This book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The choice of third-person narration was an interesting approach, but it didn’t work well here. For a romance story, a first-person perspective would have been far more effective in conveying the raw emotions of the characters. Instead of feeling their anger, sadness, or love, I was told about it through a detached narrator, which made it harder to connect with them.

The plot itself had some intriguing elements, but the characters were frustratingly inconsistent. Axel was described as awkward at first, but his actions didn’t align with that description. Meanwhile, Cillian couldn’t seem to decide if Phoebe was his girlfriend or his fiancée—this confusion even extended to other characters, which made their dynamic feel messy and unconvincing.

Phoebe’s emotional journey also felt out of sync. For someone recovering from a serious accident, her upbeat humor came out of nowhere, making it hard to take her struggles seriously. If this was meant to show her coping mechanism, it wasn’t developed enough to feel believable. And while she’s making jokes in one scene, she’s grieving the loss of her relationship in the next—it just didn’t flow naturally.

Nick, Phoebe’s brother, was another weak point. His role as a protective sibling felt underwhelming, especially given how much Cillian seemed to worry about him. The drama around Phoebe hiding her songwriting also felt unnecessary and contrived, adding conflict that didn’t feel earned.

The subplot involving the stalker was predictable, which isn’t always a bad thing, but it lacked the suspense or tension needed to make it engaging. On top of all this, the story’s focus on Cillian became overwhelming—he was brought up constantly, even in scenes where his presence wasn’t necessary, which made the narrative feel repetitive.

After slogging through 250 pages, I found myself skimming the rest just to get to the end. While I didn’t want to give up on the book entirely, it was a struggle to stay interested. Overall, I’d give it 1.5 ⭐. It had the foundation of a good story, but it fell apart in its execution.

Loved reading the awesome and amazing romance story. Phoebe is devastated by Gillian's death and betrayal, but someone is wanting Phoebe gone, and Axel, another band member wants to protect Phoebe. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read riveting love story.

After her longterm fiancee dies, Phoebe is at a bit of a lost end. She and Cillian were together since childhood and her life really revolved around their art: her painting and his music. In the chaos of publicity, Phoebe moves in with his band, Brothers of Anarchy, and has to deal with her feelings for the band's drummer, Axel.

I love supporting Irish writers and was really excited that (with some detours), this book was set in Dublin, a place with a flourishing arts scene. So many of the connections and relationships in the book felt very authentically messy and Irish. Phoebe's brother, Nick, has to navigate his loyalty to Phoebe as well as her fiancee, Cillian, his childhood best friend, while Phoebe has to sometimes swallow her feelings to support her mother in law. It's a dynamic that isn't often portrayed in romance novels, but felt real to Irish life. I also very much felt like I vicariously lived through Phoebe's righteous anger (who hasn't sometimes wanted to destroy the car of someone who wronged us?) without having to deal with the consequences and I knew I loved her best friend, Lena, the minute Lena made it clear she hated morning yoga (same, girl).

I was very proud that I guessed who the culprit was before the ending and the one thing I wish we had gotten more of was some specificity about the Irish arts scene - hope to see more in future Callaghan books

This book is the perfect combination of mystery and romance. I was a bit skeptical going into this book due to some of the tropes, but I ended up really enjoying it. There were a couple of places where I thought that the execution was a bit lower than the rest of the book, and the ending was a bit unhinged in my opinion (in a good way). I'm hoping that this author writes a second book in this series, because I'd really like to see a book for Lena and Nick.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I was very excited to read another one of Callaghan’s books! Her writing has always been enjoyable to read.

Maybe this plot wasn’t my cup of tea, but I found my self unenthusiastically just trying to finish the book, where I couldn’t put her other books down. So I gave this book 3.5 stars because I honestly did not enjoy the plot line or the plot twist, HOWEVER, it is a very well written story and if twisty thriller/romances are your jam, check it out.

