Reviewer: Rowena Mayhem by Jamie Shaw
Series: Mayhem #1
Also in this series: Mayhem, Riot, Riot, Chaos, Havoc
Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
Publication Date: January 20th 2015
Genres: New Adult
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Series Rating:
When college freshman Rowan Michaels meets gorgeous, up-and-coming rock star Adam Everest, she knows a player like him is the last thing she needs after her ex-boyfriend shattered her heart. But she can't stop thinking about the kiss they shared on his tour bus.
On the first day of school, Rowan is stunned when Adam saunters into her French class. He's soon failing miserably, and, on a whim, she offers to tutor him. But Adam doesn't recognize her as a makeup-free, glasses-clad college student—a far cry from the beautiful, mysterious "Peach" he met at his concert.
During a wild weekend on tour with the band, Rowan can't help falling for the sweet guy buried beneath Adam's rocker persona. Yet she knows she could never compete with the girls constantly throwing themselves at his feet. She'd just end up hurt … again.
Peach is all Adam thinks about, though, and when Rowan realizes this, she has a decision to make: stay just friends to protect her fragile heart … or reveal the truth about the night they met and admit she's fallen completely, hopelessly in love with him.
I came across the third book in this series when I was browsing through Edelweiss and after reading the blurb, I wanted to meet these guys in the band. I wanted to know who Shawn was (hero of Book 3) but in order to fully appreciate them, I knew that I would have to start at the beginning.
So I dove into Mayhem and didn’t look back and man was it a good ride.
While out at a show with her best friend, the last thing Rowan ever thought she’d see was her boyfriend of three years, at the same show, shoving his tongue down her throat. Shocked and hurt, Rowan rushes out of the club to get some fresh air…and maybe cry a little. This is where she meets rock star Adam Everett. Adam is about to go on stage when he comes across a cute girl crying her eyes out over some loser boyfriend who she just caught cheating on her.
Before he knows what’s what, she’s on his tour bus and he’s comforting her in the only way that he knows how to comfort her …by trying to sleep with her. When he gets turned down, he’s surprised because let’s face it – that never happens to bad boy rock star Adam Everett but when he shares an explosive kiss with her, he didn’t think that would be the last time he saw her.
When Rowan shows up at class on Monday, the last thing she expected to see was Adam Everett show up in her same class. She thought that the last thing they would have shared was that kiss that rocked her world but when Adam doesn’t remember or care who she is, her life resumes. They don’t run in the same circles so when she ends up tutoring him, she’s taken aback by how fast she starts to fall for him.
I think my favorite part of the book was the romance between Adam and Rowan. I loved how they came together. They didn’t jump into a relationship and Adam didn’t change his ways at first. I loved seeing the chemistry smoke up the pages of their story until they were finally on the same page. I thought Jamie Shaw did a fantastic job of telling their story. Of showing the two of them fall in love (even though we only got Rowan’s POV). I enjoyed getting to know both characters and I loved that there weren’t a lot of games being played here. Rowan was right to try to protect herself from the kind of love she knew would come from loving Adam. He wasn’t ready for her and I loved seeing him fall in love with her. Their relationship wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t always easy but they eventually got it right and I fell in love with the two of them at the same time they were falling for each other.
This was an enjoyable story about two people falling in love with each other amidst a whole lot of outside influences. It’s not easy being with a rock star who has girls throwing themselves at them every single day but I liked seeing Adam and Rowan fumble their way toward that happy ending. This was a great introduction to this series because it made me thirsty for more. I can’t wait to jump into the next book.
Grade: 4.25 out of 5
This book is available from Avon Impulse. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.
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