DRESS REHEARSAL

A heavy metal guitarist and a tough security guard find an unexpected connection in the first book in Alex's Rock Star Romance series.

It’s the 1980s, and talented musician Billy Nestor has genuine skills that have brought him success, although he never had any support from his father when he was growing up. Michelle Parsons used to be a soldier, but she was wounded in combat and forced to take a job as a security guard. Neither is really thinking of romance, but they find it with each other while on tour in San Bernardino, California, where Billy’s band is opening for a much bigger act. However, the venue presents an unexpected complication: Due to the presence of a “crazed gunman,” the auditorium is on lockdown, which puts the band members under Michelle’s close direction. The band members are curious about Michelle’s military background, with inevitable questions about shooting and being shot, but a deeper connection begins to develop between her and Billy, as each slowly, warily allows the other to get closer: “He’s completely in his own little world, playing his guitar,” Michelle notes at one point, “and he's let me be a part of it.” As the narrative progresses, each helps the other deal with the emotional issues of their own lives. For example, Billy’s troubled relationship with his disapproving father is resolved in stages that unfold in a manner that readers will find satisfying: “I’m so proud of you,” Billy’s father says at one point, to which Billy inwardly responds, “Those are five words that I've waited my whole life to hear from him.” As Alex alternates the narrative focus between the two main characters, she deftly manages subtle shifts in tone, which will give readers a real sense of their different personalities; this, in turn, enhances the pleasure of watching them get to know each other on a deeper level. This book is the first in a series, and it will leave readers wanting more.

An affecting love story of two strangers finding each other at exactly the right moment.