Limelight

NSB, Book 4

By: Aly Stiles

Narrated by: Zachary Webber

A standalone NSB novel.

I’m unpredictable. A genius, an underachiever. I’m the song, the voice, the passion, the pain. I am failure. I do music because it’s what I am, but sometimes that’s not enough. A slave to my nature, I wait for it to show mercy and drop a gift in my lap. Because the music chose me. I’m its victim not its gift.

She destroyed my career. Ruined my life. Pushed me from the shadows and exposed my lies. She’s the fire that destroys lesser men, and now her flames are aimed at me. She loves to watch me burn, but the part we never saw coming?

Sometimes it takes a fire to ignite a spark and slay the darkness.

©2018 Alyson Santos (P)2019 Alyson Santos

Not your traditional rock star romance

Jesse is a character I was interested in reading about from the moment I met him in Tracing Holland. I could tell he was a sweet yet damaged soul and I couldn’t wait to see where his story would go.

Jesse is the leading man of Limelight and was touring with NSB and Tracing Holland. Until a few mistakes and a horrible post from an entertainment blogger had his label and manager dropping them. His hard life only got more difficult from there. Jesse had an awful past, a childhood no one should ever have to experience. Thankfully he has his brother Patrick and bandmates in his life. Still, sometimes he just can’t cope with what’s going on and leans on substances.

Jesse feels a lot of pressure within the band to write new material and help get them out there again, but time after time he succumbs to his demons instead. Then he meets Mila Taylor. Mila is the said entertainment blogger that ruined his career. What I appreciated most about Mila is that she recognized she was wrong about Jesse and she admitted it and helped him fix it. I felt the connection between them and I loved them together, even though I wasn’t sure I would at first.

This book was beautiful, but it broke my heart. I was in a full on crying fit towards the end. I’m still not okay with what happened, but my heart will mend I suppose. I was so proud of Jesse and all he accomplished through everything he went through. I really loved his character. And Mila as well. I can imagine it’s so difficult being in love with an addict but I think she did the best she could with helping him, being there for him, and not enabling him.

This series is different than most of your traditional rock star romances and I love that about it. This book is heavy, emotional, and puts friendship and familial relationships at the forefront of the story. It’s very character driven and beautifully written. Also, the audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber so definitely check that out. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Especially if it’s in this world of musicians she’s created!

Emotional story and wonderful performance

This is a brutal story of pain, the aftermaths of abuse, drug addictions and anxiety woven into music and words, enhanced thanks to Zachary Webber's wonderful performance. The last chapters had me in constant sobs and tears. Brilliant combination of author and narrator.

can't wait to read more

this was my first Alyson Santos book. I really like her lyrical writing style. also, yay Philadelphia set books. a great intro to the world of NSB. this was book 4, but I was able to follow along no problem.

What a roller coaster!

The hero's a lot more forgiving than I am. That's for sure. Also, if drug use is a trigger for you -- this is not going to be a fun ride for you. But otherwise, the struggles were real, and I was feeling all the feels. Hearing ZWebb doing a female British accent was a lovely bonus. ;)

So So Sad

This book was a heart breaker the struggles poor Jesse was going through. I felt so bad for him and his brother who basically alway helped Jesse. The death was tragic, never saw that coming. Wish it was different. Thank goodness for Jesse’s girl.