Member Reviews

Sing for Me was the first book I have read by this author but it won’t be the last. The story between Blu and Ashleigh was sweet, sassy and sexy. Blu is this mega rockstar and Ash is a substitute teacher who also writes music reviews. She’s a fan of Blus but he doesn’t start out on the right foot with her the night he arrives at his mothers house next door to Ashleighs. I loved how the author turned this constant playboy into a sweetheart.
He actually had to work and prove himself to her that he was truly into her.
Their story melted my heart and I very much enjoyed this read.

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SING FOR ME is the second instalment in Tam DeRudder Jackson’s contemporary, adult BALEFIRE erotic, rock star, romance series focusing on the rock group BALEFIRE. This is Balefire’s lead singer Blu Connolly, and part time school teacher/music reviewer Ashleigh Baker’s story line. SING FOR ME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary .

Told from dual first person perspectives (Ashleigh and Blu) SING FOR ME follows the building romance and relationships between Balefire’s lead singer Blu Connolly, and part time school teacher/music reviewer Ashleigh Baker. Ashleigh Baker is a music reviewer, a big fan of the rock group Balefire, and good friend and neighbour to Balefire’s lead singer Blu Connolly’s mother Diane. With the band on hiatus, Blu returns to his home town to spend a few days with his mother and in doing so meets our heroine, the woman with whom Blu will fall in love but Ashleigh is well aware of Blu’s reputation with woman, and in this, Ashleigh struggles to trust the man with whom she is falling in love. When her career as a music reviewer implodes, Blu invites Ashleigh in Balefire’s new tour, a tour that will see Ashleigh return home with a broken heart, and Blu having no idea what happened or why. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Blu and Ashleigh, and the fall-out as jealousy and obsession threaten the relationship between our leading couple.

Blu Connolly never intended to settle down but meeting his mother’s neighbour stirs something deep within our storyline hero. Ashleigh is a music reviewer whose career is about to be ripped out from under her until Blu offers Ashleigh the chance of a lifetime, and with it, a chance to grow closer for our leading couple.

The relationship between Blu and Ashleigh is a frenemies to lovers as Ashleigh, albeit a fan, struggles with her attraction to, and Blu’s history as a ‘love em and leave em’ kind of guy. Refusing to fall for Blu’s attempts to seduce, Ashleigh continues to push away Blu Connolly but the heart wants something the head refuses to accept. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Once again, we are introduced to the members of Balefire: Adam Tron, and Dakota Perri, and Jack Whitehorse and his fiancé Clio Barnes (Play for Me #1), as well as their manager Garrett Phillips, Blu’s mother Diane, and Rolling Stone reporter Benson Strauss.

SING FOR ME is a story of friendships and relationships, jealousy and betrayal, determination and love. The fast paced premise is captivating and entertaining; the romance is provocative and intense; the characters are energetic, and sassy but it took several chapters before I warmed up to Ashleigh Baker.


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Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers and the Author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

After reading the first book in this series and thoroughly enjoying it, I couldn't resist picking this up straight away. I love a hate to love romance trope, so this story was perfect for me. If you loved book one, Play for Me, you will love going back into the world of the rock band Balefire for book two. Although this book is in a series, it can be read as a standalone, so don't worry too much if you haven't managed to read Play for Me yet!

This book was a steamy, but not too steamy, romance with lots of tension to make you hot under the collar. I loved the wit between the two characters, and could not put down this book. I read this, like the first book, in one sitting and was completely immersed in the world with the author's writing.

In addition to the steamy scenes, there were some really sweet and tender moments between the two love interests, which was really lovely to read. It helped to understand the backstories and rationale behind each love interest, and these moments enabled the reader to have these.

Now I have to try and wait patiently for book three!

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“I always wondered what it would feel like to make love while flying through space. Now I know it’s fucking awesome.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy Monday lovelies!

I received an ARC, “Sing For Me” by Tam Derudder Jackson, and friends it was so darn cute. It’s the second book in the Balefire Series and it did not disappoint. Although I’m not exactly familiar with the first book in this series, there is no doubt I will definitely be rectifying that little misstep soon.

I fell in love with Blu and Ashley. Their chemistry was off the charts, the chase was beyond entertaining, and their love? It was so REAL! I loved that Ashley played a little hard to get, and I loved that Blu was bound and determined to win over her heart at all cost.

