Review: A Cruel Kind of Beautiful by Michelle Hazen (Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll #1)


Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Barclay Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

Michelle Hazen is a new-to-me author, making her Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll series starter, A Cruel Kind of Beautiful, my first read from her. This new adult (NA) romance has twenty-one-year-old Music Theory and Composition student Jera McKnight who is the drummer of The Red Letters, a garage band that could very well score a record deal if they line up the right gigs and have the right people from the industry take notice. When a newspaper thrown a tad too forcefully leads to a broken window, she finds herself meeting the hottest newspaper guy ever. Twenty-year-old Jake Tate was a gifted college baseball player who suddenly stopped playing the sport he was known for. Insisting that Jera call him "Jacob", he's an engineering student who's devoted to his family and who's more than taken by the captivating rock star in the making. Her relationship with Jacob and a possible record deal are filled with promise, but promises, oftentimes don't always deliver what they advertise. Now isn't the time for insecurities to creep in, but Jacob's own secrets could be the last thing that shatters whatever they have apart.

The blurb for this novel on Goodreads includes a note about it being something that fans of two bestselling authors will love. The two mentioned happen to be go-to authors for me, but to be honest, the inclusion of their names wasn't what made me want to read this book. I actually wish they hadn't been mentioned at all because one has a certain brand of romantic comedy that I'm more than familiar with, and the other made a name for herself because of her rock star romance series. There was nothing remotely similar in Hazen's writing to those of the two other authors. And you know what? That's a good thing! Hazen has a style all her own, and she's clearly got great promise. She's come up with a great story and her writing backs it up. Nothing kills my happy vibe more than wonky writing. She made Jera into a main character that others could not only empathize with but could fully embrace. Then there's Jacob, who was simply my favorite thing about this book. Aside from their story, we're introduced to the rest of the band, and I can't wait to get to know them even better as the Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll series moves forward, and so far, it's lived up to its promise of all three. Four stars for A Cruel Kind of Beautiful. ♥

Date Read: 06 December 2017

Learn more about Michelle Hazen.

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Comments

  1. Loved this review! Thanks for reading and I'm so happy you liked my book!

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