Author: Jean Haus
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 13, 2014
When they get an offer to join a national tour, the musicians of Luminescent Juliet finally find their ticket to fame. But for Sam, the band’s dazzling but troubled bassist, making sure his past stays locked away feels more important than winning the spotlight.
Then Peyton, a budding music journalist, joins the tour, tasked with chronicling the band’s every move. She and Sam have a history, one that has made them enemies. Neither wants to deal with old pain and misunderstanding, and they agree to keep the past in the past. This is more than fine with Peyton—after all, it’ll only help reassure her picture-perfect boyfriend back on campus that following the band is all totally professional.
Yet being forced to look at Sam in a new way brings Peyton a different perspective on the past—and his magnetic baby-blues and rippling muscles are hard to ignore. When the tour kicks into high gear, the real truth about their shared past comes to light, and Peyton is rocked by forces as passionate and chaotic as the music she loves.
This book is intended for mature teen audiences due to strong language and some sexual content.
Globug's Review
I was so excited to read With The Band. Hootie and I were both hooked from the beginning when we read In The Band because the lead character is a female drummer. Hootie played drums in school and I always wanted to be Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) in the movie Some Kind of Wonderful. The male leads are musicians in the band Luminescent Juliet (awesome band name).
With The Band is a continuation of the story but this time is focused on Sam, the bands bassist and Peyton, more than just a girl from his past. Peyton is offered a job to tour with the band on their first big gig opening for a major band. Her dream is to be a music journalist and this opportunity could open doors to make that dream come true. Now the only thing that could stand in her way is her past and he goes by the name Sam.
Three years should be plenty of time to get over someone. Right? Probably, if you've been honest and had closure. Neither Peyton or Sam have done that. Sam has secrets and regrets about his past and his twin brother that drive him to drugs and alcohol to escape the stress of his reality. Not even his band members know he has a twin brother. No one understands his reasons for self destruction. His whole bad boy persona is mostly an act to hide not only the stress from home but his true feelings for Peyton and how her relationship with his brother made him feel.
Sam is so charming at times but he's not going to make things easy on Peyton. Being forced together on a tour bus for six weeks makes Peyton remember the best parts of Sam. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with him. He's had feelings for Peyton since high school but has had to hide them. They've agreed to keep their past hidden from the band but desire and sexual tension prove to be hard to hide or deny. What I wasn't expecting was the truth that is revealed about Seth. It's easy to understand why Sam needs to escape reality to cope with his brothers illness. He feels he's lost his brother and can't have the girl he's always wanted. When Sam and Peyton both face the past and are honest about their feelings the happy ending is in sight but the unceasing complications that Seth may face cause Sam to hesitate on finally claiming Peyton as his own. One of the biggest lessons Peyton learns from Sam is "Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad if the good is that freakin' good" and being with Sam is just that good.
I can't wait for more of this series.
Author Bio & Links
Teaser
In the back room, I find Sam dozing, legs propped on the table, his hands folded across his lap. Seeing his face so tranquil startles me for a moment. With his long, dark lashes and his full, chiseled mouth, he’s all male but somehow sweet.
Using my foot, I tap his foot resting on the table. His eyes flutter open, then his gaze turns hard as it focuses on me.
Sweet? Please. What was I thinking?
“You have about forty minutes to get ready. Forty-five minutes until you’ll be onstage.”
His eyebrows shoot up in a question.
I gesture to the pajama bottoms he’s still wearing. “What I’m saying is, you might want to change.”
I move to the corner where my stuff is piled, but stop just short of bending down when I sense his gaze on me. When I glance over my shoulder, his eyes are roaming my body.
My gaze turns pointed. “You need something?”
His eyes continue to travel over me slowly—too slowly. My arms itch to wrap around my body for cover because his deliberate gaze is starting a flutter in my stomach, butterfly wings gone crazy . . . I resist tugging my shirt down over the inch of skin showing above my belt and glare at him.
“Nice shirt,” he says with a grin.
Though I know he’s a Clash fan too, it’s completely obvious that my shirt is not what he’s checking out.
“Thanks,” I say, my tone laced with sarcasm.
His gaze sweeps over me again. “You’ve filled out since high school, huh?”
When he met me during my senior year, I was living on carrots and celery. But he’d better not say I’m bigger or something. “What does that mean?”
He shrugs. “You’ve finally got an ass.”
My jaw drops and I grab the remote from the tabletop to throw at him, but he’s up and off the couch before I can toss it.
“A seriously hot ass,” he says under his breath, then steps through the door.
Shocked, I drop the remote, which lands on the floor with a thud.
OMG I love that movie, SOme Kind Of Wonderful is one of my all time favorite!!!!
ReplyDeleteI see how this can be quite the story, I'm not a big music/romance reader but how you described the characters can be an exception. Lovely review, Globug!