So if you want a quick, fun, entertaining read with a hint of spice and sexiness, then I suggest picking up this read!! I can’t wait for Dakota’s story, Wild For Me, coming in November 2021!

“Sing for Me” is available now on Amazon!!

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Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book!
I thought this was a cute book and it was a pretty fast read. I did think there could of been a bit more between them however I did enjoy it.

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This was my first book by Tam Derudder Jackson and I don’t know how I feel about this book yet.

Tam’s writing overall is good. Everything written has a purpose, there’s no unnecessary chapters or conversation between the two.

I love all enemies to lovers and celebrity romances and I really enjoyed this one. Personally, I would've loved a little more angst or even banter between the two characters. I felt like it was missing a little bit of spark or conflict.

It took me some times to warm up to Ashleigh, she was quick to change her emotions about him, seeing as she was a fan before -but she was even quicker to give him a chance.
Blu, I really enjoyed, but once again, I feel like something was missing. He’s back home for some times, living with his mom, so i can understand taming his playboys way, but we never actually heard him refer to those ‘ways’ or act on it after the first two chapters.

This was an enjoyable quick read.

Thanks to Negalley for my eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Book is now out!

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Sing For Me is a fun romantic romp that you can read and enjoy over a few hours. As a lover of rock star romances it was great to see the famous rocker having to struggle so hard to win the heart of the girl he falls in love with, it is not usually so difficult for most of them!

Ashleigh is the usual type of girl to fall in love a a rock star. She is a quiet and unassuming, a part time teacher and music critic. Her favourite thing to do is to potter around creating a masterpiece in her garden and having lunch with her neighbour Diane who just happens to be the mother of Blu Connolly lead singer of world famous band Balefire. Even though Balefire is her favourite band and she has seen them in concert she never expects to meet her rock idol Blu Connolly until he suddenly arrives late at night on her neighbour's driveway after noisily riding his Harley up the street and she goes out to find out who is making the racket.

Despite the obvious sparks flying between them Ashleigh gives Blu the cold shoulder not wanting to be involved with a rock playboy who will leave soon and break her heart. For Blu Ashleigh is the breath of fresh air that he suddenly needs to stay alive. Their love story has it's ups and downs as Ashleigh fights her attraction to Blu and he continues to mess up reinforcing her first impressions of him. It's a fun read that will make you frustrated, laugh out loud and give you the swoons especially as Blu sings to Ashleigh while they ride his Harley.

A very enjoyable read from a talented new author for me, unfortunately I missed the first book in the series so need to go back to it, but Sing For Me can be read as a standalone.

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-very one dimensional women without substance
-every woman in this book was a carbon copy of the other
-unlikable main character who seemed misogynistic

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Loved the romance in Sing For Me. It was an easy read and loved how the characters interacted with each other.

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3.5 stars
We have a rockstar who goes home to mom when done with his tour and meets her next door neighbour who doesn't want to fall for him. Maybe because I didn't really connect with either of them that it made it harder to buy the hook they had for each other especially hers. Seems like she just went along with everything too easily that I just couldn't relate. A nice read but lacked a bit of spark for me.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

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From the moment I read about Blu in the first book in the Balefire series I was immediately intrigued, and I also felt the same way about Dakota and Adam. All four of the Balefire rockstars own my heart. And the fact Blu has a harley motorcycle makes me so happy.

There is something so amazingly wonderful about these Balefire books that have my heart feeling so happy. The relationship between Blu and his mother, Diane, was so precious. And the relationship that Diane has with Ashleigh as a neighbor is so sweet and lovely. I loved the scene when Diane told Ashleigh about Blu coming home for a while. I honestly would have had the same reaction as Ashleigh did if is was about a band member I was fascinated by in a band I adored. Even if the guy was a playboy.

The romance between Ashleigh and Blu was so good! I couldn't get enough of it. It started out with there being tension between them and them both saying the wrong things to it then accelerating to something hot after countless attempts on Blu's part to woo her in some manner. They became friends after all the time they spent together after Blu continuously kept coming over to see her and help her fix up her house, car, and flower garden. The sexual tension between these two could be cut with a knife. Every time they did something to get on the others nerves it never doused the flame starting to burn inside them for each other. Even when Ashleigh attempted to push him away sometimes they continued to find there way back to each other.

