REVIEWED by Jay V.
TITLE: The Longer You’ll Stay
SERIES: Heartbelt Records #2
AUTHOR: Logan Grey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 238 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2020
BLURB:
Trading small town diners and familiar faces for skyscrapers and sold out venues, Travis Cherry took the risk of a lifetime by leaving Holdengate. Alone.
Or so he thought.
When the tour kicks off, he finds he’ll be sharing his bus, and the stage, with the one he left behind to pursue music.
Bailey McAlister finally has a second chance at following his dream, but can he convince Travis to give him a second chance too?
The life of a rock star is not all bright lights and a sea of cheering fans, and personal demons aren’t the only thing Travis and Bailey have to conquer to survive the cut-throat world.
REVIEW:
The Longer You’ll Stay picks up right where the first book left off. You’ll need to have read the lovely first book before diving in to this one. Travis and Bailey are heading down different roads. They have many decisions they personally need to go through to pursue and continue their dreams.
The two are thrown back together on a music tour. Can they mend from their initial parting?
While there would be no story if they didn’t get back together, the amazingly fast speed in which they did was frankly a bit of a let down. I feel this book could have benefited from some more angst and discovery on both men’s part in reconnecting and healing their wounds. The book begins to delve in to the almost banal workings of doing a tour. There becomes a lot of communication between the men – almost too much as they emote their feelings and talk about it most of the book. An expected small conflict comes near the end but you can see it coming pretty early.
What could have been a great book that deals with working through balancing following dreams, work, and a love life is more a flat romance with some sex thrown in. It’s not terrible but it could be so much more and it’s worth it if you’ve invested in the first book.
The series is built around Heartbelt Records, a new music label that is doing something different. These first two books deal with Travis and Bailey but the next one (and I’m assuming ones after) deal with other artists tied in or work at the label. There’s a great epilogue in this novel that leads in to the wonderful third book and is a great set up for the next story.
RATING:
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