This book was PERFECTION. The angst was sooo good. My fingers were all tingly and my stomach dropped so many times . Allll the feels .

Clementine, a small town waitress who stays close to to home to take care of her chronically ill mother, gets the chance of a lifetime to tour with Irish musician Holloran. She is immediately swept up in tour life, finding her place, making friends, and faking in love. But life on the road isn’t exactly what she expects.

I'll be the first to say that the premise of this book really had me hooked. Rockstar, he falls first, age-gap? Sign me right up! And the premise was definitely enjoyable & I liked the way the author brought this story to life! I think for me, it was good but it wasn't fantastic. This could be that I didn't feel for the FMC, she was written well but I didn't feel emotionally attached to her in this book.

The spice was fantastic in this book & I thoroughly enjoyed getting to read these characters falling in love because the author really crushed the chemistry and romance in this novel!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

Kate truly wrote a Hoziermance with this one!! The inspiration behind the story was clear in its delivery, but I really enjoyed Clementine and Holloran together! I’m excited to read more contemporary from Kate 💛

Give me more Hozier fan fic. I loved everything about this. I want all my mmc's to be 6'6 irish rockstars. Kate Golden this was written so beautifully, I loved every second.

I…. wanted to love this one sm more that I did lol. And I kinda guts me to say that cuz I was sooo excited for it. It was still good. A solid 3.5 read but the plot fell flat for me? It was very ____ and I need a little __^^\_<^_\_ ya know? The FMC was also from a small town and that was really drilled into us lol. Like she didn’t know what hors d’oeuvres meant… come on. Is smalltowners are that bad. We have cheeseballs, okay? 🤣 it was also VERY Hozier. Like borderline not based off of Hozier but just Hozier fanfic ya know? Kinda took me out of the story sometimes.
Thank you thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for allowing me to read this one early!

Loses a full star for taking such obvious inspiration from our favorite Irish singer and then not giving him even one anti-capitalist protest song.

That said, very fun. She’s the unromantic cynic, he’s the hopelessly romantic gentleman. The touring aspect was fun and I liked that we got to see a fair bit of Clem before really introducing the romance plot.

The “inspired by” aspect is a bit heavy handed, especially in the first half. At the end of the day, I wanted to read a romance about musicians falling in love impracticality and that is what I got.

I absolutely loved this take on the rockstar romance! Romances are littered with commitment-phobic bad boys lately and Tom Holleran was such an incredible break from that. Another reviewer described him as a walking green flag and I couldn't agree more! If you want a book that feels like Emily Henry mixed with Daisy Jones and the Six, this is it.

Clem is a waitress helping her mom weather chronic illness. She's not waiting for her big break, she's perfectly happy singing at the occasional open mic night and following along with her best friend's budding music career. So when she gets the opportunity to sing back up vocals for a major star, her entire life is upended. She's thrown for even more of a loop when she meets Tom Holleran - 6'6", Irish, incredibly handsome, and the most talented performer Clem has ever seen. Being on his tour bus for eight weeks gives her ample time to get to know him - and start to question all of her anti-romance sentiments.

My one complaint is that I want all romances to be dual POV - and I just know I would have been swooning from page 1 if we'd been given a look into Tom's psyche!

A small-town girl and a broody Irish rock star falling in love on tour? Instant obsession.

If Not for My Baby hits all the right notes—slow-burn, emotional, and full of that electric push-and-pull. Clementine’s guarded and grounded, while Thomas is all quiet intensity and hidden heart. Their chemistry builds with every backstage moment, and when it hits? It hits.

This one feels like your favorite moody love song—bittersweet, addictive, and impossible to get out of your head. If you’re into romance with music, tension, and just the right amount of angst, you’ll eat this up.

Starting off with the most stunning visual cover that you can’t turn away from this book brought forward all the emotions! It made me laugh, made me smile, even made me emotional I could not put it down. Start to finish I was engaged and could picture the story so clearly in my head.

4.5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

This book was soooo good. Since finishing it, I’ve learned the MMC is based off of Hozier and you know what, I still loved it. Kate Golden did such a good job creating main characters with such good (and sizzling) chemistry and side characters who really added to the story.

Clementine and Tom were perfect for each other. Their story was romantic and emotional (I cried twice). The slow burn of their relationship gave me butterflies and when they finally acted on their attraction, it was *chefs kiss*

I really enjoyed this story and if you enjoy rockstar romance with a slow burn, you will too! 🥲🎤💕☘️

Thanks NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC!

