I really enjoyed this book! Phoebe is an up and coming artist engaged to rockstar Cillian of Brothers of Anarchy. You go along on the roller coaster ride of happiness, sorrow, fear and determination. I’m definitely a fan of the two points of view because it lets you get to know the characters and understand their actions.

I absolutely loved this book! The chemistry between the main characters were insane, and I giggled and kicked my feet several times! This was such a good reading experience!

Romantic suspense books aren't something I read very often because I haven't found many authors that delve into such a genre, but the more of them I read, I'm finding that I actually quite like them. I'm a sucker for a good romance, but of course, I also love a mystery, and some high stakes, so the suspenseful aspects simply heighten the experience.

I really enjoyed the blossoming relationship between Axel and Phoebe. In such a tragic situation, losing someone so close to you after finding out something that changed your view of them, is a lot. So, of course, comfort is something everyone, I think, would seek out. Phoebe found that in Axel, and ended up falling for him. His unwavering support and care when it came to Phoebe was so nice to read about.

I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy romance, but want a bit of edge alongside it.

A lovely story mixed with tragedy. This was a lovely book, that dealt with some heavy topics. I felt for the FMC and what she had to go through but having the band by her side did really help. I did struggle to read this book due to it being in 3rd person, that’s personal preference though and would still recommend based on the writing and storyline.

I’ll admit, I actually didn’t read anything about this book before I dived in so everything was a surprise to me and I would highly recommend you do the same!

I gasped quite a bit, and laugh so loud I gave my dog a fright. It seems that I accidentally jumped into 2 books in a row that had the subject of grief in it. I guess I was expecting single girl, meets a rock start, retires to fight it, ends up together, breaks up, gets back together but this book surprised me and I loved it!

It really highlights how crazy fandoms can get, and really I don’t most of it felt too far fetched either.

I was very invested in solving the mystery, and loved that there was no third act break up. I particularly enjoyed how there was no shaming the romance that occurred in this book as well!

I would absolutely recommend this book!

<b>Tropes & Themes</b>
🥁 Drummer X Artist 👩‍🎨
😈 Forbidden Romance
❌ Ex's Best Friend
🎸 Brother's Best Friend
🥹He Falls First
🕵️ Stalking
🏠 Living With The Band

Thank you Kate Callaghan & NetGalley for the ARC.

while the premise has great potential, i found the execution disappointing. the stalker subplot was a little too predictable and i could spot it a mile away. and there were also a lot of unnecessary drama that kinda dragged the book out. i guess this was an okay read, i was able to finish this book in one sitting.

⤷ thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this romantic suspense novel! I had read my first Kate Callaghan a few months ago and really enjoyed it so I was thrilled to find her latest and devoured it! I also appreciated this didn't follow the typical formula in many romance novels. I was kinda waiting for it and was nervous it would take away from an otherwise great book. It didn't and I was happy...I also think that's where the suspense aspect really helped to give this book a little more in terms of plot.

Rockstar life/life of fame is most definitely not for me, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading about it! Phoebe catches her longtime friend/turned boyfriend/newly turned fiancé in the act with his makeup artist. A tragic accident quickly ensues and he is out of the picture and Phoebe quickly finds herself in the arms of another bandmate who has cared deeply for Phoebe for a long time from the sidelines. I guarantee some will review this book and say that happened to fast, but there really is no timeline even in real life. For the sake of keeping the book moving, this was a great decision Callaghan made.

The suspense part involved Phoebe being a target of someone...a fan maybe?...who felt Phoebe should have died versus her fiancé, Cillian. As her romance with Axel blossoms, the attacks toward Phoebe increase. I figured this one out ..I'm mostly a miss when it comes to whodunnits, but regardless it didn't make the book any less enjoyable plus I didn't know the full motivation.

Themes: love, loss, friends to lovers, ex's best friend, brother's best friend, fame, some spice

Thank you to Kate Callaghan, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had it all! Heartbreak, love, and suspense. It was a quick and easy read with great banter. This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it!

