Review: Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning

Rock Hard
~Olivia Cunning

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publish Date: April 2, 2011
ISBN-10: 9781402245770
ISBN-13: 978-1402245770
ASIN: 1402245777

From the author's website:
Sinner’s lead singer, Sed, had his heart shredded when Jessica left him to pursue her dreams,so when she dances her way back into his life, he's not sure he's ready for her brand of pain, or pleasure, again. When she convinces Sed to engage in a benefits with benefits relationship, things seem to be going his way, until one of his fans catches their explicit public display of affection on film and posts it all over the internet. Will Jessica ever trust Sed again? And has Sed become the man of Jessica’s dreams or is he just posing to get what he wants?

The Sinners are a world-famous rock band with a sexy lead singer, Sed Lionheart. We met Sed in the first book in this series, Backstage Pass (my review here). Sed is the bad boy, into threesomes and stealing his guitarist Brian's girlfriends.

In Rock Hard, Sed is at Brian's bachelor party and sees Jessica, his former fiancee and love of his life, working in a strip bar. He goes ballistic and grabs her, starting a fight between the band and the bouncers.

Jessica loved Sed, but she felt like the he was trying to control her life. When he told her he didn't want her going to law school, he wanted her to stay with him, that was the last straw - she left him. Two years later, she needs to make some quick cash to cover a class her scholarship won't pay for, so she starts stripping. After Sed's visit (and subsequent fight), she was fired. She heads over to the concert venue to tell him off, and ends up getting hired as a data assistant by Brian's wife, Myrna.

Even after two years, Sed and Jessica's attraction hasn't faded, and while Sed hopes she'll come back to him, Jessica's only looking for great sex; she doesn't want to her heart broken again. Fabulous (angry) sex, rabid fans, and a medical emergency (or two) ensue.

This is the second book in Ms. Cunning's Sinners on Tour series, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

My thoughts: I didn't like Sed very much in Rock Hard - I mean yeah, he was sexy and funny and all, but I had problems with the whole girlfriend-stealing habit he had. He does kind of address that in Rock Hard, but it did start me off on a bad foot with him. As it turns out, Sed was a totally different guy in Rock Hard - he definitely has a sensitive side I don't remember from the last book. And it's not that he wants to control Jessica, he just wants to help but comes across as controlling.

I had a hard time with one aspect of this book - while the actual medical drama was interesting and I pulled for the band member who had some issues with recovery, I had a hard time believing Myrna, a PhD (or almost-PhD), would not have recognized the diagnosis once it was pointed out to her - I would assume she had to take some psychology courses along the line somewhere. *spoiler* I also don't recall Trey being such a jerk before his incident and kept wondering if he had brain damage from the hit and/or surgery because he sure came off that way after surgery. He was more crass and rude than I recall, and I'm not talking about his behavior during his prescription drug addiction. *end spoiler*

Sed and Jessica's chemistry in the bedroom (and outside *wink, nudge*) was white hot. When their clothes were on, however, they threw off a different kind of heat. They had two big personalities that clashed and they both had to learn to see the other person's actions from a non-confrontational view. It was a slow and difficult change for both of them but worthwhile in the end.

I am loving all the band members, and can't wait for Hot Ticket, which is Jace's book. Hot Ticket looks like it might involve some BDSM, which should make for a steamy, naughty book. Rock Hard continues to give us more of the personalities of the different band members, as well as their musical abilities and band-related stuff, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I look forward to reading more.

My Rating:

This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.