Reviewed by Susan65
Title: Collision Course
Author: Anne-Marie Flemming
Heroes: Blue/Rhys
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 128 Pages
Publisher: Anne-Marie Flemming
Release Date: October 24, 2014
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Blue isn’t how most people picture a hardcore rock music fan – he’s self-conscious, delicate, a little nerdy and a lot neurotic. But when he catches the interest of Rhys – the lead singer of his favorite band Collision In Reverse – after a concert, Blue just can’t say no. Before he knows what’s happening, the band is back on the tour bus and Blue’s along for the ride.
While he enjoys living an adventure for the first time in his life, Blue has to work hard to keep the favor of distant, enigmatic Rhys. He’s clueless about life on tour and blunders his way from one awkward situation to the next, trying to fit in with the road crew, getting used to his status as a glorified groupie, and dealing with the mood swings of his selfish lover.
His guileless charm eventually wins over the crew, and even Rhys seems to be growing fond of Blue. But just as Blue dares to hope that he is more to the singer than a convenient warm body, his world falls apart in one heart-shattering night, and not even love may be enough to put the pieces back together.
Review: Now this is my kind of story. I like my romance novels to have a bit of realism, a bit of asshole-ish behavior, and I want my guys to work for that elusive happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Otherwise, to me, it’s just a fluffy and totally unrealistic fairy tale…and I don’t really like fairy tales. But I can see why there are only a few reviews, many of which are very negative, and I totally get that some people have triggers that have them swearing off books and authors that push those buttons. That is all fine and good, but we are all individuals with different tastes, and I personally look for those reviews and add these kinds of books to my to-read list. So, thank you for pointing me to a great story. And authors, keep writing them.
Blue and Rhys have a very difficult relationship…if one could even call a groupie traveling with a rock star a relationship. This story, for the most part, takes place over a couple weeks, so Blue and Rhys really don’t even know each other well enough to be boyfriends, let alone friends. Blue is crazy for Collision in Reserve, the band that Rhys is the singer for, and they meet willy-nilly after a concert on the spur of the moment (obviously after sex) and is invited along for awhile which he accepts. Now, I am not sure about you, but at this point, I would be totally sure that my being with the band was for sexual purposes only and would not expect to be treated like something special….and trust me when I say that’s exactly what happens.
This is where all the negative reviews come into play and grabbed my attention. Was Rhys an asshole? Absolutely. A self-admitted asshole, so no surprise there, but in my opinion, Blue allowed his insecurity and his fanaticism with the band to take over common sense, he could have left anytime, and thus left himself open to being a willing doormat and so, in my opinion, he accepted his share of the responsibility for that treatment. I think it’s fair to say we have all, at one time or another, allowed a crush to treat us poorly hoping that things would change. In this case, they do, but it required Blue to walk away first…and the reason he walked away is yet another reason for all the bad press, lol….CHEATING…that horrible word that is such a hard-limit for so many in their reading material. But admittedly, yes, it was a douche move, but they are not in a relationship, so there is no cheating…sheesh. Anyway, it was not on paper so that should be easier for some to swallow.
I am not sure why, but I could totally relate to this book. It was kind of like the movie Almost Famous but with a gay twist and none of the characters are married and fooling around with a groupie that follows the band. In this case, the groupie is traveling with the band. So, yeah, this is not your fluffy, kissy-face romance novel and Blue does get his feelings hurt, a lot, and Rhys really needed a lesson in how to treat people, but they overcome and this one ends on a good note so yep, i definitely recommend it to those who are not sensitive to the items listed above. Otherwise…walk away now.
Overall Impression: I really liked it
*I purchased my own copy of this book for this review.*
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