A full review is included at the end of this post, but in short, I enjoyed "Smitten" and would recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I will definitely be checking out more of Lauren Rowe's work in the future!
About "Smitten"
I met Alessandra at a party. Tried to impress her. Was almost positive I was going to fail.
I think I said something along the lines of, “I’m a Goat called Fish who’s hung like a bull—but not really. I’m actually pretty average.” Smooth. I know. Try not to be jealous.
When she laughed—and I mean, really laughed—I knew she wasn’t like the other girls I’d been meeting on tour. Hell, she wasn’t even in the same stratosphere as those fangirls and gold-diggers.
At one point during the party, Alessandra said, “There’s nothing like a girl’s first love.” I knew she was talking about the first smash hit by my band, 22 Goats. Alessandra said it was the first song she’d heard by us and it “hit her like a ton of bricks.” Ironic, seeing as how I was having the same reaction from being in her presence.
I made it my mission to impress her. Give her the kiss of a lifetime that night. But since I’ve always been the dude with zero game, nothing went according to plan.
I’m not giving up, though. I’m going to win this girl over. I’m done sitting on the sidelines, watching the bad boy getting the girl. This time, the nice guy will finish first. Even if it’s the last thing he’ll do.
Smitten is an all-new standalone friends to lovers romance!
My Review
Lauren Rowe's "Smitten" was a sweet, funny, joyful rock star romance featuring likeable characters and an engaging plot. It works well as a standalone despite being a spinoff of several of Rowe's earlier works, including the Reed Rivers trilogy and the Morgan Brothers series. I will say that trying to keep track of all of the secondary characters could be a challenge in the beginning for readers (like me) who are new to Rowe's work, but it gets much easier by the end of the book.
Main characters Alessandra and Fish (aka Matthew) were well-matched in that they were both sweet, quirky, and slightly awkward. It was almost impossible not to like Fish, who seemed as if he'd be the life of every party. Alessandra was quite likeable too, but she seemed very young, naive, and immature to me at first, which made sense given that she was only 19 when the story began. She certainly didn't seem ready to take on the music industry! She grew up quickly, however, and I liked that she didn't lose her enthusiasm and genuine love of music along the way.
My one (small) complaint about the book is that the relationship between Alessandra and Fish seemed almost too easy, and there was basically no conflict between them. I'm not a fan of creating drama for drama's sake, but I do like to see couples work together to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Things between Alessandra and Fish got a bit more interesting in the second half of the book when Fish started to realize how difficult it could be for them to juggle competing recording and touring schedules, but even that problem was solved relatively easily.
In addition to Fish and Alessandra, the book's secondary characters were a lot of fun and added a tremendous amount of depth and humor to the story. I especially enjoyed Fish's friends Keane and Zander, who were very amusing but also provided Fish with some good advice on navigating his relationship with Alessandra. I will definitely be going back to read their stories as soon as I find the time!
Overall, I enjoyed "Smitten" and recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance or romantic comedy, especially those who enjoy rock star romances (though this story isn't as edgy as a lot of those books) or anyone who has any interest at all in songwriting or the music industry. The author actually wrote and produced her own songs to go along with the story, which was a very unique and creative touch. I look forward to checking out more of Lauren Rowe's work in the future.
Main characters Alessandra and Fish (aka Matthew) were well-matched in that they were both sweet, quirky, and slightly awkward. It was almost impossible not to like Fish, who seemed as if he'd be the life of every party. Alessandra was quite likeable too, but she seemed very young, naive, and immature to me at first, which made sense given that she was only 19 when the story began. She certainly didn't seem ready to take on the music industry! She grew up quickly, however, and I liked that she didn't lose her enthusiasm and genuine love of music along the way.
My one (small) complaint about the book is that the relationship between Alessandra and Fish seemed almost too easy, and there was basically no conflict between them. I'm not a fan of creating drama for drama's sake, but I do like to see couples work together to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Things between Alessandra and Fish got a bit more interesting in the second half of the book when Fish started to realize how difficult it could be for them to juggle competing recording and touring schedules, but even that problem was solved relatively easily.
In addition to Fish and Alessandra, the book's secondary characters were a lot of fun and added a tremendous amount of depth and humor to the story. I especially enjoyed Fish's friends Keane and Zander, who were very amusing but also provided Fish with some good advice on navigating his relationship with Alessandra. I will definitely be going back to read their stories as soon as I find the time!
Overall, I enjoyed "Smitten" and recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance or romantic comedy, especially those who enjoy rock star romances (though this story isn't as edgy as a lot of those books) or anyone who has any interest at all in songwriting or the music industry. The author actually wrote and produced her own songs to go along with the story, which was a very unique and creative touch. I look forward to checking out more of Lauren Rowe's work in the future.
*ARC provided by the author via Candi Kane PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
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