What chance does a small-town girl have with a world-famous rock star?
Famous in a Small Town, the all-new rock-star-next-door romance, from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott, is out now!
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Blurb
What chance does a small-town girl have with a world-famous rock star?
Two years after his wife’s death, rock star Garrett Hayes hasn’t moved on. But he has moved out of L.A. Where better to escape his past than a small town in the northern California mountains? If only he could get the townsfolk of Wildwood to leave him the hell alone.
Ani Bennet returned to her hometown for some much-needed serenity. The last thing she needs is a grumpy, too hot for his own good, rich and famous rock star living next door—and rent-free in her brain.
She set her fangirl tendencies aside and deleted his photo from her cell when they became neighbors. But when Garrett asks for help, she can’t say no. The problem is, spending time together is making those fangirl feelings resurface—and bringing them to a whole new level.
What chance does a small-town girl have with a world-famous rock star? It’s time for Ani to set her fears aside and find out.
Review
“I’m with you now and that’s it for me.”
4.5 stars
Oh, what a fun read! A funny, emotional, sexy and romantic small-town, friends-to-lovers, rockstar romance. It’s full of fabulous tropes, with two amazing characters, and I loved it so much!
Ani is 30 years old and is happy living a quiet life in a very small Californian town after leaving LA in difficult circumstances four years previously. She works at the general store, has great friends and rocks at trivia night, and her life is small but happy.
Her subdued little life get shaken when Garrett Hayes moves in next door. Garrett is a rock god, and was the lead singer of the Dead Heart, but has been MIA for the last two years since the tragic death of his wife and the breakup of his band. Ani is a big fan but manages to keep her cool and doesn’t let Garrett’s celebrity impact her interactions with him – she figures he’s in her small town for some peace and quiet, so she’s going to give him that.
Her ’realness’ with Garrett intrigues him, and they slowly become friends, and with a little push from Garrett’s ex-bandmate and friend, Smith, Ani encourages Garrett to leave his house and get back into the real world, easing his way into her small community and giving him the opportunity to live a normal life. Watching him face his fears and take big steps out of his grief and isolation also encourages her to deal with her own demons, and she finds herself starting to embrace life a bit more at the same time.
It’s a fabulous friendship, full of witty banter, open and frank discussions, and random conversations that had me laughing over and over. But, of course, there’s an edge of something more, an attraction that blooms gradually and naturally. It has the feeling of a slow burn, but actually moves pretty quickly, and I loved watching their friendship develop into something neither of them were expecting.
“As I recall, you repeatedly and emphatically said you did not want to date,” he said. “How’s that working out for you?”
“We’re turning the truth levels right up to awkward, huh?” I asked.
“Babe, when haven’t we?”
“Good point.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
I set down my silverware. “Well . . . I’m sitting here wearing the fanciest dress I own, wondering if you’re going to take it off me later.”
“I’ve been wondering about that too.”
It’s so easy between them, and you can feel that what they have is special, and with the story told entirely from Ani’s perspective, you’re never too sure what Garrett is feeling, which makes every joke, glance and touch that much more exciting.
“This isn’t a mistake, Ani. I don’t know what the hell it is. But it’s not a mistake.”
“Okay.”
He winced and shook his head. “That’s a lie … I do know what this is. It’s just a big deal admitting it, you know?”
The change from friends to lovers is beautifully done, and while it’s super sexy, there’s also a lot of emotion between them and it’s also gorgeously romantic with lots of swoon. I loved how open and honest they are with each other; as it was with their friendship, they don’t hold anything back, and it’s such an honest, emotional and playful connection that that have.
“So you don’t want to have sex with me?”
“Oh, I want inside you like you wouldn’t believe. But if you think trying to make things purely physical between us is going to work, you’re kidding yourself.”
“We could try.”
“If you like,” he said, nonplussed. “But I’m warning you now, if we have sex, we’re cuddling after.”
I groaned. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely. I’m not putting out otherwise.”
I loved watching their relationship shift and change as they fall hard and dive all in.
“I wasn’t expecting you.”
… “But here we are, making things complicated.”
Ani is sensational! She’s got her vulnerabilities, but she’s brave, witty and brilliantly sarcastic. She also has zero filter and doesn’t hold back, which leads to wonderfully entertaining conversations. She’s instantly loveable and a wonderful narrator for her story, and I absolutely adore her.
“She makes me want to keep living. She makes me want to write songs and get up in the morning and go out and actually have a fucking life. I cannot overstate her importance to me.”
