Rock Me by Cherrie Lynn

Oh. My. God. Given the chance, I'd gladly throw myself at Ms. Lynn's feet and pledge my undying loyalty and devotion. She has managed to take my favorite attributes and turn them into one to-die-for character. Oh, Brian... how I wish you were real. And, you know, looking for an almost-divorced almost-30-year-old.

Brian is the perfect bad boy. All tattooed and pierced up. (Have you ever heard of an "apadravya" piercing? If not, go Google it immediately. I dare you.) He's a total don't-give-a-damn alpha male. Strong, confident, sexy. I was first "introduced" to him in Unleashed, his brother Evan's book. (Which was also good however seriously lacking in body art.) As soon as I realized Brian's story was available, I bought it. And I loved it. The end.

Candace has been in love with Brian for two years. She is the quintessential good girl. She's been sheltered by overprotective and overbearing parents her entire life. Parents who would absolutely disapprove (and loudly) of a relationship between her and Brian. Because Brian is a hot, mostly former hell raiser who grew up the underachiever in a family full of overachievers. And not many people can see past his past to the successful man he's become. Of course, Candace can. She knows he's a man worthy of love. And, also, she really wants to get in his pants but CAN YOU BLAME HER?

Rock Me was so good. It was sweet and fun and did I mention Brian is just so freaking hot I can't stand it? There were so many moments and scenes in the book that I had to reread. One in particular I had to reread more than once. (The concert. Buy this book for the concert scene alone. You'll thank me.)

I felt certain for most of the book that I'd rate it five stars. Which surprised even me 'cause I don't dole out five stars all willy-nilly to just any ole book. I mean, out of the last 183 books I've read, I've only given 14 of them the highest rating. (Yes, I counted.) So, why did Rock Me only end up with four stars? What went wrong, you might ask.

Candace is young; 23 to be exact. And despite my initial what the hell does a 23-year-old know about love reaction, I tried to look beyond that. (Hey, some of my favorite heroines have been 19, 20, 21-years-old. No big deal.) But. Candace appeared to come across as a typical wishy-washy 23-year-old. Yes, she was sweet, smart, lovely... but she was afraid to stand up to her parents and let that cause her to run from her relationship with Brian. Over and over and over again. Or so it seemed. (Maybe she only really ran from him, like, twice. But the back and forth stuff? Gets old quickly.)

However, I will say this: Ms. Lynn manages to inject some humor over Candace's behavior at the end of the book, during the happily-ever-after. I really, really appreciated that. It was refreshing. And I love that all of us (me, the author, the characters) could have a laugh about it.

God. Did I mention I really loved this book? Maybe I should go back and change it from 4 to 5 stars...