They both found happiness with one another and it's wonderful. Blue went from being a playboy to finding love with an amazing woman. It took him some time to not be startled by feeling something so strong for Ashleigh, and for feeling jealous whenever someone else was making a move at her. I firmly believe there is someone out there for everyone that can completely rock a persons world. Ashleigh is that for Blue just as he is that for her.

I about died when it was revealed at the end of the arc for Sing For Me that the next book in the Balefire series is going to be Dakota's book! I'm so excited to see what happens for this walking one night stand since Blu, who was very much like Dakota in the playboy department, found love and true happiness with one special woman. And the fact the other main character for this book is someone we have already met makes me so happy.

For anyone that loves a motorcycle riding playboy rockstar who is also a mama's boy, a genuinely kind and a bit feisty girl next door, tension to friendship to love kind of romance, and a playboy who wants to throw all his normal actions away to solely focus on one woman you should definitely check out this book.

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This book is a quick and light read, but something about the couple didn’t fit just right. She was the girl next door, he’s the rockstar playboy, but there wasn’t a lot of drama for them to overcome and Blu made a switch to monogamy and stability real easy and quick. It just didn’t make sense. But otherwise it was an okay read.

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This book is the second book in Tam DeRudder Jackson's Balefire Series but can be read as a standalone. We get a peak into the characters from the first book and it definitely sparked my interest so we'll see if I get the chance to get to it!

This book is peak rockstar romance. Bad boy lead singer, Blu, sharing women, leaving women satisfied across the globe finally meets his match in the literal girl next door, Ashleigh. Well... next door to his mom, actually.

Ashleigh is a music reviewer trying to make ends meet. She rents a cute house and spends most of her time gardening and enjoying the friendship of the older woman next door. The older woman also happens to be the mother of the lead singer of one of the hottest bands around, Balefire. And Blu will be crashing at his moms place when he's off tour. Ashleigh is a fan of the band but never imagines that she'd find herself hanging out with Blu Connolly.

It starts of bumpy, their friendship... they're more like frenemies. Mostly because Ashleigh makes many assumptions about Blu and his rockstar lifestyle and behavior. What soon blossoms, because of Blu's persistence, is a strong friendship with mutual attraction. It's a slow burn because Ashleigh is protecting her heart, not wanting to be another notch on his bedpost. But Blu is determined to make her realize that she's so much more than that to him.

It was a light, fun read - I was definitely looking for some drama and some angst, to be honest. Though I enjoyed it, I wasn't as captivated as I had expected. Some things didn't feel fully realized and I wasn't sure I believed that Blu would go from multiple women one night to suddenly being completely into Ashleigh the next... I wanted to buy it but I think I needed more internal dialogue to really see how this progressed for Blu.

I did like the band members and would love to see stories for the rest of them but also want a little more emotional turmoil - I'm a sucker for the heartache and pain.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed Sing for Me. It was a bit of a slow burn romance but had a great pace. It kept me intrigued the whole time.
Blu
Is the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the country. Because of that he has access to any girl he wants and he takes advantage of it. Until he meets the girl next door to his mom's when he visits after his tour.
Ashleigh
Ashley is perfectly content working her two jobs and working in the garden of her rental house. When she is woken up by someone revving their motorcycle obnoxiously loud she storms out in her robe to discover it's the lead singer of her favorite band. She tries to ignore the attraction she has to him but she soon discovers it's not that easy.
Blu was such a great character. I really enjoyed his humor and his aloof attitude. The level of spice was nice too.
Ashleigh was also really likeable. You could tell she really was content in her life but also had ambition. I really liked how their relationship developed and played out. This was my first book by this author and I will be watching for more.
This was the second book in the Balefire series but it can definitely be read alone. However, I already plan to go back and read Jack's story and can't wait for Dakota's story.

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Sing for Me, the second book in the Balefire series gave the reader a front row view into the life of  Blu Connolly, the lead singer for the band Balefire.


The events of Sing for Me coincide with what occurred in the first book, Play for Me. Blu’s fans and the media see him as the type who works and parties hard. However, what they didn’t know is that Blu is a kindhearted soul, who loves his mom world without end. A fact the reader learns when the band went on a break from touring. The first place he headed was home. Little did he know that this time around, it would change his life.

