I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review! Given the amount of business law I’ve had to study in the past month, this was definitely a welcome light read for when my brain was mush thanks to law lingo.

Starfish: A Rockstar Romance

By Lisa Becker

Publish Date: May 2019
Read Date: July 2019
Format: ebook
Genre: New Adult Romance
Page Count: 310 Pages
Rating: 3/5 Moose

Synopsis

Marin is ready for her four month internship that is destined to lead her to her the PR position in Seattle for a tech company; her goal. Unfortunately these plans are derailed on day one when she’s assigned to go on the road with a touring rock band…a bus and a bunch of boys?!

Brad Osterhauser “B.O.” is a reluctant rock star who plays guitar and writes Grammy nominated songs. While the rock star life should be everyone’s dream job, for Brad, it would be a life coding computer games.

The two are both out of their element, which brings them closer as the bond over 90s pop culture. But when a secret gets leaked to the press and Marin is accused, will their relationship be strong enough that Brad will stand by it, or will Marin lose both love and her job?

Characters

Marin Collins – a new PR intern who has been tasked with working with hot band Kings Quarters while they’re on tour

Brad Osterhauser – guitarist and songwriter in Kings Quarters, which is secretly not his dream job

Rants, Raves, and Reviews

Okay in case you don’t know me well: I usually love stories of rock stars and celebrities falling in love with normal people.

Reading this synopsis, this book seemed to fall into this trope with a bit of a twist: a rock star who doesn’t actually want to be a rock star?! I was definitely intrigued. Sign me up!

This book is told from a dual perspective. I really should add a tag on my website (or a folder on goodreads) so I can instantly take a look at the books with dual perspectives to see what I like and what I don’t. For this book, I enjoyed Marin’s POV, but frequently couldn’t get on board with Brad. It’s something about instant possessiveness that turns me off and makes it hard for me to come around to anyone. (Actually, there’s a lot about Brad I am not on board with, but we can get back to that.) Marin on the other hand is fairly relatable. She’s the type of millennial I am used to seeing: hard working, terrified of losing their job, working herself to the bone, work through that sick day. Okay, maybe more than just “used to seeing” — it’s the most #itme thing.

Fun side story: I used to go get my Rituxan infusion (think low grade chemo-like drug) and come back to work because I REFUSED to show weakness. Don’t be like me.

Marin also has a best friend, Grace, who is basically the best character of the book. She’s got her own Devil Wears Prada boss, which overall makes her a bit of a minor character. Even still, she’s got life, a different tone, and is genuinely a good friend. At no point does she make Marin feel guilty about her internship and the fact that’s away for four months. Granted, she doesn’t have a ton of conflict of her own, so maybe that’s why? No…I like to believe that the friendship is set up well enough that Marin would be there if Grace needed. No matter the reason, I am a large fan of story lines where women are supportive and not jealous.

Brad on the other hand… okay look. I don’t inherently think Brad is a bad guy. But he does do something that I felt were red flags? I’ll admit that there is a weird level of possession about women who have barely talked to is a big turn off of mine. I would have enjoyed this book more if the friendship started and the feelings grew out of that, rather than the constant talking of how absolutely turned on Brad is constantly at Marin. Bur really in the end, I couldn’t proclaim myself a fan of Brad when he forces Marin to talk their relationship public. Marin has every reason to keep the relationship quiet, especially in the beginning. You wanting to curl up with your girlfriend doesn’t override her INCREDIBLY VALID reasons to take it slow and keep it private at first. Even if you remove her family history, it’s an incredibly valid request. She doesn’t quite know what the company rules are for dating in the workplace, dating a celebrity as a normie means a really big shift in exposure. You are on display for everyone to judge, especially in this day and age. I don’t care how much you want to hold your girlfriend’s hand — you have to let her adjust into that.

The relationship feels fairly organic, outside of the teenage boy horniness that is a bit extreme. (Okay, I am probably being too hard on Brad.) The lines blur quickly, yet it still almost half a book before the main characters admit their feelings. Overall it is a bit rushed and a product of a lot of togetherness in small spaces, but it still feels real.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you are looking to get an idea of what New Adult romance is. The sexy scenes are fun, despite the over usage of the word tits. I like the twist in the book — there always has to be an issue before our HEA. Overall, if you are like me and love these romance tropes: celeb dating a normal, work place will-they-won’t-they, give this book a shot for your summer romance reading!