I had a hard time with this one. I didn't love the character inconsistencies... they were difficult to keep track of. You could also tell the author wanted to make you emotional, but it didn't land. Some scenes were exaggerated and I was literally rolling my eyes at some of the dialogue. It wasn't for me. :(

This was my first Kate Callaghan book, so I wasn’t fully sure what to expect, but I can say she’s earned a spot on my authors to read more of list.
This book gave a great suspense feel with romance sprinkled in. I tried putting myself in Phoebe’s shoes of being in a 10 year relationship, that ended in more than one ways. How one navigates that grief, on top of also being under the paps spotlight and having your own business and become under attack. Phoebe never wavered and there were a few times I gave her a mental high five for how she grew throughout the book and used her voice to not back down and defend those she loved. Watching the connection and protection that Axel offered and how he was there every step of the way, and the slow burn of that couple throughout the book was done beautifully.

This was my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed the book. I was hooked from page one and couldn't wait to see where the story went. I love romantic suspense and this book did a pretty solid job. I really liked Phoebe and Alex, even though Phoebe did make me scratch my head a few times.

There was a lot of additional drama that I'm not sure was 100% needed. I think the author was just trying to keep us from figuring out the Baddie too early on, but all it did was make me side eye certain characters.

I wasn't surprised when the Baddie was revealed. I saw it coming but didn't see the reasons which I guess was a nice twist. All in all, this book was OK. If you're looking for a rockstar romance with a little added suspense, you'll probably enjoy this one.

I received a free copy in exchange for my opinion on the book. 🤗🖤💙 Thanks Netgalley.

Pls excuse my writing.

It certainly has potential. It was written in 3rd person, and I have to say that's very different from what I usually read. But it did show me a different style of writing. The cover pulled me in.

The book would have been better in 1st person. It would help feel the actual emotions of the characters instead the narrator/author stating that they feel angry or nervous. For romance books, I think first person would always be a better option though.

The inconsistency in feelings and actions kinda left me to build a personality of my own for each character. For example, Axel was portrayed as awkward in the begining, But he really wasn't. And Cillian couldn't make up his mind about whether Pheobe was his Gf or Fiànce... nobody could???

As I was saying, feelings don't align. Pheobe is making jokes shortly after waking up from the accident. If it was her coping mechanism than ok, I understand... I guess. But she mourns him the rest of the book soo.... yeah.

Nick who is Pheobe's brother is not brothering. Cillian seemed to think Nick would be after his life yet anyone reading the book can tell that he must be delusional.

Last points, why'd she hide about writing the songs just for 2 pages of extra drama.
The stalker was predicatable, but that wasn't a problem for me. And why was Cillian is mentioned every page or 2.

Thanks again for the ARC.🎉

It would be hard to give a review without giving spoilers. There is a band and they are all friends and one of the band members is engaged to the sister of one of his band mates. There's twists and turns all throughout the story.
There is still editing that needs to be done.
Unfortunately I had a rough time reading this story.
There is so much potential for it to be amazing but the characters fall flat, there isn't enough detail and the plot and twists feel very rushed.

“For those who’ve mourned a future they’d never see, yet found the strength to find a new path.”

Did not see anything in this book happening the way it did and I am pleasantly surprised!

The book follows Phoebe, an artist who has finally had her big break in the art world.
After her exhibition, she plans on surprising her fiancé, Cillian the lead singer of Brothers of Anarchy, at his show in Munich.
She definitely surprises him.
After they end up in a car accident in which he dies, the media targets her.

Axel, the drummer of Brothers of Anarchy, he’s been in love with Phoebe from the moment he saw her but soon realized she was off limits.
After the accident, he just wants to be there for her in anyway he can.

This book had love after death, suspense and all the feels of grief.
In that grief, though, we see the band and Phoebe really work it out together and being them closer than ever!

Kate Callaghan really showed how love can be found again even if it wasn’t the love you were expecting.

Tropes:
🥁Drummer x artist
🎨Ex best friends
🥁Brothers best friend
🎨Slow burn
🥁He falls first
🎨Forced proximity
🥁Romantic suspense

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I was intrigued by the summary but I felt that the plot wasn’t executed correctly. The story did drag a bit and I felt myself wanting to DNF but decided to push through. It was difficult for me to connect with the characters as well.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me this.