Ashleigh is a music reviewer with the Colorado Music Works blog. She hopes to one work for a top-notch magazine doing what she loves. In the meantime, while waiting to make it big, she works as a substitute teacher. She recently moved to Denver, Colorado, where her new neighbor is none other than Blu Connolly's mother.

Blu and Ashleigh’s first meeting did not go down so well. This, however, did not prevent Blu from being blown away by his mom’s gorgeous new neighbor. For the first time since becoming famous, he had to fight to get a woman to notice him.
I had fun watching Blu trying to win over Ashleigh. Balefire may be her favourite band she, however, was not the stark struck type. Furthermore, she had no interest in becoming another notch on the handsome rock star bed post. However, despite all her efforts to avoid falling, Blu’s charm wore her down.

It took me some time to warm up to Ashleigh. I found her to in relation to. She was quick to believe the worst of him. However, she slowly mellowed out.

Prepare yourself for some sizzling intimate scenes. Blu and Ashleigh together burned up the pages.

Blu’s relationship with his mom was so sweet. Also enjoyed how he treated Ashleigh. No wonder she couldn’t resist him.

Conflict with two of the secondary characters arose. A conflict, which, came as no surprise given the setting of the story. However, the story ended with the issues unresolved. I expected there would be consequences for their actions, but this was not the case. That, for me, took away from the authenticity of the story.

Conclusion/Recommendation

To conclude, Sing For Me was a quick read. Although it didn’t wow me as I expected, it entertained me and provided the escape needed during the lockdown period.

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ARC received for review

This one takes place during the first book Play For Me: The Balefire Series, but it is a complete stand alone. You don't need to read the first one to enjoy this one.

Blu as a rock star always gets the girls easy, but with Ashleigh he really has to work for it. I loved how their relationship progressed and developed as they fell in love. Loved seeing all the other band mates again. I wish the drama with (sshhh not telling you who) had been cleaned up a little better. That could have been done better.

Oh, Dakota, you have your work cut out for you.

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The second installment follows another member of Balefire Rock Band.

Blu is the lead singer of the successful Band. He has quite the reputation with the ladies. He likes variety. He is the life of the party, on and off stage.

Ashleigh is his mother's neighbour and does not do one night stands. Balefire might well be her favourite band, but she isn't prepared to be another notch on somebody's bedpost.

Blu is on hiatus and is spending the time with his mum. He decides to persue Ashleigh. He is attracted to her from the first time they meet and is not prepared for the cold reception that she gives him. He always gets what he wants which makes him more determined. Can she be swayed?

The storyline is good. Blu is on the receiving end of chasing instead of being chased. Ashley gradually warms up to him and the push and pull between them is entertaining and frustrating at the same time. There is more about the band's rapport than there was in the first book. The romance is sweet, although it doesn't reflect the full effects of their fallout. In the end all is well. A quick and easy read.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

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This book went on and on, I felt that I was never going to be able to end it.
The heroine was really really prejudice and felt that the hero liked to get hurt.
I didn't like it at all. Too much drama, prejudice, and straight-up annoying leading lady.

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Boom chick-a-bow wow! This book is hot!

Romance lovers will quickly fall for Blu, a rock star with a gentle heart who finds himself falling for the sweet literal girl-next-door Ash. Together, they overcome their insecurities to try and find a happily ever after.

The story takes place largely in Colorado even though the characters feel like they belong in a southern romance. (Use of the endearment darlin', sweetheart..." The fact that he drives a motorcycle which seems like an impractical choice in a snowy cold state...) Blu is your typical playboy until he meets the charming Ash, who can't believe someone like Blu would ever be interested in her.

So here's what you need to know:

There's juicy sex scenes. On a scale of "We're going to hold hands" to "Shield your eyes and get the children out if the room!!," it's 100% on the far end of X rated.
This is a "macho man takes possession of his woman" troupe. Readers who don't like the hero using terms like "my woman" or commanding the heroine (it's all consensual) might not connect with plot.
It's a quick easy read that whisks you away for a few hours and lets you escape reality.

If this works for you, enjoy!

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I loved every second of this read! Blu and Ash are a fantastic couple, and every second of their story had me either laughing, crying, yelling, or sighing! I can't wait to see what happens to the rest of the band!

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