Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: A Kind of Truth 

SERIES: A Kind of #1

AUTHOR: Lane Hayes

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 230 pages

BLURB:

Rand O’Malley dreams of superstardom. He hopes to one day sing the blues like a rock god. Moving to New York City and hiring a new manager are steps to make his dreams a reality. But nothing moves as fast as Rand would like, and everyone has opinions, which include he keep certain pieces of himself quiet if he plans on making it in the Big Apple. Like his bisexuality.

Will Sanders is a gifted musician who dazzles Rand with his ability to coax gorgeous notes from an electric guitar one moment and play the piano like a professional the next. He’s a geek, but Rand isn’t concerned about Will’s pressed exterior clashing with his tattoos. His focus is music. Yet there’s something about Will that makes Rand think there’s much more to the quiet college student than he lets on. As Rand’s dreams begin to materialize, he’s forced to reconsider his priorities and find his own kind of truth. One that might include Will.

REVIEW:

Oh I loved this book! I loved Lane’s Better Than series, the final one, Better Than Safe had a secondary character in it that now has his own story. So this is a spin off series…

In Better Than Safe we met Rand, Seth’s best friend and the singer for the band that Seth occasionally plays guitar with. Seth has moved to DC, not having interest in pursuing a career in music. Rand and the other band members move to NYC hoping to make it big. They need a new lead guitar player, and the one they have found after meeting with several, is not quite what Rand is looking for. They decide to go with Terry anyway, but Rand wants to take guitar lessons to improve his skill level, and hopefully not need a guitar player after all. Rand wants to take lessons from William, who some girl recommended as their full-time guitar player. William has turned them down as being their new guitar player, but recommended Terry instead. Rand contacts William, who agrees to give him lessons. This gets our two love birds together, and starts us off on a very dramatic story.

We have the love story between Rand and Will, which is a challenge all the way. Rand is focused on music, he’s bi-sexual but has decided to play straight since the music industry frowns on gay or bi-sexual musicians. Now have to say I’ve read this story line before and I don’t really understand it. But that’s the story, so we’ll go with it! So Rand is not looking for a man at all, or even a woman really, he just wants to become a rock star. But…. Will is pretty cute in his geeky way, and Rand is pretty curious when he sees Will out and about one evening dressed in a way very different from his usual geeky self. After a drunken meeting outside a bar, they end up in bed and start a nice little secret romance. But it can’t stay secret long! Will is focused on his education, getting himself out of debt, and possibly going back in the closet so his ultra conservative dad can run for public office. There is no way this can work out, they want different things, and have agendas that do not include love.

But this is a romance, so, you know! Shit happens. Love happens, Drama happens. Sex happens.

I honestly didn’t see where this was going at one point. What I was kinda thinking might happen didn’t happen. Well, part of it did, but not exactly as I thought it would go. I know, that makes no sense, but I don’t want to give away the plot or the ending so I’m being vague! Rand and Will are perfect together, but they are so different and both have different plans. Rand wants to be a rock god, and Will wants to write music, and live a calm and quiet life. He may have to go home, get back in the closet, or he may stay in New York, but what he isn’t going to do is join Spiral, the band. How can this possibly end well? It does! Trust me!

I loved Lane’s other two series, and this one is a great start to a new series. I loved the characters, Rand is just a trip. Flaky in some ways, but so focused on what he wants. He has no attention span, way too much energy, and no patience for bullshit. I think he was as surprised as everyone else was about his relationship with Will. Will is just a sweetheart, shy and quiet, but with a secret inner core of steel. How he puts up with Rand’s energy is a mystery… I think for most of it he just goes along and lets it happen. The sex is quite hot between them, Will is very innocent to begin with, and Rand is so careful and patient with him. So not what you would expect from a somewhat slutty singer in a band! But he was really sweet! The drama of the developing band, the hunt for a guitar player, the drama of losing the guitar player, the stress of Will’s family, some crap with a nasty girl, all made this a very exciting and interesting story.

This pretty much had everything I like in a romance novel. Great characters, a great story, great sex, and a great ending. The writing is clean and neat, nothing extra to confuse the story, no added fluff, just a great plot. I liked the first person perspective, it worked very well for me. I have become a big fan of Lane’s writing and I highly recommend this one! I can’t wait for the next book, I want to know what happens with Rand and Will, and I am curious to know who the next one will be about.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

ARe