Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Pitch Perfect
AUTHOR: Ann Lister
PUBLISHER: Rock Gods, Inc.
LENGTH: 282 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2024
BLURB:
Gage Tennison: I’ve played the role of rockstar for an eternity—or so it seems. Coming off a long tour didn’t help my attitude, either. I should have been writing instead of partaking in the perks. So, while the rest of my band enjoyed a vacation, I was alone in the Adirondacks working. I guess I deserved that.
Everyone suggested a collaborator to push me through my block but it felt like cheating. I’d never needed help before, so why now?
Sometimes help appears when you least expect it. How was I to know the gorgeous man hired as my personal assistant would be exactly what I needed—professionally and personally. It was the latter which shocked me because I didn’t notice men—not like that. Not until a guy with striking gray-blue eyes locked gazes with me and the music we created wasn’t just on paper.
Cain Bennington: I’m very good at my job. I’m organized to a fault which makes me a perfect assistant for the high-end entertainers I work for.
Another secret skill I have is composing music. I hear nuances that others miss and I also understand the theory behind the verses. I might be proficient as an assistant but I shine even brighter as a composer. I’ve never showcased my abilities—until a certain rockstar dropped the challenge into my lap and before the album was completed, I’d fallen for him.
But as the entertainment business discovered my skills as a composer, they also learned a piece of my history I’d hoped to keep hidden. Now I wonder if my past will over-shadow the music we created or the relationship we built.
REVIEW:
You have no idea how excited I am for this book! I absolutely LOVE Ann Lister’s Rock Stars and was beyond excited to hear that we got to meet a new one. Let me tell you…this book will definitely not disappoint!
Gage Tennison is the it man for the Rock Group Iris. He is their lead singer, he writes all their songs, he does it all. But, suddenly he is feeling bone weary and exhausted. And a tad bit unnerved. He hasn’t written a single song while they were on this tour and now he’s being sequestered away to turn out 20-25 songs to choose from for their next album. Thankfully Ray sent him to one of his favorite hidden retreats to try and get something on the pages. When Ray shows up with his newest babysitter, otherwise known as his PA, he tries to rattle the gorgeous man in his living room. Cain Bennington didn’t know who Ray Sisco hired him to PA for but he knew Ray worked with top level performers. But getting to work with the iconic lead singer Gabe Tennison of Iris was beyond his dreams. What he never expected, when Ray said he’d test him, was the guy to be totally naked and comfortable in his skin with a stranger. And the very straight rock god had absolutely no need to be modest with that body and the anaconda swinging between his legs! What neither man expected was the level of rightness they developed almost immediately in working together. Cain was the muse Gabe needed and had the brains and musical ability to make it work. But is this a blessing? Because suddenly Gabe is questioning things a lot! Things he never even thought of before.
I will say that I felt like Gabe’s band brothers just kinda dumped on him. They get to go off on vacation and unwind after their grueling tour and he gets sent off, like a bad little boy sent to time out for not doing his homework, because he screwed his way through their tour. I kept thinking, that’s super selfish of them to just expect him to bring them all the songs. Obviously they weren’t paying close enough attention to their brother to see he was struggling and that writer’s block is a real thing. Yes, they all did their part when he and Cain brought back the gold they created. But these guys should have had his back, not to just go off and party or relax while he had to do all the work.
Ann Lister’s books don’t hold back the punches and this one definitely had them. I loved going on this journey with Gabe and Cain. They just worked for me. And I loved that this book focused more on the behind-the-scenes that are the hardest part. The creating of the music that we all expect from our idols can come easily or gut-wrenchingly hard and we will never know how much a struggle they are on them. Ann continues to open our eyes to what it takes to put out that music. How it impacts their lives in ways you can’t even comprehend. The fact that Gabe felt he needed to lock himself completely away from love and acceptance, to who he was deep down really got to me. He felt that he could never trust. That was most evident with his band brothers not having a clue to how much he was struggling. They should have been the ones he could lean on most and they also should have been the ones that sensed something was going wrong. Gabe desperately needed someone to watch over and love him like he needed. And thankfully that someone landed right in front of him at his hidden retreat.
I will say that I was shocked when Cain’s big secret came out. And I understand why he did what he did. I just questioned why he thought he couldn’t trust the man he fell head-over-heels in love with with his deepest, darkest secret. Now not telling Ray, that was a no brainer, but I know Gabe was there for him so I understand how deeply hurt he was. That was almost unforgivable for me. But thankfully Gabe is not me! And no, it wasn’t what the secret was but the hiding it when asked many times if there was anything else. I just couldn’t grasp keeping something like that a secret. Cain had to have known someone would spill his secret eventually. Especially when the media got hold of their love and posted his beautiful face everywhere. Those type of secrets, no matter how long they have been hidden and how hard you worked to keep them locked down, always are going to surface at the most inappropriate and bad time. And this one definitely did!
As I stated at the beginning, I am so thankful to have a new Ann Lister Rock Star book in my hands again! I can’t express how much I love her books and this one was an exceptionally poignant and touching book. A huge thumbs up for me!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: