Reviewed by: Sue Eaton

TITLE: Axe to Grind

SERIES: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023

AUTHOR: Gabbi Grey

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 344 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2023

BLURB:

Ed

For ten challenging years, I’ve been the lead guitarist for the band I formed with my best friend Axel. Grindstone is on the verge of making it big. Which is why I’m livid when our manager brings in some snooping, scandal-chasing documentary producer to film our trip to Rocktoberfest. We’re about to hit the biggest stage of our career, and I’m worried this rich jerk, who has destroyed other celebrities, might uncover the secret I’ve kept hidden for years. I want to just ignore him, but as attraction sizzles, I start letting down my guard. Giving in to these urges might mean distracting him from his mission and getting him on my side. That’s the point. Right?

Thornton

I want to bring Ed and Axel down for what they did to my sister. I’ve managed to insinuate myself into their inner circle as a documentarian, and I’m this close to pay dirt. Using seduction to uncover the last of Ed’s secrets might be tacky, but what red-blooded man would turn down what the bisexual rock god is offering? But as we find stolen moments to try to slake the need, I’m having second thoughts. If I don’t avenge the wrong done to my family, I won’t be able to live with myself. The promise of sex shouldn’t be enough to stop me. But as I sink deeper into a relationship with Ed, I must decide if my need for revenge is worth destroying any hope of a future together.

REVIEW:

I really enjoyed this book.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was so good.  The writing is exceptional, I really appreciated the tension that permeates the story and as a reader I am taken along wondering what the big secret is and when that secret will be revealed.  As I journeyed along, I became so invested in Ed and Thornton’s romance and felt dread about what would happen once all the secrets they were both holding came out.  I was also invested in the band and how the fallout would affect them.  A great book that makes you feel so many emotions.

Ed is an interesting character, he is the glue that holds the band together, he has been friends with Axel since childhood and supported him through thick and thin.  He feels things deeply but is surprisingly an introvert who has stepped out of his comfort zone in the band.  He is focused and determined that the band will succeed and that he will continue to ensure that Axel will stay on his sobriety path.  Ed is skeptical about Thornton’s motivations in doing the documentary, he sees flashes that make him think there is more to the documentary than Thornton is saying.

Thornton, a documentary film maker, but with a hidden agenda, his specialty is finding out hidden celebrity secrets then doing a big reveal at the end of his film.  He thinks he knows what happened in the past, he thinks he knows who Ed and Axel were and are, he thinks this documentary will lay all his grief to rest.  What he didn’t expect was to find himself attracted to Ed and to have that attraction returned.

The blossoming romance between both Ed and Thornton was lovely, though it was overlaid by the secrets they are hiding.  The long looks, the lingering touches, the feeling that they could maybe have a fling or maybe something more.

I really liked the insight into the rock band, they are an up-and-coming band who might be heading towards their big break.  Getting to know the other band members and how they interact with each other and the film crew.  I really got to see how a rock band operates, the song writing, the performances and for me the best parts were on the tour bus, hanging out, sleeping in little bunks the camaraderie and those little niggles that annoy you about being in close quarters with people, no matter how close you are.

The heart of this book is a journey of self-discovery for both Ed and Thornton towards a peace they didn’t know they needed.  On the surface it seemed like love conquers all, but it’s more of a process of them working through grief, guilt and regret before love can conquer all.

RATING:

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