This felt extremely creepy and invasive. The author did absolutely no work to differentiate this character from how she perceives a real life person and that felt very odd. There are direct quotes that Hozier has said in interviews used in this book, jokes he makes at his live shows, nods to lyrics and his exact looks. It made for a wildly icky reading experience and I found myself forcing myself to finish it to see if it got any better. It did not, I do not recommend reading this book.

I requested this wothout realizing it was RPF (real person fanfiction), which I strongly consider to be highly unethical, creepy, and a form of sexual harassment, especially considering the fact that the person it’s written about, Hozier, has already spoken out publicly about how uncomfortable and objectified he feels with such things. I understand that many terminally online people feel entitled to write things like this and claim that it’s not a big deal, but when the actual human person you’re writing about wants it to stop you need to stop. The fact that the book is sexually explicit just makes this even creepier and worse on all fronts. I understand also that people love fanfiction and that its a great form of creativity for a lot of people, but I urge us all to remember that the main hallmarks of fanfiction are it being free to access and self-published, and therefore avoiding copyright infringement and slander accusations. I would fully support Hozier in suing over this, though I doubt he would based on his personality. It’s just weird, and it needs to stop.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this novel. All opinions are honest and my own.

It’s official. Kate Golden has become a new insta-read author for me.

I’m going to be 100% honest here - I don’t usually go for rockstar romances.

But after reading and absolutely LOVING Golden’s writing in The Sacred Stone’s trilogy (and the way she brought to life the characters) I couldn’t pass on her newest novel.

‘If Not for my Baby’ is a Hozier inspired romance… and going into this I didn’t know ANYTHING about Hozier. Seriously. I didn’t even know he was Irish until I read his Wikipedia page 4 days ago.

However, I’m now not only a fan of rockstar romances… I’m also a Hozier fan because of Golden’s fictionalized version of him.

That’s the power of Kate Golden’s writing.

It put me through the wringer in the best possible way. I cried, I cringed, I got butterflies, and I stayed up way too late reading.

Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC copy of If Not For My Baby. First off I want it known I will read anything Kate Golden writes. I love her characters and the way she tells her stories. I enjoyed this stand alone just as much as her Sacred Stone Trilogy. I didn't realize how badly I needed a "rock star" romcom in my life. It was so fresh and fun. I found myself relating to Clementine so much. I too am 'self sufficient' and have a hard time letting others help me when I need it. So I was learning with her throughout the book while she navigated her relationship with her friends, mom, & Tom aka Hollaran. This is a 5 star read for me and I already have my copy preordered. Thank you again.

My goodness this was SO FUN to read!!
I'm not the biggest Hozier fan - not that I don't like him or his music I just, idk don't listen to him that often? I think this book changed that for me...

The chemistry between Tom and Clem was electric!!
The longing and pining and worship between the two MC's was divine!! It was so fun to be along for the tour and watch their relationship and trust with each other grow!

Idc what the 1 star reviews say this book was so well written, and cast Hozier in a VERY good light. If someone wrote about me this way l'd be so beyond flattered

4.5 🌟
Everything you want in contemporary romance. The plot twist was predictable but still emotional. I loved the musician aspect and thought this story was unique overall. And the MMC is irish, so that helps too!

"I'd watch my kitchen tumble into the core of the earth for another moment with ye."
Ugh. Book boyfriends are so cute 🥹

This was an emotional and romantic story about a young woman who joins a singers tour as a backup singer. Clementine is a waitress in a small town from Texas who wants more in life, but hasn't been able to take opportunities in the past. Suddenly her friend calls her with a chance to be a backup singer in a tour for a popular rockstar. Tom Halloran is a rockstar that is truly a sweet guy and Clementine connects with him after a short time being on tour. I liked the dynamic with most of the other bandmates on tour with them. The small town girl/big world trope and the way Clementine gave Bambi energy was all a bit annoying, but overall this was a cute story and I enjoyed reading it. Read if you like: rockstar romances, age-gap, forced proximity, a swoon-worthy MMC and slow-burn.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

Review goes live July 14

Golden's descriptions of being on stage gave me the same feelings as Daisy Jones & The Six: I was right there on stage with our characters and could feel the tension and excitement in the air. But INFMB is a sweeping love story vs the story of the rise and fall of fame depicted in Daisy Jones.

I know we all love a possessive MMC with "touch her and die" vibes, but Tom is the exact opposite of that and is still the most swoon worthy. The scene where he just calmly extracts a drunk Clem from a man making untoward advances to her is everything I didn't know I needed in life. Tom is not a typical rockstar and just gives this chill nature vibe instead of the reckless possessive rockers usually featured in romances.

If Not For My Baby is a great rockstar romance that even people who don't like rockstar romances will love. Definitely worth picking up Golden's debut contemporary romance!