I gave this book a 3.25. It was my first read by this author, and I’d definitely consider picking up more of their work in the future. The main characters, Phoebe and Axel, were engaging, and the story tackled some heavy themes. The book had great potential, but it left me wanting a bit more. I understood why Phoebe moved on with Axel, though it felt a little rushed to me. As for the villain, I had a pretty good idea of who it was based on the way the author wrote the story — it became fairly obvious. Overall, though, I enjoyed the rock star romance and the plot.

This book was cute but fairly predictable. I also had a lot of issues with so many of the characters. The FMC, Pheobe, is in a toxic relationship with Cillian, the lead singer of Brothers of Anarchy. She walks in on him cheating on her which then leads to a fight. The next day he forces her into the car with him to get her to talk to him but is drunk and crashes the car causing his death and injury to her. She is a painter and from this crash her hand is ruined which in turn sets her behind in her career. The band mates are overly protective of her mostly because one of them is her brother. The MMC, Axel, has been obsessed with her since he first laid eyes on her and has kept his distance because she was in a relationship. Only this isn't where her downhill struggle ends. Someone is purposefully causing harm to her in anyway they can.

Pheobe is super cute and adorable. I liked her. I thought she was a little naive but her character has such a large heart. She helps in any way she can. The rest of the band is who I have an issue with. Her brother Nick, Axel, and August who also acts like a brother ALL know that dude is cheating on her and NO ONE tells her. The brother and her have a deal not to get involved in each others romantic lives but seriously that should have been a limit and he should have told her. That rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn't get over it. They all care about her supposedly and no one ever stands up for this poor girl. The manager also preserves Cillian's image past death that always places Pheobe in a bad light that makes her always look like the bad guy and AGAIN, everyone just lets this happen.

Axel was sweet and I know he really cared for her but even he barely stood up for her. I was so angry on her behalf. The mystery of who was doing this to her got really obvious about halfway through so I wasn't so shocked when they were revealed. Their reason behind it did throw me for a loop though. I thought it was about Cillian. Never would have guessed it was for another reason.

Also, after all the build up, the climax felt so underwhelming. It just cleaned up so quickly and so neatly. A little too much for my tastes.

Other than the Pheobe, her friend, Lena, was also a character I loved. She was fierce and she was actually there for her friend. She seemed like a true ride or die. And she had a sense of humor.

It was an entertaining story but the band mates really really ruined it for me. Even after writing this out I'm still pissed at all of them. I'm pretty sure I could go on a long ass rant about it but then I'd be here forever.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Thanks to the author for sending this ARC to me!

THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS
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From the beginning I enjoyed this book, it was slow, but I like slow-burn storylines. Pheobe and Cillian have been dating and friends since they were kids. Natural progressive would be to date. Phoebe is an artist, and Cillian is also an artist just with music. I immediately knew that Cillian was cheating on her when he didn't come to her art exhibition. So her showing up at their tour was giving "I'm going to find out my boyfriend is cheating on me." That didn't deter me from finishing the book.

I loved Axel, he was a gentle giant, and all he wanted was for Phoebe to be okay, and to be happy. He truly was a puppy for her and it was cute. However, I will say the ending with Anita, I saw that coming. I knew Sheen wasn't working by himself, and eventually as I got toward the end of the book Anita just started to out herself the more she spoke. I wish it wouldn't have dragged on the last 10% of the book, but overall I enjoyed it.

One day Phoebe is engaged to the lead singer of Brothers of Anarchy and the next she’s in the hospital recovering from a car accident in which her fiancé did not survive… and now she’s the most hated woman in pop culture.

This book had a lot of potential. I love a good rockstar trope. The “suspense” part of the book wasn’t all that suspenseful though. And the romance part… it just seemed totally unbelievable and came out of left field. I was entertained but it did not quite meet my expectations.

This was an hell of a book. got me on a Roller Coster. The tension between them was perfection and I was addicted from chapter one.

3.75 rounded up

When I picked up Not Another Rockstar I was expecting another light-hearted romance, and I could not have been more wrong. While the romance in the book still managed to hit the spot of what I was looking for, I was also pleasantly surprised by the way Kate Callaghan explored the grief of the group of characters, going beyond the two main characters, and how their dynamic changes after losing someone so close to them.

