Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: Beautiful Thunder
AUTHOR: Louise Lyons
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 217 pages
BLURB:
Can romance and rock ‘n’ roll dreams survive with a storm raging around them?
Alex Randall has always wanted to be a rock singer. When he answers an ad from a local band, his dream finally comes true. He loves the stage, and the group’s fans love him. Things couldn’t be better, except for the attraction he develops for the band’s guitarist, Lindsey. Alex is surprised and initially worried, since he only had one brief flirtation with a boy in his teens. But even though he and Lindsey become close and start seeing each other, Alex fears commitment, and Lindsey worries that Alex might only be experimenting.
When Lindsey’s ex contacts him following a health scare, fear and anger drives a wedge between Alex and Lindsey, which causes rifts within the band. Alex and Lindsey’s relationship is still new and fragile, and with Alex unwittingly blaming Lindsey for their problems, it becomes a true challenge for them to weather the storm.
REVIEW:
Holy 1990’s British Rock band throwback!!! I wasn’t expecting this to be set in the 90s and I wasn’t expecting them to be British rockers, lol!! Thank goodness for JL Merrow or I would have no idea what a “poof” was. I wasn’t really expecting to get into this as much as I did. I honestly think I was so drawn in because how beautifully this author writes. Her characters were so complex but not overly so. I really cared about them. I cared about the band, the music, and these two men. This is an angsty story but I found the level of angst was perfect for where this story took us. It wasn’t over the top, in my opinion.
Alex Randall has had one dream pretty much his entire life, become a rock singer. He finally gets his shot after auditioning for a local band. Loving his sound they immediately make him a member of the band. Alex is unprepared, however for his immediate attraction to the lead guitarist, Lindsey. Lindsey is beautiful and shy and for some reason that appeals to Alex. As things would have it, Alex has always identified as straight so this new development throws him. He wants to deny it. He wants to ignore it but he’s drawn to Lindsey and the attraction can’t be denied. As things start developing between them it all comes to a crashing halt after some serious news Lindsey gets from his ex.
I really enjoyed this story. Alex’s struggles were so real and you could feel how much he wanted Lindsey but you could also feel how scared and vulnerable that made him. I loved how these two developed their relationship. It was so sweet but the attraction and tension was electric. Like I mentioned before these characters were everything in this story and I really actually liked the 90s rock star thing. It was way different and really good.
This is a must read…I think everyone would enjoy this…its sweet, passionate, cute, and the chemistry between Alex and Lindsey is out of this world good!!
P.S. Given that this is set in the 90’s a lot of songs from that era are brought up…I absolutely loved reminiscing through this story…”Heart’s” Alone…enough said….!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: