I Hate Rockstars

Short, sweet, easy binge read.


A rockstar, Nate, coming home to complete community service, for an undisclosed misdemeaner, at his teenage home's animal shelter where he is teamed up with his teenage love, Beverley, as his supervisor.

The writing was staightforward and easy reading. The slow start had the kind of set up that laid the end before us early. The spice, open door, for what it was was not overblown.

There appears to be a lost opportunity to elaborate on both Nates mental health woes and develop some real tension in regards to the music executive angle.

A nice filler between other books. Leans closer to YA than A.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

At the start of the book I wasn’t really feeling it, I think from where it was rushed due to the book being short but around 40-45% I was eating it up. A short and cute summer read!

This book didn’t live up to its potential. Unfortunately the story was super rushed and I usually love fast paced books. The setting was cute and the tropes ok. I just didn’t really care for the characters and wasn’t fully invested for that reason.

✨ARC Review ✨

⭐⭐⭐/5

I hate Rockstars by Mia McCoy is a nice summer romance, with likable characters and a decent storyline.

So the good parts... Loved the main characters and their dilemmas. The small town/island was very cosy. I loved the Moose storyline, in fact I think that's the most vulnerable storyline throughout the book. And I love how Moose's story ended up, it was really nice. The alternative dula POV was a nice touch, it helped to navigate through the story easily.

Now for the not so good... As I started the book, it took me quite a while to build the connection. It's not until almost 40%, that I felt that connection building. So even though, it's a short romance, those first 40% felt really long. But after that, it was good, and I started to really enjoy the book. Also the tropes felt rushed, mainly because it's a short fiction. The Forced proximity, enemies to lovers were so rushed that it didn't felt as enjoyable as it should. And It's the first time that I have noted my frustrations throughout the ebook.

Overall, it was a nice, easy read. But it could have been more. So 3/5 is all I can rate.

And if these tropes excite you,
🔣 Rockstar
🔣 Enemies to Lovers
🔣 Second Chance Romance
🔣 Small Town
🔣 Forced Proximity
🔣 Workplace Romance
🔣 Bucket list
🔣 One Bed
Give this a try

Thank you Author Mia McCoy, NetGalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for sending me this ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The idea of this book is adorable, and unlike anything else I’ve seen in the romance genre recently.

Nate, a rock star with panic attacks, is assigned community service at an animal shelter in his home town, which just so happens to be where his high school crush works.

There’s a cast of adorable animals, especially Moose and Louise, but most of the side characters fall flat and are as underdeveloped as the main characters.

The story is too fast-paced that nothing truly feels explained enough or resolved properly. What the hell was that stuff with Scooter? And why does Bev give up her dreams to follow Nate around the world?

The chemistry between Nate and Bev is lacking, there is an over-use of some awful phrasing and often, sentences, paragraphs and scenes are often abandoned without coming to their natural conclusion. All of this made the book difficult to read.

If you can overlook all of this, though, it’s a cute little second chance romance.

This was good! I loved it but I just wish it wasn't so rushed. I usually enjoy a good short romance but this felt like a pace problem rather than a length problem. Certain parts such as the dad hating the love interested for over 15 years over a high school thing doesn't really make any sense, nor is very realistic, just as an example

This is a contemporary romance novel that dives into the tumultuous world of fame, music, and unexpected love. The story centers around Bev who harbors a deep-seated aversion to rock stars due to past experiences. Her life takes a surprising turn when she crosses paths with a charismatic rock star who challenges her preconceived notions.

The author crafts a compelling narrative filled with emotional depth and witty dialogue. Bev’s journey is marked by personal growth, as she learns to confront her fears and past traumas while navigating the complexities of a relationship with someone from the very world she despises. Nate’s interest is portrayed with layers, showing vulnerability beneath the public persona.

The book's strength lies in its character development and the chemistry between the main characters. Their interactions are both fiery and tender, creating a dynamic that keeps readers engaged. McCoy's exploration of themes such as trust, forgiveness, and the impact of fame adds a layer of realism to the romantic plot.The pacing is well-balanced, with a mix of dramatic and heartfelt moments that maintain the reader's interest. This is a captivating read for fans of contemporary romance who enjoy stories of love found in unexpected places. It's a testament to the idea that sometimes, the people we least expect can change our lives in the most profound ways.

