Review: One More Kiss by Samantha Chase (Band on the Run #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Samantha Chase’s new spin-off series starts off with a winner! Band on the Run is a spin-off of the author’s Shaughnessy Brothers series and features the band members of Riley Shaughnessy’s eponymous group. It kicks off with the story of Matty Reed, co-founder, guitarist, and backing vocals of the band. When Shaughnessy went on hiatus, Matt knew that it couldn’t have come soon enough. All four guys were burnt out and needed a serious break from all the touring and recording. Matt was going to spend his time away starring in a stage musical and his hopes and everyone else’s expectations were high. Unfortunately, the predicted hit became a spectacular flop and Matt’s management wants him to get as far away from the invasive press as he can. When his best friend offers up his own home while he’s overseas, Matt readily agrees. Close by is his best friend’s younger sister, Vivienne Forrester, who has certainly done her share of growing up well.
Two years ago, Vivienne showed up backstage after Shaughnessy’s final concert while on their last tour before their pre-planned break. Matt clearly saw just how grown up she was and they shared an unforgettable kiss…but maybe it wasn’t all that memorable on Matt’s end because when they see each other again in her brother’s home, he obviously doesn’t remember that milestone moment. Not setting out the welcome mat and making it clear that she isn’t thrilled at having to share the property with him. But avoiding Matt isn’t all that easy, especially when he offers to become her official taste tester as she concocts new culinary creations for both her food blog and her new position for the online magazine she works at. As the days and weeks pass, Vivienne and Matt build on their camaraderie, but when Matt kisses her once again, will they be able to build on a romantic relationship when Vivienne already has a home and Matt has never truly had one?
Matt and Vivienne were this really sweet and sexy couple that had equal parts friendship and romance. They both had parental issues which played out for most of the story and then really quickly resolved—a little too quickly, in my humble opinion—and it made it easier to understand why Vivienne has always felt as if she’s the one who gets left behind and why Matt has never really had a place that he considered home. The thing is, they’re living in this bubble while Matt is in hiding and it makes it all too easy to forget that at the end of the day, Matt is an established and successful musician slash rock star who does travel a great deal, so how does Vivienne resolve the idea of him constantly moving around and, more or less, having to leave her for lengths of time and can Matt really think of his hometown as home when it’s the same one the woman he loves and his estranged father live in? Complicated, yes, but no overly so, and that’s just how I like it.
This is the first in a spin-off series, and it does have several appearances by Riley and Savannah Shaughnessy, whose love story is the fourth and most recent release in the Shaughnessy Brothers series. However, Riley and Savannah never hog the spotlight nor do they through in any unnecessary drama to add to whatever’s already going on between Matt and Vivienne, and that’s why I think One More Kiss works so well as a series spin-off starter. Then there are also hints about the two other members of the band—Dylan Anders and Julian Grayson—that leave you curious about who they are and what kind of story they have to tell. I’m guessing Dylan may be up next simply because it’s his alcoholism that’s talked about more here than Julian’s relationship drama with a country singer his friends think is simply using him and his song writing skills. Whoever it may be, I’ll be looking forward to reading it. One More Kiss is a 4.5-starred scrumptiously great read. ♥
Release Date: 07 February 2017
Date Read: 04 February 2017
Learn more about Samantha Chase.
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