RAW NEED
Larson Brothers #2
by
Cherrie Lynn
Rowan's life was turned upside down when her husband died in an MMA fight. Pregnant and alone she is still devastated by her loss. When Zane, lead singer of her favorite band, asks her out to get reprieve from sitting at home drowning in grief she happily accepts. They met at her husband's funeral - Matt is the brother of the man who is responsible for Tommy's death. She feels a bit like a charity case, the pity date but at the same time she enjoys leaving the loneliness and pain behind for a night.
Zane has been enchanted with the beautiful widow from the first moment but with her being a fan AND pregnant AND still grieving he can't let this go anywhere past friendship. Yet, he can't get her out of his mind. He invites her to join him on the band's tour and Rowan is torn. She has to consider the consequences - not just for her but also for her unborn baby.
She agrees, not able to resist the temptation to spend time with her favorite band and faster than both Rowan and Zane anticipated their feelings become more. Deeper, more intense, more erotic. Despite it all, Rowan keeps her emotional distance but for how long will she be able to resist the rockstar's charming offensive.
My book twin loved the first one in this series and has been prodding me to read Raw Deal ever since. Since these books can be read as a standalone I jumped at the chance to read Raw Need. Unfortunately it completely missed the mark for me. Let me explain why.
The beginning of the story was off to a slow start. I was waiting for something to happen that grabbed my attention and when it did it wasn't exactly a pleasant thing. The heroine from book 1, which my book bestie was raving about, had turned into a judgmental and condescending know-it-all. I let it slide, hoping for the book to improve. Alas, most of the characters really started to grind on my nerves.
We have Rowan's fangirl attitude towards rock star Zane which she held on to fast until the very end. At no point I had the feeling that Rowan genuinely loved the man. Most of the time it was about his career or fame and that was a bit of a turn-off. While I liked her alright for two thirds of the book, despite her worshipful attitude, I had no love left for her when I was done.
She did some really crappy thing in the end (highlight spoiler at the end of this paragraph) and while the author didn't elaborate much on what happened after that. I was livid - after all Zane has done for her, the way he treated her with nothing but devotion and love she didn't trust him. And when I thought that was outrageous Rowan topped it off with a fangirl scream because she was picked up by a stretch limo. My annoyance knew no bounds and I just was over it.
Some spiteful woman insinuated that Zane was cheating.
Zane was the highlight of this book. He was a wonderful, protective and eventually frustrated guy who had his own sad past and demons to fight but he always was there for Rowan. He always tried to be the shield for the woman he fell in love with and she always threw it back into his face.
Throughout the book I felt that Rowan never deserved a man like Zane. She always gave into her family's pressure and their wishes and Zane always came second.
Her problem all along had been separating Zane Larson the man from Zane Larson, international rock star, front man of August on Fire.
She did some really crappy thing in the end (highlight spoiler at the end of this paragraph) and while the author didn't elaborate much on what happened after that. I was livid - after all Zane has done for her, the way he treated her with nothing but devotion and love she didn't trust him. And when I thought that was outrageous Rowan topped it off with a fangirl scream because she was picked up by a stretch limo. My annoyance knew no bounds and I just was over it.
Some spiteful woman insinuated that Zane was cheating.
Zane was the highlight of this book. He was a wonderful, protective and eventually frustrated guy who had his own sad past and demons to fight but he always was there for Rowan. He always tried to be the shield for the woman he fell in love with and she always threw it back into his face.
She was breaking him too, and he didn’t think she realized how much.
Throughout the book I felt that Rowan never deserved a man like Zane. She always gave into her family's pressure and their wishes and Zane always came second.
“You’re like a little puppet dancing on the end of their strings, Rowan.”
The whole side cast irritated me at some point in the story. I covered Savannah, the MIL was a raging manipulative bitch. Even Mike, the hero from book 1, angered me when he didn't have Zane's back towards the end. Damien, the third brother, was the only one who actually had some sense.
Despite it all Cherrie Lynn's writing is terrific. I will read Raw Deal because I trust my book bestie - she has never let me down and I am immensely intrigued by Damien's story. I can't wait to get my hands on that one.
As always my reminder - please do take my review with a grain of salt. At the end of the day we all have different tastes and experience books differently.
Raw Need is the second book in the Larson Brothers series but can be read as a standalone.
Despite it all Cherrie Lynn's writing is terrific. I will read Raw Deal because I trust my book bestie - she has never let me down and I am immensely intrigued by Damien's story. I can't wait to get my hands on that one.
As always my reminder - please do take my review with a grain of salt. At the end of the day we all have different tastes and experience books differently.
Raw Need is the second book in the Larson Brothers series but can be read as a standalone.
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