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️

At the start of the book I wasn’t really feeling it, I think from where it was rushed due to the book being short but around 40-45% I was eating it up. This is such a short and cute summer read. It had some great tropes such as rockstar, workplace romance, small town, second chance, forced proximity and one bed. These just so happen to be some of my favorite tropes. At first I found some dialogue to be kind of cringy but that’s something I can definitely look over in books! Also I loved the animal shelter scenes and any of the scenes with the actual animals!

This was such a quick and easy read! I love rock star mmc’s so when I received this arc, I was so excited. This was a perfect palate cleanser book! This was advertised as a second chance romance but it didn’t really seem that way to me. We didn’t get a lot of backstory and I wish there had been more character and plot development. The end seemed very rushed too and I wish we’d gotten more. But the relationship was so cute and Nate was so sweet. Overall this was entertaining and I love Bev having a job at the animal shelter!!!!

I liked reading this book. It was a cute and fun second chance and enemies to lovers book. I loved all the quirky animals at the shelter, but Moose was my favorite. I feel like it wrapped up a little too quickly and didn’t really give me all the answers I wanted, though.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Thankyou to netgalley for this ARC read. I am voluntarily giving my review.

I read this book in one sitting it was quite a light and fluffy read and was quite enjoyable.

I did however get slightly confused with bits of the storyline, like how the main male character was portrayed didn't match up in the actual story.

I would recommend it to others to read as the second chance romance is a trope I do love, but there is very little spice which made me not love it as much as I usually would a read (I live for smut haha)


Tropes / What to Expect
Enemies to lovers
Workplace romance
Second chance
Small town (beach)
Forced proximity
One bed
Palpable tension
Fun dialogue
And a motley crew of animals you can’t help but fall in love with

This was interesting. I generally like this genre so thought I would give it a try but I found the second-chance part of this very vague and like we were missing an entire backstory. There just wasn't enough follow through and I didn't love the end. Hope you have better luck!

I Hate Rock Stars comes out next week on August 8, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

Nate Hart. Nate fucking Hart. I can't believe it. Never in a million years did I think there was potential to cross paths with him again. After a minute of clearer thinking, I realize it's still probably unlikely to cross paths. He's on the rich side of town now. The beachfront side. There's no reason to run into each other, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Quick and easy read! I got through it within a few hours. Nothing to write home about. It felt like there was a piece of their relationship missing, although I’m not sure what. It just felt a little incomplete and didn’t draw me in in the way I thought that it would have. I do love an enemies to lovers pipeline though… and obvious bonus points for dogs!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book had very little spice, but it gave us a taste that was pretty good. I'd give it half a chili pepper out of five for spice rating.

The book itself as a romance was sweet and I'd rate it four stars out of five. It had a lot of appeal to me as I used to be a singer and have also volunteered with a dog rescue.

Hot rock star + romance + rescue animals = a lovely story!

I don't always like second chance romances, but lately I've liked every book that I've read that has one so maybe I'm changing my tune.

It was a nice small sized novel that could have been longer with more spice, but I enjoyed my time reading it.

I also really loved that the last chapter gave "what happened tos" for some of the rescue animals in the book.

It was fun. It was cute. And I'd recommend it to plenty of people.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for a review.

This is a sweet story about a rock star who has to do community service at the animal shelter where his enemy from high school works.

It does what you’d expect from a novel with that kind of blurb. It’s a quick and easy romance with many animals described. Which as an animal lover I really enjoyed. I read it by the pool on holiday and it’s that kind of book - one where you can concentrate on it even with the distractions of kids in the pool and music!

The relationship is a bit uneven and whilst the main character comments that he’s an ‘asshole’ there’s no evidence that he is. In fact the opposite really. And there’s a few inconsistencies that suggest this book wasn’t carefully read even by the author before it was published.

It’s very short which is totally fine but maybe why there’s not much in terms of romantic development. There was no brilliant sexual tension that would make me want to read it again.

Overall an amusing book probably good for teenagers’ first forays into adult romance.

I had so much fun reading this book, it was a small and interesting book with a story to tell,. I have to admit I like more complex things but this was perfect to cross a road between my normal reads.. I did like Bev and Nate story but some parts could have been a little bit more complex,

Well, this was a pleasant read! I truly enjoyed getting to know Nate and Beverly's story throughout the pages. The only thing that kind of bothered me was that there wasn't really anything special. I mean, I'm sure most of us love reading second chance romance books with forced proximity and great banter between characters - it was all there! It's just that when I think of this book nothing *special* and memorable comes to my mind.

Also, the pacing was fast so I felt like the ending was a bit rished, but I hope that's just me:/ I think the best thing to come out of this story was the relationship between Bev and her dad. This also added to Bev's character! It showed what kind of person she is, how caring and thoughtful she actually is and made me like her even more.

When it comes to Nate and Beverly - I found some of their interactions hilarious. I definitely enjoyed reading Bev's POV more, I just could relate to her in more aspects. Nate, on the other hand, felt like a flat character at times (that definitely changed near the ending).

Overall, I think it's a fun, enjoyable read that can have you giggling and crying all at the same time!

4.25 ⭐
1🌶️
Tropes: Rockstar, second chance, small town, enemies to lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity, second chance, one bed

Nate Hart is a rockstar with panic attacks. Bev is his childhood love, who lives with and cares for her ailing father while working at the local animal shelter. When Nate is court ordered into community service at Bev’s shelter, his first thought is “I wonder if she’s home”.

Tensions run high while he learns the ins and outs of the shelter, and at first they both try not to let go of their hatred for each other which started when they were in middle school. Except when news of a severely abused dog who needs to be taken in by the shelter comes, Nate and Bev drive 10 hours to go pick him up. As luck would have it, their plans for separate rooms and ignored feelings are foiled by toe wrestling.


**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**







There were a few things that stuck out to me that I wasn’t a fan of.

First, with the bunny. The fact that it was adopted by someone to be eaten came out of left field. I expected it to be something like he was a known animal abuser or bounces checks or maybe even resells them for profit but eating rabbits is not uncommon. Many people raise meat rabbits specifically for eating. It seems odd to me that someone would spend a lot of money adopting a rabbit just to eat it instead of hunting or raising it himself?

Secondly I find it odd that at 30 Bev hasn’t done more research into the issues she’s having with her period, either by going to a doctor or looking online.

When they finally get down to business at the hotel and Nate talks about having wanted her for 15 years, I didn’t expect that. I didn’t really get the unrequited love vibe from anything in the story leading up to that, especially since there was so much animosity between them when they first started working together and how much he wanted to get away from her.

I also felt the ending happened all of a sudden- I don’t mean it needed to drag on but maybe another 20 or 30 pages so he didn’t blow his load as soon as he thrust in?




I know this all sounds harsh, but this was a quick, fun read. I really did enjoy the book though and I definitely recommend it.

Hmmm okay, I was expecting a little bit of a different book. Things were mostly too fast paced due to the book being short, and due to that there were some things lacking for me.
The one thing I liked, was having older main characters. Most of the time main characters in romances are 25 or younger, and I really liked the trend of getting older main characters in (romance) books.
But this book also gave me some icks here and there, and I give a few examples:
Our main character needs to get a promotion to get a manager function, and to do that, she needs to raise 10k (!!!). That just does not feel realistic to me. Maybe things are different in the US? But that would be so impossible were I live, and it already gives you a heads up about what is going to happen and who is going to help.
"Do you feel the energy there' (whilst someone's hand is laying on another persons arm). The end up describing heat, when you touch a person it feels hotter than when your hand hoovers over a person. But to talk about energy? It immediately gave me icks because I thought it would talk about chakras, and I am not at all a spiritual person.
Another thing that was so weird was the following "I consider how unexpected it is for a rock star to love ice cream." Girl, you went to school with the guy??? Like, you actually knew him. How is it unexpected.

And the chemistry between Nate and Bev just felt lacking, the book pacing was off, everything just happened to fast. Same with the ~corn~ scenes. Due to the so called 4play not really being there, it was just a bit cringey. And honestly, the scenes were over way too fast to actually feel realistic, but once again, due to the 4play kinda missing, I couldn't really care for those scenes.

The writing itself is okay, and the book would've been 10 times better if it was a little bit longer and took more time to slow down the pace from time to time. I do see potential in this writer, and hopes she doesn't stop writing, because there is a lot of room for development.

That all being said, I ended up rating this book 2.75 stars. It is not "bad" enough for a 2.5 stars, but not good enough for a 3 star book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this adorable book—it will be published August 8, 2024!

This is such a cute, fluffy dual POV book that really makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. I enjoyed the evolution of Bev and Nate’s relationship and teared up at the end of the book. This is truly one of those romance books to read if you need a little pick-me-up!

While the character development is fairly minimal it is there for both of our main characters. Bev and Nate both grow into themselves alongside each other and no, it isn’t exceptionally thought-provoking but it does seem realistic. This isn’t one of those books that will change your outlook on life but—at least in my opinion—it offers a bit of wholesomeness to it nevertheless!