Blair is a wedding photographer who had her own wedding dreams snatched away by a cheating fiancé.
Mark is a lifelong player who made the awful mistake of cheating with his best friend’s girl.
When the two meet it’s clear they are meant to be together but their pasts really get in the way.
Will they overcome the obstacles facing them or will others get in the way?
The second standalone book in the Musicians Hope series, Rumours, is an 18+ contemporary romance with some graphic scenes and a violent assault.
I want to preface this review by saying that I didn’t read Entrapped, book 1 in the series, as I don’t read books with graphic scenes. I decided I wanted to read Rumours and gloss over these scenes so I approached the author. Are they hard to stomach? Not really. Are they raunchy? Hell, yes! There is one scene of a violent assault which, naturally, wasn’t easy to read.
I finished reading Rumors a while ago but have been mulling it over as it is a story which is quite relatable.
Blair was getting married and very happy but found out her fiance was cheating. She blocked everyone, from that time in her life, to try and block the pain. As a result of this betrayal of her trust she has walls up and lets no one new into her life. Men have become one night stands; you can’t have your heart broken if you don’t give it away, right?!
When Blair meets Mark, a real playboy, there is an instant spark and they are inseparable. Immediately I was rooting for this couple to be able to overcome their pasts and make things work. Everything hits the fan when insecurities surface and the fear of history repeating itself kicks in. Rumours are soon rife and hearts are broken.
With the help of the author’s use of language, I was feeling the pain of the characters. If you have suffered at the hand of another within a relationship and/or if rumours have caused pain in your life you will grasp the emotions without needing the skill of the author’s words. However, regardless of if you have or haven’t felt this pain, the pictures are beautifully painted thanks to the talent of Claire Ayres.
I have since bought Entrapped as some of the players from Book 1 showed up in Rumours and I really want to know more about their stories. Rumours is most certainly capable of being read as a standalone book.
*I was sent this book for review
Claire lives in Bristol, UK and has taken her inspiration from the people and the places she has seen over the years. She always has a book close at hand and devours Fantasy and Romance like some devour chocolate! Claire loves a happily ever after followed by lots of bloody sword-fighting and dangerous dragons! But when writing her debut novel Entrapped drew on her childhood ambition to be a musician and one of the instruments she played and still loves as a centre-point.
Claire is also a passionate mental health advocate who lives with bipolar disorder and has done regular radio interviews and even some TV. She is also a huge heavy metal fan and can regularly be found banging her head at a concert or festival.
