriously, he was too perfect. I wish we could’ve gotten his POV to understand what was going on in his head.


Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Sweet romance between Nico, stylist to celebrities, who is asked to style country singer Grady Dawson for a photo shoot because he is trying to change his image. Sparks fly between the two and eventually Nico finds himself in Nashville styling Grady for the Country Music Awards. Grady and Nico are like night and day but they manage to find some common ground and the really like each other. Enough to spend the night together. Then Nico realizes that they are much to different to have any kind of relationship and flees to LA. But has second thoughts. He really liked Grady and felt like Grady liked him too.... SO one drunken night when his assistant is staying at his house he texts Grady from her phone and fins out where he is. And goes to him. And they reconnect. Evreything is not all sunshine and roses for Grady and Niko but they try to work it out. This is a sweet love story between a super famous country star with a bad boy rep bi-sexual and a quiet stylist who shuns the spotlight. I really enjoyed this story and will look for others by the same author. Thanks to NG for the ARC!!!

Nico Takahashi is a stylist based in Los Angeles when his business partner first shows him a magazine article about country-star, Grady Dawson. Busy and always-on-the-go, Nico doesn't think twice about it (beyond hot attractive Grady is) until he finds himself with an opportunity to style Grady for a photoshoot. The chemistry between them is immediate. When the photoshoot goes well - and Nico can't seem to get the country boy out of his mind - he agrees to go to Nashville for another business commitment. Things....heat up and Nico gets tangled up.

Nico and Grady are immediately drawn to each other - which is done in a way that works! I find that sometimes fast connections between characters don't work for me but that's not the case here. These characters are well-written, the instant connection is physical and genuine and the personal connection is slower to blossom.

Of course, their lives become entangled. As steamy and overwhelming as Nico and Grady's intimate life is - the public wants a lot of news about their private life. Nico struggles under the weight of rumors, gossip magazines and the online reminders of Grady's past. This story is a little foray into the world of being an artist and having to deal with fans and paparazzi and the misinformed opinions that come about.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this story was the way that Suzanne wrote Grady. There's enough characterization at first to be intrigued by him... then ... just like Nico, the reader has to wait and see what will be revealed. How real is Grady? Is he as genuine as he seems? What's happened in his past to make him the person he is? Of course, a lot of that is revealed as the story unrolls. You already know that I'm not going to spoil the details for you.

The romance between these two men is a roller coaster ride. They are passionate, sometimes angry, occasionally even hurtful but it's hard not to care about them.

Now is a great time to get The Spotlight Series by Lilah Suzanne. On July 16, 2019, you can get the box set of 3 ebooks for only $8.99 US. Interlude Press let me read Broken Records which is the first book in the trilogy and I loved it.