Broken Records by Bree Bennett Series: Sparrow Hill Stories #1
Published by Selfpublished on August 1, 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 280
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Lucy ran away from home to restart her life and find some peace and quiet at last. Instead, she finds a washed-up rockstar who splits his time between the bottom of a whiskey glass and the front page of the tabloids.
But when he offers her the one thing she craves most - a safe place to live - in exchange for a marriage of convenience, Lucy must decide if dealing with his rockstar shenanigans is worth the risk of losing her heart.
Broken Records. WOW. This book made quite the impression on me. My friend, Lorna, recommended it, saying she’d put it on her favorite rock star romances of all-time. High praise. And after finishing it, much deserved. Broken Records is unique in the rock star romance genre, with more mature characters and much less after-concert partying, but Lucy and Jack wormed their way into my heart. I love them!
Lucy has recently relocated to NYC. She’s a…wait for it…technical writer (my career in my previous life) and she’s running from or hiding from something. She’s also neurodiverse…on the spectrum. Her inability to deal with an overload of sensory input – too many people, too much light or sound – made her so real. Her incapacity to filter things she says – the thoughts flowing out her mouth – was absolutely endearing. And her encyclopedic knowledge of rock-n-roll artists and history was astounding. I adored her.
Jack is essentially a washed up, alcoholic rock star. The child of music and film royalty, he was a darling of the media. Then his muse seemingly disappeared and his alcohol intake increase along with his anger management issues made him the joke of the paparazzi. And yet, I couldn’t help but love him. Yes, he’s cranky and definitely not upholding his end of his music contract at the moment, but his flaws made him relatable and affable and charming.
Lucy and Jack’s first meeting was gold. The second encounter, even better. Their romance blossomed so organically, despite the fake marriage element. Jack’s record company wants him to clean up his act and felt a fake marriage would do the trick. But watching as they become friends and then fall in love…well, it couldn’t have worked any other way between them. And the actions Jack undertook, which proved his true feelings, had me swooning. Repeatedly.
And then. And then we get to meet Lucy’s BIG Italian family!
There’s so much to love about this story. Truly. If there’s another out there like it, I’ve not found it. Jack has to handle Lucy in special ways and he’s more than willing to make the effort. And honestly, Lucy learns to handle Jack’s mercurial ways as well, and it makes the relationship all the more special.
The music is also an integral piece, especially Lucy’s knowledge. I enjoyed that element almost as much as the romance. I love music and Lucy had me reminiscing over long lost albums and artists, turning on Spotify. 😉
Broken Records demonstrated that everyone deserves love, no one’s perfect, and music can heal the soul. Thank you, Lorna, for the recommendation! I can’t wait to continue the series!
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
What a lovely review you have of this one here. I love seeing neuro diverse characters be written and it sounds like it was handled so well in this one. And fake relationship is one of my favorite trope, I just love how the chemistry can be built. So happy you enjoyed this one and will definitely add it to my list.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
Well now Brandee… you have me curious. Usually i steer clear of this genre because of the after parties etc..but more more mature characters has me wanting to try it!
I’m a sucker for the marriage on convenience trope… and hooray for older characters! Those two things rights there are big draws already. I really like the sounds of the main characters, both separately and together. I’m going to check this one out!
Ooooh adding to my TBR Brandee!