Garrett’s heartbroken broodiness is irresistible, but he is so much more than the widower reclaiming his life. He is smart, sexy, and completely no-nonsense. He’s got layers but there’s no game playing, and I love that! Watching him embrace all that Ani brings to his life is so gorgeous, and he proves to be an epically sexy and swoony romantic hero.
“I’m with you now and that’s it for me,” he explained. “We can take it as fast or as slow as you like. But either way, we make this work because it’s what we want, right?”
“Right.”
“Because I’m with you.”
The town of Wildwood and its inhabitants are a big part of the story, and OMG, they are so freaking funny! Scott brings the town to life in all of its quirky glory, and I loved their interactions with Ani and Garrett, and between each other, and I laughed so many times at their antics and their good intentions in pushing the two of them together.
And the boys of the band! As they were introduced, I got Stage Dive vibes, and was instantly so excited. Smith, in particular is Mal v2, and with some already fantastic dynamics and backstories for the boys, I’m so hoping we get books for all of them!
I loved this book so much. It’s funny, quirky and witty, it had me chuckling along the whole way through, and I fell in love with these characters, the town of Wildwood, and Ani and Garrett’s fun, beautiful, functional romance – and that ending left me swooning and super satisfied with a huge grin on my face.
So much fun, and such a great read – 4.5 stars!
An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Excerpt
My new neighbor arrived at midnight on a Thursday. First came the moving truck, followed by a Jeep Wrangler. Mrs. Cooper, the former owner of the house, passed a while back. A damn shame. The woman was not only nice, but she made biscuits like you wouldn’t believe. For years the grand old Victorian house sat empty at the end of the cul-de-sac. Not unusual for a small town. Few people wanted to move to the middle of nowhere in Northern California, no matter how picturesque it might be. While the place had been sold not long after listing, there’d been no sighting of the new owner until now.
“What the heck?” I mumbled to myself, standing at the window.
Who moved in the middle of the night? It seemed covert and suspicious. Like something a criminal or government agent would do. Although, maybe they just traveled far and this happened to be the time they arrived. But most people would stay at a hotel and wait for daylight to do this sort of thing. Surely.
The only things ever happening at midnight in Wildwood were: 1. Harry, the town drunk, performing Bob Dylan classics in the middle of Main Street. 2. Me, an insomniac, wandering aimlessly around my house. That was it. Everyone else in the whole wide world—or our corner of it—was fast asleep.
Half hidden behind a curtain, I watched the truck being unloaded. A full moon shone down through the pine trees as the moving men hauled stuff inside. The first guy, the one who drove the Jeep, went straight into the house. He was tall and wore a ball cap. That was about all I could see. Maybe he was setting the place up for his wife and family. Maybe he had a boyfriend. He couldn’t possibly be single, heterosexual, under sixty, and emotionally mature. My luck just wasn’t that good. Not that I intended to date again in this lifetime.
Whoever he was and whatever he was doing, it would all be known in due course. Such was the joy of small-town life.
Once the furniture was moved inside, things got a little dull. There’s not much you can tell about a person from their boxes.
I took the opportunity to once again check the locks on all my windows and doors. After that, I made a cup of chamomile tea. Neither of these things helped me sleep, but the rituals were soothing. Mom always said I had a busy mind. I didn’t necessarily think about anything useful, I just thought a lot. At night, I tended to think about books, bad memories, and ex-boyfriends. The last two were often one and the same.
As a child, I was the daydreamer who got busted humming in class when everyone else was concentrating. (Like anybody actually needed algebra. If you can work out the discount at a sale, you’re good to go. Then again, this attitude might explain why my life had gone approximately nowhere.)
I returned to the window just in time to see my mystery man reappear. The new neighbor strode out to the Jeep and opened up the back. When he once more headed toward the house, the ball cap was gone and his short hair was on display. In each hand he carried a guitar case.
I perked up. Musicians were cool. Unless he owned electric guitars and believed in turning the volume up to eleven. That could get old fast.
As he got closer to the house, the porchlight hit him and…huh. Something about his profile tugged at a memory.
Guess he felt my gaze, because he turned toward my place. And whoa. His lips were a thin line, his jaw set to cranky, and none of it mattered—the man was beautiful.
Though he really was strangely familiar.
Meanwhile, with only a lamp on behind me, I couldn’t have been more than an outline. A shadowy person lurking in the dark. Great. Nothing like being spied on to make you feel welcome in your new neighborhood. So much better than a casserole or cookies.
Wait! I knew where I recognized him from. Only it couldn’t be, because that would be crazy. Absolutely fucking wild. Yet there he stood.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
My new neighbor was a goddamn rock star.
About the Author
Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013, 2014 & 2018, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.
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