Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was so good and i could not wait for the next one which luckily is already in my device!

Rock star romances are a hit and miss for me. This one was actually a hit. The situation of Frankie being a bit different than the standards. I really liked both characters and the story. I can’t wait to read the second book. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Final Serenade By N. N. Britt (2020/05/25)
Rating 4/5 Stars
Disclaimer: Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op) for providing me with an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Final Serenade is the first installment in “The Encore” series. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but I'm not surprised because I love rockstar romances and this one did not disappoint. This story follows Cassy, a music journalist who has had a crush on Hall Affinity lead singer Frankie blade for as long as she can remember.

Frankie blade is a famous rockstar and has been a recluse since his motorcycle incident seven years ago. When she gets an interview with a rock singer Frankie Blade her life is turned upside down. Now he’s returned and wants to start playing music again. As Frankie and Cassy start to fall in love, Cassy must decide if risking her career and privacy is worth it to be with a famous rockstar.

I really don't want to say much because I feel like the story will be so much more impactful if you go into this story blindly. I love the characters and how flawed they all were. The way this story was written it made me feel as if Hall Affinity was a real band. Frankie and Cassy were adorable, their banter was hilarious. I am so excited to read the next book in this duet. If you want a rockstar romance, then you should definitely check this one out. Once again thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Netgalley for providing me a copy to review. My Review will be posted on my goodreads account today.

Okay, so this is totally my kind of thing -- girl meets famous rock star and he falls head over heels for her. And add in the fact that the famous rock star has been a hermit for the last seven years after a nasty motorcycle accident. I love broken hermits....LOL!!

Anyway, the heroine, Cassandra (Cassy), is a music journalist with an up and coming career. I just loved her, and her thought process....it was so normal! But, and I hate to say this, I totally struggled to connect with the supposed hero, Frankie Blade. I was waiting for some feeling for him, but it didn't come.

Cassy and Frankie begin a secret affair, but it is only a matter of time before they reach the public eye. Cassy was realistic, and Frankie was just the typical rock star wallowing in his own sorrows and turning to the bottle for relief and calm. His injuries from his accident was holding him back from what he wanted and what he thought the world wanted from him.

Believe me, there is much more to their story, which kept me flipping pages and waiting to see how it would all turn out. Especially Cassy's dedication to a documentary she was working on for a new talent, Isabella, whose label had dropped her after she was in an accident and was committed to life in a wheelchair. This girl was inspirational. And the connection she had with Frankie was undeniable and I'm hopeful she will help shed some light on his darkness.

And then there was his bandmate, Dante. I had a total love/hate relationship with this guy.

Loved the writing style and that's what kept me going and I am very interested in where this story will go.

Rock Star Secrets

Rock star Frankie is on the comeback trail after a seven year hiatus and music journalist Cassy has just landed an interview with her young crush rock star. Now comes the problem because what they found they have has to be kept secret or Cassy could lose her job.

This book is full of secrets and betrayals and made this a sure page turner only to leave you with a cliffhanger at the end that had me anxious to get my hands on the next book in this series.

This book is the reason I have bags under my eyes! It is an emotional rollercoaster that grips you and makes you want to carry on reading until stupid o’clock in the morning.
Cassy has had a crush on Frankie since she was a teen and now, after a 7 year break, Frankies band is back and Cassy works in the music industry so their paths cross.
The author had done their research into the music industry to make it believable. I do wish that there was the odd chapter from Franks perspective to answer some of the questions.
My only issue was the cliffhanger at the end ... I was glad I had book 2 already so I could carry on reading!
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I love a good rock star romance. They're my guilty pleasure that I'm not even guilty about. There's something about the lifestyle, the sexy musicians and the escapism of it that appeals. Final Serenade didn't quite rate for me on all those levels because it was a bit too real. On one hand, that's a very positive thing, but on the other hand, it's not what I personally want from the genre. Having said that, I absolutely loved the fact that one of the MCs was disabled, and I will always advocate books that feature disabled characters. But there was a lot of angst, without much humour to offer relief from it. It did keep me turning the pages though, and I will be reading the second book so, as you can tell from my review, my thoughts on it are quite torn!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for this honest review.

𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒆 (𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 #1) - 𝑵.𝑵. 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕
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𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔: 3.75 ☆/5☆
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𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠: rockstar, age gap
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𝑇𝒉𝑜𝑢𝑔𝒉𝑡𝑠: At the beginning this book was exactly what I needed, my last read has been pretty heavy, and this book is just fun. The story felt like a fanfiction, I would read with 16, in the best way possible and that just made me feel nostalgic.
It's nothing new thatI love the rockstar trope. But somehow thia book did not feel like cliche rockstar romance, I mean yes it had the rockstar, but Frank was nice, and not one of the cocky, arrogant rockstars we usually find in this trope. And the banter Frank and Cassy had was just amazing.
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I also could really identify with Cassy, I was the girl listing to rock music, while everyone else listened to hip hop. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of how she treated her brother(but that just might be the social worker in me). Also I didn't really like Franks of his use of the word "doll", but that's just because I'm personally not a fan of the word in reference to a real woman.
Overall, something was just missing in their chemistry, but I'm positive that this issue will be solved in the second book.
Maybe, I was just missing Franks POV, because so it seemed like Cassy was giving a lot more up for the relationship then Frank.
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Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Final Serenade
By: N.N. Britt
Rating: 3 Stars ⭐️

Blurb: Music journalist Cassy Evans believes her career is made when she snags an exclusive interview with rock singer Frankie Blade. Once a superstar of the generation, Frankie has been a recluse since a freak motorcycle incident sent his career into a tailspin seven years ago. Now that he’s returned to claim back his crown, Cassy hopes to kill two birds with one stonesecure her magazine a top spot in the rankings and meet with the man of her adolescent dreams.

This is my first book by this author and I can tell that the she knows the music business and has done her research. I love a rock star romance but in this one something was missing. I didn’t like the premise of Cassy having a teenage crush on Frankie and then finally gets him. This book is part of a duet and the second book was released.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC.

Best book I've read in 2o20. Fantastic read. The drama and events pull you in and hold on tight. This is a book you won't be able to put down. Cassy and Frank are dynamite. They are both amazing characters that grab a reader and say love me! Five stars don't do this book justice,

I can’t even begin to tell you how this story pulls you in. Especially, if you are a music lover of any sort and wonder, “How do they do that or get backstage?” Well, not sure if this is all true to form but it is sure believable. I am sure creative licensing too. With a lot of entertaining that is for sure.

Cassy Evans is a young yet well-respected music journalist for an online music magazine. She and her partner Levi snag a shot for her to interview Frankie Blade a lead rock singer for the hottest international band around, Hall Affinity. They have been out of circulation due to the motorcycle accident Frank had seven years ago.

They are planning a comeback reunion and are handing out exclusive interviews. Cassy is one to get one on camera but it’s scrubbed because Frankie and she had firework chemistry and what Frankie wants Frankie gets. All because he asks her out is not allowed to use the on-air interview only the written one.

He intrigues her and she can’t understand why because, one there is a thirteen-year age difference. Two, she’s a journalist, ‘Who does that when you’re a celebrity?’ Three, she’s a nobody from nowhere. Last, she is nothing to look at.

Frank likes her it seems for a lot of those reasons. The age difference doesn’t seem to bother her and she thinks he’s sexy for his age. He laughs arrow to the heart. Because she is a journalist, she is not afraid to speak her mind or ask the hard questions. He likes that she has her integrity for her profession that she doesn’t want to you him to get ahead. Most of all he thinks she’s beautiful.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster. Not like tears but frustration as to how each of the characters handles a certain situation at any time. How Cassy is a pushover to Frank so much. Anyway, if I didn’t already have book two as a regular reader, I would have hated the ending. You would expect this ending from a TV program but not a book your reading.

