This story left me guessing with a lot of twists and turns! The love story between Axel and Phoebe brings hheat but also a sense of peace. Loved this getaway from the real world!

I liked the premise of this novel. I think the execution was a bit awkward and I didn’t really see the chemistry building between Phoebe and Axel and then suddenly they were sleeping together. The relationships between the characters were also a bit strange, and without a lot of backstory, some of the characters actions didn’t make a lot of sense. The conclusion of the mystery was a bit of a letdown, it wasn’t a huge surprise when the villain was revealed. But it was an easy read and the story flowed well. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review

4.5/5 stars 1.5/5 spice


As someone new to Kate Callaghan’s work, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Not Another Rockstar absolutely won me over! The Irish setting immediately stood out, adding a fresh and unique backdrop to this heartfelt and engaging story.


One of my favourite touches was the small playlist at the start of the book, it set the tone perfectly. As I read, I found myself imagining the kind of music the band might play, and it added another layer of immersion to the story. A more vivid sense of the band’s musical style would’ve been a bonus, but it was fun creating my own soundtrack along the way!


The characters are where this book truly shines. While the focus is on Phoebe and Axel’s story, their relationships with the rest of the band were just as compelling. The dynamics between the characters were so well-written that I couldn’t help but hope for spin-offs featuring the other band members. Phoebe was such a refreshing FMC who’s fierce, determined, and far from the usual “whiny” trope we sometimes see. She had real fight, and I loved her for it!


The pace of the book is steady, quick enough to keep you hooked without feeling rushed. And that twist? Wow. I did not see it coming! It was a moment that took the story to another level and left me genuinely surprised.


I also have to mention the little details, like the adorable chapter art and the dedication, both gave the book so much personality.


All in all, Not Another Rockstar was a fantastic read. If you love emotionally driven stories with strong characters and just a touch of romance, this one’s for you. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Kate Callaghan!

I think when I first picked this book, I was hopeful for a fun romance between Phoebe and Axel; they absolutely had so much potential for an awesome read but for me this book did fall at little short. When it comes to a little mystery, this book definitely sparked my interest. but then it slowed down a lot and at time I wasn't sure why we were still dragging some of the plot out. I wished the pace was a little smoother. I will say for it's downs, the ups were just in the form of the characters. Axel was just a dream boat and Phoebe was so cool but I wanted more when it came for the slow burn to finally end.

I don't think this was a bad read by any means, I just think this book wasn't for me in terms of pacing and the mystery aspect.

I would rate this a solid 3 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.25/5 Stars

This book definitely has a slower start, and was hard for me to really get into it. I did enjoy the characters chemistry with each other, and that definitely had me continuing on with the story. Overall, a fun read!

✅ Phoebe, 26, artist, & Axel, 30, drummer for an incredibly popular rockband
✅ Phoebe’s boyfriend, Cillian, (who is in the same band as Axel & Phoebe’s brother) cheats on her, and then gets in a fatal car accident when Phoebe is in the car
✅so many “fuck it” moments
✅ this is a romantic suspense so part of the story is about Phoebe receiving threats after Cillian’s death
🌶️: yes

Phoebe finds out her fiance is cheating on her right before he is killed in a car accident that put her in the hospital. When she gets out, she goes to his band mates to help her escape the media storm that descends upon her. When she starts falling for his band mate, Axel, Phoebe must decide if dating another rockstar is worth it.
Opinion
This is a very well written book that kept me compelled. I was able to finish it in a short period of time (which I haven't been able to do in months.)
As the story continued, I did ask myself why Phoebe stayed with her fiance for so long. I felt Axel was a much better match for her (but isn't that the point of writing them together?) This is a great read for any adult romance lover who needs a quick dopamine fix.
Many thanks to Kate Callaghan, Net Galley and to BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Great novel! The characters were well developed, and engaging. Cheating, lies, deceit and trauma. I was slightly disappointed that the entire band knew about the cheating and did not give the female character a heads up; especially since one of the band members was her brother. The process of healing, a crazy stalker and new relationships kept me eagerly turning pages. Well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate for this ARC!

I had high hopes for this book because the plot sounded amazing but it fell flat for me sadly.

The first half of the book is filled with just enough drama and angst to keep me interested but that’s where it lost me.

I think the switch from 3rd person to 1st would help immensely with connecting to the characters and emotions of the book.

About actual aspects of the plot… I understand they were torn between telling Phoebe about her fiancé cheating and being loyal to said fiancé but it really just made me mad that her own brother just let it happen and didn’t tell her.

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