This was a a really good read and I read this in one sitting, I loved the romance in this and the ending did make me tear up! I did enjoy this book and look forward to reading more from this author ☺️

3.75 stars

I adored both mcs. They were absolutely delightful to read yet... I didn't like the end.
The who did it part... I had my suspect very early on, and I was right. I just wish their motivations were better(?) Because I found it silly.
Still, this is probably my favorite Kate Callaghan book so far.

This book had a little bit of everything. Romance check. Mystery check. Suspense check. Threw me for a loop when Cillian up and died but still enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I thought this might be a fun read - mystery thriller romance with a rockstar, what's not to love? Turns out, unfortunately, a lot.

The pacing of this was all over the place. I couldn't grasp if it had been weeks or months, and I found myself judging the characters. Phoebe was head over heels in love with Cillian, who's she'd been with since she was 14 but then...kisses his band mate at his funeral?!

I get that Cillian had done something bad, and she was angry, but the relationship between Axel and her moved waaay too fast. For such a long relationship, I feel like Phoebe should've been doing more grieving - especially as she'd only just found out what he'd done. That love wouldn't die that quickly.

On top of that, I was just plain confused by Phoebe. Apparently it was a big thing to keep it a secret that she helped write their lyrics...lol what. Why was Nick so angry at her for this? They didn't feel like siblings, and I don't get why Nick kept taking care of everyone else EXCEPT Phoebe. Then you also had Phoebe making the dumbest decisions.

Someone breaks into her studio and makes threats...which is across from her apartment, yet she sees no issue with this and doesn't think she'll be harmed or at risk. She goes and commits a crime...in public...to get back at someone? She let's herself get walked over and turned into the bad guy for Cillian's death for...I dunno, reasons?

Axel...existed. He was fine, I guess. Nothing much to him.

This book will find its market, but it's not me.

I liked that the book was linked to the first book I read by Kate: Ms Perfectly Fine. I really like the genre where there is a little murder mystery along with the romance.

Alex really has the grumpy protector personality. I felt so sad that he was conflicted over dating Phoebe.

I'm sorry, but Phoebe is such a badass. After she experiences the first act of hate, she just goes after them instead of cowering and not doing anything about it.

4⭐️

Loved this! Was not expecting it to open as it did but wow it really sucked me in. The first few chapters start very slow paced but just read on and it paced up a bit Flew through this book, really enjoyed it.

The writing was simple and easy to understand. The storyline was written really well, I really liked the relationship the FMC had with the band, the support they’d all give to each other. Apart from the whole hiding the cheating thing.. idk that just pissed me off. personally if u care about someone you’d tell them not just hide it let them be made a mug of.
I did really like the chemistry between Phoebe and Axel it was cute ngl.

The big twist mystery I did see it coming miles off, just had a feeling it was going that way but nonetheless it’s still a good read. When i see dead lover trope it automatically changes my opinion if I’ll read the book or not but I am glad i read this one. The author did a really great job in making you feel so many different emotions throughout this book. One thing that confuses me is I’m like is this set in England? Ireland? Like I don’t think it states really 😬 unless I’ve missed this but I felt so confused about this hahahah

(will update review)

Romance book of course but with a mystery also if you like this give it a read!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️½

It was an ok read and I was able to read it all in one sitting. I liked Phoebe and Axel. I thought they were a cute match and fit each other perfectly. The book was in third person POV which I did enjoy and I found it was written well. I think the way Kate Callaghan portrayed Phoebe dealing with her grief over the loss of Cillian was well done as well. And I did like that it was a romantic suspense novel. Overall, still an enjoyable and well written story.

Thank you to Kate Callaghan, BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Not Another Rockstar.

OBSESSED with this book!!! @katecallaghanwriter did an amazing job with bringing Phoebe and Axel’s story to life. I didn’t even take me a full 2 days to finish it! I loved that this was a romantic suspense. It kept me hooked until the very end! There may have been some screaming at the end… So thankful to @netgalley and @katecallaghanwriter for letting me read this!!