Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Echoes of a Muted Song
AUTHOR: Layla Dorine
PUBLISHER: Desolate Press
LENGTH: 325 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2025
BLURB:
Wild and uninhibited, Johnny gives the performance of a lifetime every time he gets up on the stage. He’s been doing it for so long that the nights have blurred into an endless series of shows, parties, and partners, none of which make him truly happy anymore.
For all he’s been able to accomplish, the one thing he’s never done before was fall in love.
Until now.
Sudden, swift and unexpected, it’s something he’s ill equipped to handle, especially when the person he’s fallen for isn’t even a hundred percent certain he’s into guys. It’s more like he’s dipping his toes into the pool with Johnny as his very eager, very willing partner. Only now that they’ve reached a point where Johnny’s feeling are involved, he’s not sure if his heart can handle living in limbo until Draven makes his decision.
REVIEW:
This book is part of the Damaged Saints/Rocktoberfest universe. It’s Johnny, Jagger’s best friend, who referred Jagger to Robbie, Kayden, Mickey and Draven after that horrific pyrotechnic accident. I had hoped we would get Johnny’s story and this one blew me away!
Johnny has flirted with his good friend and fellow singer, Draven, for years. Draven has always been the “token straight” in their lgbtq+ band. Secretly, Johnny has always had feelings for his big Dom/Daddy buddy. And it absolutely crushed him that Draven’s career was tragically cut short by the tragic malfunction, caused by a vindictive crew member, that took his voice with flying metal and burned Robbie, their guitarist, so severely. So imagine his surprise when Draven actually flirted back when they were roasting marshmallows at the band house! Fast forward to now. Draven and Johnny are now giving these feelings a spin, by going on a solo bike ride for two on Johnny’s Heritage Special bike to Palm Springs for two weeks. Johnny is very cautious, to the point of obvious, because he doesn’t want to be an experiment or a notch on a bed frame and get his heart shattered. And on top of his stress about his upcoming court case, that may wind him up in prison for a long time because it’s based on lies and the one witness never came forward. But, if the both of them decide to give this a real chance can his hopes and dreams come true? Or will he be spending the rest of his life behind bars wondering?
I absolutely love Johnny and Draven together. After he made his best friend Jagger’s dreams come true he deserves to have happiness. But it just kept feeling like the world was against his chance at love and happiness. I know I started to believe there was a true chance at them being together when Draven took charge in that fan/mob attack in Palm Springs. I knew at that moment that Draven’s feeling were real and Johnny is his one! I loved when Draven went into take charge mode. His life may have change with that creep stealing his voice. But he, better than anyone, knew what it was like to tour and what all his friends needed in a manager and what a manager needed to do to make his bands safe and taken care of. And he freaking did it in spades! Draven made sure his friends were treated with the respect and honor that they had earned. That manager guy at the one signing deserved to be put in his place. I hope word got out real quickly that you don’t mess with Draven’s bands. He may speak quietly, or use a speech assistance device, but he is big and powerful and you don’t mess with what is his!!!
I was especially touched how not only did his friends encourage him to use his voice device, but they patiently waited for him so he did use it instead of ruining forever what little he had left. And I know it was truly appreciated by Johnny when he growled in his ear 🔥
This book has a very mild dealing with the BDSM scene that Johnny and Draven willing participate in. Theirs is their own version of Daddy Dom that works for them. It is not inferred in any way that it is a 24/7 relationship of that type. There are a couple visits to clubs but it is not a huge part of the novel.
Something that I totally appreciated with this book is that when the resolution of Johnny’s court case came, that has been hanging over their heads like a storm cloud, it did not signal the end of the book. So many books leave you hanging with so many questions about their future after the problem is resolved. Thankfully, Author Layla Dorine not only has you discovering what comes next in Johnny and Draven’s lives. But includes you in their new freedom to explore their adventures.
I highly recommend that you read Damaged Saints, that was part of The Road to Rocktoberfest 2023, first. And I am truly hoping that this is the sign for a new series and we will be getting more of each of the guys in both bands stories. Great story that truly touched me on where our society has evolved to. And how love trumps adversity.
RATING: 
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