Sorry, such a cliffhanger had me great till then. I give this: 3 stars. It would have been a 4 because I was totally invested in characters but with the ending… I would still read the next book. Provided by netgalley.com.
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This book goes into a lot of realistic detail about the world of rock stars and music reporters and you can tell there is experience and research behind it. However, this detailed world seems built at the expense of the characters that inhabit it. The characters fell flat and they felt like stereotypical fill-ins for the world the book is set in. I think that part of the problem is that the story unfolds as a sequential play-by-play with a lot of straightforward narration of events. I felt like I was reading a report of events, but I never felt immersed in a novel. I think people who are big fans of this trope will be able to overlook these details and enjoy Final Serenade, it's engaging enough to want to know what happens next. For me, unfortunately, it fell short.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Final Serenade, The Encore: Book 1, N.N. Britt

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance, Women's Fiction.

Gah, women's fiction again...men write romance, men read romance, lets get with the 21st century.

Anyway, rock romance, I love it, and this features characters a little older, which is great for me. Teen angst can be fun, but its much nicer to find characters that have a little more depth.
I loved this book, loved it. So much in this genre features ( as above) teens, lead females that swoon as soon as they are looked at, forget all their principles when the MC approaches them, or MCs that are little more than monosyllabic, shallow males, who demand everyone falls at their feet.
Frank(ie) came as a real treat, and of course Cassy isn't one to fall over, legs akimbo just because her teen crush looks her way!

I loved that it wasn't just Cassy meets Frankie, but that both had a lot of other things going on in their lives. That made them feel real, made the story so much more interesting. Cassy was great, determined to stay professional even when faced with her teen dreams. I loved that she tries to help her mum and little brother, even though he's a typical at times obnoxious teen....That is mirrored in so many people's families, we love our parents and siblings even when it feels like they are going to drive us mad.
Frankie, Cassy ( and I) had so many questions about his return. Why now? Is he touring? And When? Why has it taken so long? Is he well enough or hiding something?
Then there's his band-mate Dante, who at first seemed a decent guy underneath the rock star ego, but then we learn more and he's not quite like that.

I understood why Frankie worked so hard to keep their relationship secret, the media are relentless, and Cassy's career will be shot to pieces, so while they're seeing what's between them he tries to keep things covered. And yet I also felt for Cassy, she knows this is for the best, but at times her imagination runs away...I think most of us would be like that.
And that ending, Gah, I hate those, but luckily for me I've been approved book two, the conclusion of their story. I hope we get to hear more from the band, from the other members, its such a treat to get characters in their thirties ;-) This duet is on KU right now too.

Stars: Five, terrific read, a rock star romance, with so much extra in the story. One I'll happily re-read.

Arc via netgalley and publishers

5+ Stars for this heart wrenching story!

Frank had a hard start in life until he was adopted at the age of six. His adoptive parents were flower children from the 70s and their love for music rubbed off on Frankie. He became a rock superstar. But at the height of his career he was in a bad motorcycle accident and it took him seven years to return to the music. Cassy is a rock journalist who has had a crush on Frankie Blade since she was a teenager ... before the accident. Now she has the chance to be one of Frankie’s first interviews In seven years. Little did she realize that her life would be forever be changed.

Really this book deserves more than 5 stars! Rockstars are my favorite ... and I absolutely LOVED this book. It is definitely not your average rock star book ... it’s so much more! My heart just broke for Frankie. I loved how Cassy didn’t let his superstardom treat him differently ... she razzed him like she would anyone. The banter between the characters is so realistic ... and that equates to a great writer! This book checked all the boxes for me ... it made me laugh out loud, cry and swoon. I literally could not put it down and I’m going to dive into the conclusion right away. Read it ... believe me you won’t regret it!

I received a copy courtesy of the author through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.