Blurb: Tyler Kostritch is famous for his integrity. It’s just a pity he’s lying to everyone.
Ty gave up a promising MMA career to focus on his band. As the frontman of Proletarian Yell, he’s famous for the aggression and brutal honesty of his live performances… all while hiding in the closet, and never risking relationships.
After years of hard work, Proletarian Yell finally have their big break: a tour with the hottest metal band around. It’s the best thing to ever happen to Ty.
Until he meets Hale.
“We’re real. We’re part of a movement. You’re just a boy band playing dress-up.”
Hale Tahmid, vocalist of the staggeringly-popular Funeral Kiss, is everything Ty’s not: Showy, flirty, openly gay. Hale’s the quintessential rock star from his staggering good looks to his attention-craving love of social media.
The two bands couldn’t be more different, and their vocalists are opposites. They clash from the moment they meet, a constant verbal sparring and battle of personalities.
But they can’t ignore their extreme attraction. Hale’s passionate and ruthlessly dedicated, facing Ty in a way the ex-fighter never imagined. The temptation is too right to resist.
“I’m nobody’s dirty secret.”
Ty lives in a castle of lies that would come crashing down if he came out. He’d risk losing his band, his family, and everything he’s worked for.
How can Ty choose between his love and the music he’s built his world around?!
One of the things that Tyler was so hung up with is that ‘some gay people aren’t gay enough because they aren’t showing it’ – I was like, “dude, move on already. You keep on repeating yourself.” I find him very irritating initially, but he kind of grew on me. Hale, meanwhile, is one fantastic character! He’s fun, flashy, and very much relatable. I loved the diversity of the author’s characters in her books (so far, I’ve only read this and Coin Tricks), and I loved learning so much about their culture – this time, a bit of Bangladeshi culture. I think it’s essential that authors explore diversity with their characters because it makes their stories more interesting, realistic, and getting the feeling of inclusiveness.
A very well-written story and a definite must-read if you’ve enjoyed Coin Tricks. (Read my review of Coin Tricks here)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition, 140 pagesPublished May 12th 2016
About The Author
Willow Scarlett is a queer romance writer from New Zealand. In early 2015, she quit city life and moved to a ski hut at the foot of Mt Doom. She now happily lives and writes in a tiny town which is home to more alpacas than people.
Her greatest joy is in creating holistic romances, bringing characters through friendship and lust to consuming, eye-opening, world-fulfilling love. Her stories often feature punks, rebels and outcasts. Willow is an avid jogger and cyclist, a neocrust violinist and an enthusiastic fan of horror movies.
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