Strings by Kendall Grey ~ Sarah's Review

WARNING: STRINGS is not suitable for slut shamers, uptight stone throwers, Holier-Than-Thou prudes, humorless virgins, persons with chronic neck or back pain, pearl-clutching bitties, those who disparage crude humor or vulgarity in their many forms, closed-minded people with sticks up their asses, or anyone under the age of 18. The vile, base language and shocking, unholy sexual acts contained herein are not condoned by anyone with a lick of sense and should certainly not be reproduced without proper training and protection. The potty-mouthed and perpetually horny "heroine" (the term is used loosely) of this book does not resemble a normal, well-adjusted, or remotely believable person in any way, shape, or form. The author acknowledges that the characters in this book are shallow and two-dimensional; the plot is both ridiculous and insipid. She makes no apologies for any of it.
* Readers are strongly advised to wear latex gloves whilst reading to minimize contamination risks.

Free-spirited musician Letty Dillinger adheres to a strict, “no strings attached” policy when it comes to men. After a wild night of unabashed sex in a fancy hotel room, she never expects to see the adventurous stud she dubs “Shades” again. When her all-girl rock trio books a tour at the last minute as the opening act for their archenemies, Letty’s shocked to discover she knows the competition’s new lead singer. Intimately. Shades is no longer a one-night stand. Now he’s the guy she has to one-up on stage every night for the sake of her career.

Sharing close quarters on a bus with her sexy nemesis and his bad-boy buddies puts Letty’s Golden Rule to the test. On this tour, guitar strings aren’t the only things being played. And when heartstrings are pulled too hard, they’re bound to snap sooner or later.

HOLY HELL!!  The warning on this book is completely accurate!  It is pretty darn hard to shock me and I there were times that I had to stop and check to make sure I had read correctly!  

Letty's story begins in a pretty depressing fashion.  I felt bad for her, for like two seconds.  I thought, when I was first reading that there is no way that this girl would speak like this if she weren't drinking, I was totally wrong.  Letty really just lets it all hang out there.  No pretenses, no hiding what she is.  I was a little bit jealous of her, quite honestly!  I wish I was brave enough to just say or do whatever I want!

Shades/Todd was a Hottie McHotterson.  And dude is really up for anything.  When I say anything I'm really not exaggerating at all.  I'm impressed, he really took it like a man! 

There wasn't a ton of  character development in the book, but I've got to say that I didn't miss it.  I felt like I knew enough of the characters to be able to be with them in the story, and I didn't ever feel like I was completely lost as to who they were.  It was just when the book was over I was like, 'huh, I really have no idea who these people are'.  And quite honestly I was completely fine with it.  It takes some pretty spectacular writing for me to be okay with that, because I usually can't stand a book if I don't feel like I know the characters intimately (nope I know more about them than their OBGYN or proctologist), personally (nope, Letty, Shades, and I got pretty personal), there is just no appropriate word to put here;  but I'm sure that you all get the idea.  I usually give a pretty shitty star rating for not having spectacular character development.  SO not the case with Strings, a tip of the hat to you Kendall Grey.  You've made me appreciate a book for something that I usually hate.  I'm impressed!

The plot was pretty fast paced and really kept me invested in the story.  I finished it (and Beats, if I'm being honest!) in one setting.  I've never been touring with a rock band, so I can't speak to the accuracy of that, but I did feel like I was on the bus with them.  It was pretty awesome.  I've read plenty of other rockstar romances but never quite had the grasp on the actual bus as I did in this book.  Kudos!  There was enough tension to keep things interesting but it wasn't completely angst filled either.  Definitely not a cliffhanger, you know exactly where the characters stand with one another throughout this entire book.

Strings was a great departure from my usual dark and depressing reads.  And is was worth the departure.  It was fun and hot and smutty.  Smut at it's finest, really.  Too often authors think that they can sacrifice good writing for dirty sex but that is so not the case.  While the actions and words were down and dirty the writing was actually quite elegant.  I loved it!  If you are looking for some good hot smut, this is DEFINITELY the book for you!

            

            

BEATS

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/K6Cxcm
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1dWlJjC
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1a0YTWP
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NOCTURNES
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/K6CpJJ
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1cZcbnH
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1aHVid1
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/JHUG0w
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1dWrWMk
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/19TxqZw
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1dwtk4X

Kendall Grey, word wrangler, whale warrior, wicked wench, and lover of tongue-tripping alliteration, was born without an off-switch between her brain and mouth. She's been called the "Flux Capacitor of Twitter" (@kendallgrey1) and "A little package of love all wrapped up in F-word paper," but she's really just a maniacal writer relaying eyewitness accounts of the rave inside her head. She writes urban fantasy with strong romantic elements and also dabbles in erotica and horror on occasion.

Kendall lives off a dirt road near Atlanta, Georgia, but don't hold that against her.