Quote:
Originally Posted by library addict
First,  back. We've missed you. And yes, the Rock Kiss series was a surprise. Nalini apparently wrote the first book for fun in her spare time  
Second, as you may or may not have seen earlier, I do not believe these books are or should be classified as NA. They are not coming of age stories and none of the characters are independent for the first time. The rock band the series revolves around has been together for a nearly a decade and the heroine of the first book had graduated and was working as a librarian for several years. The heroine of the second book is well-established in her career and is two years older than the hero (she's 29). I think a few posters at Goodreads tagged the first book as NA, but that's not the way the book is labeled anywhere else that I've seen.
That said, I do not think the first book, Rock Addiction, was as good as the second, Rock Courtship. The first book though introduces all of the characters and has a lot of subplots involving the other characters. The two stories are basically set concurrently. I had a lot of issues with the first book, particularly the hero. But I loved the heroine and supporting characters. The second book is a long novella and so the focus of the story is almost exclusively on the romance. I gave Rock Addiction a C+/3 stars and Rock Courtship an A/5 stars. But YMMV. Also as I said earlier in the thread (or it may have been the previous thread) Rock Addiction starts slow and the second half of the book overall is much better than the first half. Plus I think the tone of the second book is different than the first one.
I do think the second book would work as a stand-alone, but since the first book gives a lot of background info in the characters you'd be missing out on some of the depth of the romance if you just jump into book two. So if you are planning to read the series, I would start with the first book. But then I am one of those people who likes reading series in order. Also, I know several readers who did not like the first book at all, but enjoyed the second.
Trying to avoid spoilers. if there's anything specific you want to know just ask.
ETA: There is a lot of sex in these series. I would not classify them as erotica or erotic romance by any means, but from the reviews I've read I think the books just weren't what some fans of her paranormal series expected. The books are much more in the vein of her earlier Silhouette titles. |
Thanks for the detailed reply! They don't sound like NA to me either. Being they're by Nalini Singh I was initially curious but from what you mention here I think I'll pass. I'm leery of anything marring the good feeling I have about her Psy-Changeling series, and I think these might (at least the first book).
I suppose you've already read
Shield of Winter? I was tempted to buy it but I'll wait till the series ends (providing she still plans to wrap it up soon).