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.

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!