Badass Bloggettes: *** RELEASE NEWS & REVIEW *** DIRTY LIKE ME by Jaine Diamond

A gorgeous rock star.

An indecent proposal.
How can a girl resist?

Struggling barista Katie Bloom doesn’t even know who Jesse Mayes is until she inadvertently wins the coveted role of sex kitten in his hot new music video. But by the time she’s in bed with him, she knows his reputation.

Love maker. Heartbreaker.

Making out with a stranger in front of a camera crew isn’t how Katie imagined herself getting over a broken heart, but when Jesse touches her, sparks fly. The sex is fake but the chemistry is real, and soon the steamy video is blazing up the charts.

Then Jesse makes Katie an irresistible offer: act as his girlfriend for six weeks while he promotes his new album. The only catch? Their sizzling make-out sessions will be for the cameras only.

Which is fine with Katie, since she's not about to trust her heart to rock's most legendary lover. Her body? Maybe…

Dirty Like Me is my second Jaine Diamond book; she has me hooked a craving more. Dirty Like Me is the first book in The Dirty series. It is a standalone book that lays the groundwork for the future books about the band and, possibly some of the entourage.

The series begins with the story of Jesse Mayes, who is at the top of his game. He has a lot of fame, groupies, money, his pick of hot, successful women, and access to the best things in life. His band is a huge success, and now he wants to try his hand as a solo artist. Jesse isn’t leaving his band, Dirty, but for personal reasons, he needs this promotion tour to be a success.

Kate Bloom is a “normal” young woman. She works for her sister at a coffee shop. She bakes when she’s stressed, and her passion is art. Katie loves her family and best friend, Devi a talent agent. The first scene hooked me. Katie is caught in the rain while walking her dog, Max, who pulls her into Devi’s office. Max compounds the embarrassment by shaking the water off onto the people in the office, including a hot guy who turns out to be Jesse. Katie is rain soaked too and her wet tank to leaves little to the imagination. It is a lighthearted scene and sets the tone for the story.

The initial meet leads to Katie getting the “girlfriend” part in Jesse’s video which leads to a job to play his girlfriend while he is on tour. Dirty Like Me is in alternating points of view, primarily Katie’s, with approximately a third of the story from Jesse’s point of view. This technique works perfectly for the story. It is mainly Katie’s story and how she comes to life after she is “left at the altar” literally by her first and only boyfriend.

I love Katie’s character. She is so broken and unsure of herself because Josh left her so publicly. She doesn’t trust her decisions, career choices, and she can’t draw. Well, she can draw; she can’t complete her work to get a show together. Also, and probably her biggest problem is she doesn’t see how wonderful she is. Katie is adorable and loveable.

Jesse is the perfect hero. He is a successful rock star. You know the type, hot, the women love him, tattoos, leather pants, and broken. He comes from a hard young life that makes him keep everyone but his inner circle, at arm’s length. He doesn’t want a relationship because he can’t let the walls down. Jesse is ending a relationship with one of his band members, Elle. She isn’t happy with the break-up and because the relationship is in all the tabloids, Katie is very much aware of Jesse’s past.

The story is packed full of emotion. Primarily we are right there with Katie trying to figure out what she has with Jesse. She has doubts about her decision to play the girlfriend. She thinks they are more than employer and employee sometimes but Jesse is very private. When we get Jesse’s point of view we see he admires Katie and her goodness. She isn’t a user like many people who attach themselves to the band. We also see that he doesn’t commit and some of his comments are unintentionally hurtful.

The dialogue between the two main characters is fun at times, romantic, teasing, and intense occasionally. The dynamic among all the characters is well done and realistic. I love the closeness of the band members. Dirty, Jesse’s solo band, and the security team are his family. The characters display the family dynamic, loyalty, jealousy at times, rivalry at times but always they have each other’s back. The same applies to Katie’s family. Katie comes from the traditional family with deep love and loyalty.

The “rock scene” is depicted in a realistic way that takes the reader behind the scenes. We experience many of the crazy, hectic, unexpected events that happen on the road. So much is setup for the publicity and not real. There are a couple of good subplots that, I hope, will play out in some of the subsequent books in the series. The groundwork is set for future books about the band members.

I have to mention, originally I was a little disappointed that Ms. Diamond is working on another series because I’m hooked on Deep, not anymore. Jaine Diamond did a fantastic job with Dirty Like Me. She knows how to develop the characters; they jump off the page and become real. I can’t imagine what is going to come in the future, but I’m right here in line, waiting for the next book in this series. I need to know more about the men and women in the band. I am also, a rock-solid fan of Jaine Diamond.

4 STAMPS

Amazon Buy Link:

http://amzn.to/2ePZvbk

Dirty Like Me will be on sale for 99 cents Nov 7-11

Jaine Diamond is a romance author who believes in fairy tales, ice cream, and true love. She lives in beautiful Vancouver, Canada with her real-life romantic hero (Mr. Diamond) and their baby girl.