I was gripped by the mystery and suspense running through the plot, and I enjoyed having something else to focus on as well as the two main characters building a relationship, which can get a little tired at times. Trying to solve a mystery at the same time as rebuilding their lives gave the characters more layers which I appreciated, and gives the reader something to think about along the way, with the resolution only really coming in the last couple of chapters as a bit of a surprise, although this did feel a bit rushed at the end.

I do feel like some characters weren't really necessary and they sometimes felt a bit muddled, especially at the halfway mark when it seems everyone is involved at once. The writing style didn't blow me away, but I did find this book incredibly easy to read, and I binged it within a day which says a lot in my eyes.

I first want to say thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book. I was really looking forward to the book based on the description and the premise of the book but it really fell flat for me and I was disappointed. I feel like the romance between Phoebe and Axel just started off way to fast and quick after the accident happened. And I also feel like Phoebe didn’t sit with her grief and emotions long enough for her to get right back into a relationship so quickly in my opinion. Their relationship felt kind of rushed to me and they didn’t have enough time to have genuine feelings for each other so quick after what had happened. And the way things happened throughout sometimes just didn’t make sense or what the characters were saying or doing just didn’t feel right.

The premise was good, the plot was decent and had elements that I thought were different for a romance but it just wasn’t executed well enough for me to enjoy it fully. This could have been a lot better had it been written in first-person POV instead of third person because I wasn’t feeling connected to the characters and felt like an outsider looking in. I didn’t feel any pull towards either Phoebe or Axel. I honestly felt like I was going to DNF it but decided against it in hopes that it would get better, but sadly my hopes were let down.

Again, thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book.

I usually love a rock star romance. This book just didn't do it for me at all. It felt very juvenile, and honestly I almost didn't finish it.

Phoebe Fletcher is the fiance of Cillian Hunt, singer for Brothers of Anarchy, a hugely successful rock band. Cillian is the love of her life and she is looking forward to planning their wedding. But when Phoebe decides to surprise Cillian on tour, no surprise here, she finds him screwing the makeup artist. As Phoebe is trying to leave the venue, an impaired Cillian pleads with her to let him take her back to her hotel in his car. A tragic accident occurs and Cillian dies.

This is where it goes downhill for me. Phoebe wakes up in the hospital to find out Cillian is dead. Axel, the drummer for the band, who has secret feelings for Phoebe, sits at her bedside night and day. The memorial service for Cillian is held at his childhood home. Phoebe finds Axel alone in Cillian's bedroom, and now all of the sudden she's attracted to him and they kiss. I may have played along if there was any chemistry between the two, I just didn't feel it. The rest of the story develops and basically Axel plays the alpha male trying to protect Phoebe from a stalker.

I think this story did have some potential, just didn't quite execute for me.

I was thoroughly engrossed in this gripping, intense novel. Not Another Rock Star is an intense combination of a love story and also a mystery. Each page dripped with emotion—anger, fear, passion, revenge, forgiveness, jealousy, and love. I couldn’t put it down, compelled to read whenever and wherever I could. Thank you to the author for providing an advance reader copy for me to read.

I liked the premise of the story. The mix of romance and suspense is what drew me in, and I couldn’t wait to read the book. The beginning started with a bang, and the stalker plotline had me hooked and I couldn't wait for the reveal. I loved seeing Axel and Phoebes’ growing connection/relationship as well as the found family aspect between the characters. Overall, the book was fast-paced and easy to read. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes romances filled with drama and a side of suspense.

Whilst I was excited for the storyline as it seemed like it would be angst and full of emotion. However from the very start it just felt too much, over the top in a very young way. It was something I would've loved maybe as a late teen but now, in my mid 30s it's definitely too much. In terms of unrealistically angst instead of angst due to real life emotions. Sorry but it's so much more YA than I can do.

This was an ok read. It's not bad, it just fell flat. When it comes to romantic suspense, I prefer the story to hit the ground running, but here ages passed before anything even vaguely suspense-y happened. Bad stuff yes, suspense no. The other issue is that cheating in a relationship, even if it's not between the main couple, is a huge turn-off for me.