♫♪ֱ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪ Evolving Urges – RELEASE HOP ♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
Evolving Urges (Gasoline #2) is LIVE!
Gasoline (book 1)
US: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JNF8PN2
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00JNF8PN2
AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00JNF8PN2
CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00JNF8PN2
Evolving Urges (book 2)
US: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BHESJXM
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BHESJXM
AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B01BHESJXM
CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01BHESJXM
To celebrate I am giving away ***** Your Choice of ANY of Bella’s ebooks priced $3.99 or less, or if you already have them all, an Amazon gift card for $3.99 *****
To enter : like my page (https://www.facebook.com/backstagebookreviews), like Bella’s page (https://www.facebook.com/Bella.Jeanisse.Books) and comment on the Backstage Books facebook page….then move on to the next stop!
Hop Links:
Bella Jeanisse: https://www.facebook.com/Bella.Jeanisse.Books
Carian Cole: https://facebook.com/cariancoleauthor/
Jenna Galicki: https://www.facebook.com/jennagalicki.author1/
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Booklovers Anonymous blog: https://www.facebook.com/Booklovers-Anonymous-724699930955412/
Jennifer L. Allen: https://www.facebook.com/jallenauthor/
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J. P. Barry: https://www.facebook.com/thenearerthedawn/
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Shea Swain: https://www.facebook.com/Shea-Swain-Writes-629947013758557/
Needa Warrant: https://www.facebook.com/Needa-Warrant-1488542274738311/
Pawnie Santana: https://www.facebook.com/authorpawniesantana/
Tastywordgasms blog: https://www.facebook.com/tastywordgasms/
Travis Luedke: https://www.facebook.com/TravisLuedkeAuthor/
R. K. Garmon: https://www.facebook.com/becky.garmon.7
A Brit and a Yank blog: https://www.facebook.com/abritandayank/
Winners will be chosen by 9 PM EST on Tuesday! Good luck and have fun visiting all these great sites! Each site has a giveaway, plus Bella has at least 10 copies to gift. Be sure and check them all! And definitely enjoy Evolving Urges – I think it may be best Bella has written yet!
My Review of Gasoline
(I figured it made sense to start with my review of Gasoline, since it really needs to be read before Evolving Urges. Just for fun, you are getting the first review I submitted to Amazon, which was inexplicably rejected by them. I am cleaning up my typos as I am guessing I wrote this late at night and very tired, but we all know poor grammar and typos don’t bother Amazon. Lol.)
Bella’s Style Just Keeps Getting Better!
Just in case you have missed all the other warnings, this book is for mature, over 18 audiences only. It contains extremely explicit sexual situations. If this sort of thing does not appeal to you, move on to another author. But for those of you who are open to a bit of everything, Bella is truly one of the most talented authors of erotica I have come across. Add in that most of her books are about rockstars, which happens to be my major weakness, and these books come with my highest recommendations if you want to explore all your kinkiest rockstar fantasies.
I would recommend reading the Triple Threat books before reading Gasoline so you have a better feel for the background of some of the major players, especially Crystal, Giovanni and Chad, who appear frequently in this book. The Triple Threat books were the first she wrote, even though the members of TT are all big fans of Gasoline, they also provide the true introduction of this band. While you have no lack of the erotica Ms. Jeanisse is known for, I feel the story lines are deeper in this one, especially Dominic’s story. If I recall correctly it was hinted at in the Triple Threat books, and certainly earlier in this book, but it is heartbreaking and very emotional and real. I hadn’t given him a lot of thought prior to this book, but his part of this story grabbed a piece of my heart. I am definitely looking forward to more of his story, especially since I got a sneak peek at some spoilers in Bella’s Christmas shorts on Wattpad.
