Fame, fortune, and stadiums full of screaming fans are right around the corner for the rock band at the heart of Stina Lindenblatt’s steamy, intense Pushing Limits series. But it’s an epic love affair that steals the show in this opening act.
When Nolan Kincaid skipped town to chase the music career of his dreams, he knew he wouldn’t miss the reminders of his broken family—he wasn’t so sure he could forget the girl he left behind. Now his band is touring nonstop, the recording sessions go all night, and the groupies are crazed. But when he hears that Hailey Wilkins is in trouble, he drops everything.
Hailey thought she’d missed her chance with Nolan. Five years ago, the moment she realized she loved him was the moment he decided to leave. Now, when a brutal assault lands her in the ICU, Nolan flies straight to her bedside, acting like nothing’s changed. What’s a rock star like him doing, canceling shows and risking his record deal, just to nurse an old friend back to health? And why should Hailey believe he’ll stay this time?
With her attacker still at large, Nolan’s ready to rise to the occasion. He knows he let Hailey down once before, but he’s ready to give her everything, heart and soul—and he’ll fight for the chance to prove it.
Whew!! This book really drew me in right from the start. We have the very sexy bad boy lead singer/guitarist for Pushing Limits who has a tragic past that he ran from and left the love of his life behind in Minnesota. Nolan and Hailey were best of friends for years and then like a lot of boy/girl friendships theirs starting taking on a life of its own. The feelings were there for both of them and neither of them wanted to admit to the other that their friendship was now going to another level. About the time that Nolan was finally ready to let Hailey know that he wanted more from her something terrible happened within his family to the point that Nolan couldn’t remember exactly what happened and he knew that it was something that he didn’t want to remember. His only thought was he had to leave town and not look back. He changed his name to Tyler because he didn’t want anyone to know about his past and headed to LA to begin his music career. Within that 5 years Nolan became hit it big with Pushing Limits and was known for his sexy persona and bad boy antics but he always kept that special picture of Hailey close by and wondered what could have been.
Pushing Limits was just finishing up the last concert of a long tour when Nolan received a phone call from best friend, and the only person who Nolan stayed in contact with from back home, telling him that Hailey was attacked and in a coma. Nolan could not get back to Minnesota fast enough to be by her side. Hailey’s attacker was out there and Nolan was going to stay close to Hailey until he felt she was safe again. Since they had never pronounced their real feelings for each other all those years ago neither of them was still sure if the other person had the same feelings. Who really wants to put themselves out there and open old wounds if the other person’s feelings never left that friendship level? Who was it that attacked Hailey and was it in any way linked to what happened to Nolan’s family? Did Hailey and Nolan have any chance at exploring their real feelings for each other and would it be enough to pull Hailey to California to live the life with a rocker boyfriend?
This book had me hooked with the way Nolan and Hailey’s relationship evolved and it made you sit on pins and needles wondering if there was a chance that these two could actually make their relationship work. Would that chemistry they shared be enough? It also had you feeling so sorry for Nolan with what he had to go through with his family and what he actually gave up in order to deal with it. Besides the romantic aspect of this book the author had added quite a bit of suspense as to who it was that attacked Hailey and how it all worked in to the story. This is a book that is well worth your time if you like rockers with a taste of added suspense. I’m looking forward to the second installment of Pushing Limits and can’t wait to see what Ms. Lindenblatt has up her sleeve next.
This book was provided as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
Stina Lindenblatt lives in Western Canada, where she loves to dream up New Adult and Young Adult stories, especially those with romance. She loves to travel, and has lived in England, the US, Canada, and Finland. She has a Master’s of Science degree in exercise physiology and has worked with elite athletes. In her free time, Stina enjoys photography, especially the close-up variety.
