Teaser Tuesday + Book Review: Always by Amanda Weaver

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading

Always
Author: Amanda Weaver
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: April 15th 2014
Review Source: Author

From the moment they meet, their connection is perfect in every way but one.

It’s New Year’s Eve, 2007, and Justine James is fronting her dead-end band for a less-than-adoring crowd. But there’s one person there who sees what she could be—one person who changes everything for her.

Dillon Pierce clawed his way up from the LA streets with no one to count on but his best friend, Ash. Their years of struggle finally pay off when their band, Outlaw Rovers, gets signed and their single takes off. With Ash as the magnetic lead singer and Dillon as the band’s musical soul, they’re destined for greatness, provided Dillon can keep Ash from self-destructing first.

Dillon might not be fronting Outlaw Rovers, but he’s always been the only one Justine sees. She’s followed his career from afar and when he shows up at her crummy New Year’s Eve gig, nothing will stop her from meeting him. They forge an intense connection, rapidly moving from friends to musical soul mates. Justine wants much more, but she’s not willing to climb over groupies and industry bottom-feeders to make it happen. Dillon becomes a fixture in her life, but she has to figure out how to keep him out of her heart.

Outlaw Rovers begins to implode as Justine’s star is on the rise. The years that follow bring equal parts fame and ruin. For Justine, a new love supplants her old heartbreak, and Dillon has to reboot his life after losing nearly everything that matters. Despite the odds, Dillon and Justine remain devoted friends and musical collaborators. After all the missed chances, wrong turns and painful detours, can they finally find the happiness together that seemed destined from the start?

This book tells the fictional story of Justine James and Dillon Pierce who were both musicians into rock music in a big way. It is a story of meteoric rise and fall in the music business, and also of drugs, sex, and rock 'n roll. It's quite the roller coaster ride!.

Justine was the lead singer in a band that just happened to be opening for another band Dillon and his fellow band members had come to hear play on New Year's Eve 2008. When she went up and introduced herself to Dillon after their show she paved the way for years of friendship and musical collaboration. The story spans fro their first meeting in 2008 to present day. We see their personal growth through as their separate lives unfold and their friendship develops and deepens.

I loved this story and the characters. I found the life crisis' they found themselves in to be true-to-life and their situations handled realistically. I thought the writing to be well done. When reading this book I found myself anxious to keep reading in anticipation. The story had a good flow and reached a satisfying conclusion. I recommend this book to all who enjoy contemporary romance books about rock musicians. I gave the book five stars--it really struck a positive chord with me.

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Like many writers, Amanda Weaver spent her childhood constantly telling stories. College steered her in a different direction and into a successful career as a designer. Several years ago, she picked up writing again strictly as a hobby, to blow off some creative steam. One thing led to another, National Novel Writing Month happened, and here we are. Amanda Weaver grew up in Florida and now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, daughter and two crazy cats.