So this book is a true introduction to the band at the heart of Ms. Jeanisse’s harem of bands. They are well established, bona-fide rockstars that have become a household name through their years of recording, touring, and infamous rockstar antics that the celebrity gossip shows and sites thrive on. Two members, Tommy and Jon, also own their own record label and studio, Demonfire. Many of the other bands in Ms. Jeanisse’s world are signed to Demonfire, which helps keep us eager readers up to date on her other bands we have come to love through her other books. It is also really nice to look at this band through an inside perspective, rather than skewed toward Triple Threat’s view of them, and not limited to their interactions with the members of Triple Threat.
Tommy….sigh….Tommy Fisher, bass player for Gasoline and part owner of Demonfire. I fell for Tommy in the Triple Threat books, probably more than any other character. He is definitely every cliche of the groupie chasing bad boy, but he is so charming you can’t help but fall for him. I loved seeing a bit of a deeper side of him in this book as his age starts to catch up with him and he gives some serious thought to non-material things he might want in his life. He’s been successful and in the limelight long enough to posess all the material toys he wants (like his cherished Charger – after rockstars and books, I am more a car girl than most I suppose…I could clearly picture it and fully understand his protectiveness of that sweet ride.) Don’t worry, he is still the man whore with plenty of steaming scenes, just a little more depth is shown when he is clothed and alone with his thoughts, and that makes me adore him even more.
I haven’t read the Wicked End books, but they definitely have moved way up my TBR. I am very anxious to learn more about Brandon and MacKenzie, and what loathsome crap Dean had been up to that led to a very dramatic confrontation in this book. Every band seems to have the one truly bad boy with few, if any, redeeming qualities, and lead singer and rythym guitarist Dean Johnson certainly fills that roll for Gasoline. With his extreme good looks, probably much too hot for his own good since he knows he’s all that, and determined to be the stereotype of every negative image the term rockstar can bring. He is cast in a darkly despicable light for the most part, which makes me wonder if he is simply a victim of LSD (lead singer disease), if too many drugs and too many willing groupies have taken their toll on his humanity or if there is a deeper story that led him to this persona. Regardless, his band mates are at various stages of frayed ends of their rope with his selfish, dangerous and childish activities.
Drummer Jon Harris, is the co-owner of Demonfire, as well as being the driving force behind the label, remains a bit of a mystery to me even after completing this book. Gentle giant comes to mind when I think of him for some reason. He’s no saint, but not as overt about it as some of his bandmates. He’s an excellent drummer, with great business sense, but I don’t feel like I know too much more about him. He’s the good kind of mystery though – the kind of mystery you want to get to know better.
Last but not least is guitarist Dominic Spinelli. It would be hard to find a bad thing to say about Dom. The most mature and trustworthy member of the band, he is the only college graduate…actually a med school dropout who had spent time working as an EMT before the band became a household name. (It’s probably a really good idea to have someone with that kind of skill set on tour with a rock band as rowdy as they are insanely popular. Let’s face it, their profession presents just just a few more opportunities for things to go horribly wrong on a regular basis than say, an accountant or an IT whiz.) Dominic has a tragedy in his past that he has never been able to move past or begin to let go of enough to move forward in his personal life. His budding relationship with Winter Wings singer Noelle Young is one of the highlights of this book, especially for all you true romantics out there. Noelle has her own baggage leaving her unsure if she is capable of trusting enough to let another man into her life, let alone embark upon a relationship with a famous rockstar whose touring schedule may seldom match up with hers, but the chemistry between the two is undeniable. I am most definitely looking forward to finding out if they can overcome their past heartaches and make things work.
I think I have mentioned it already, but I absolutely love the way Bella writes her books so that her various bands run into each other regularly. So while this book belongs to Gasoline, you get to get peeks into Triple Threat, Wicked End, Silverblade, Winter Winds and a few others. I can’t think of another author who does this so well, and it certainly fills a need to know at least the headlines of these other band so the wait for their next books isn’t as grueling (while at the same time reminding us we want more! Genius marketing, but so satisfying for fans who have gotten addicted to her style.)
I also gave 5 stars to the Triple Threat trilogy, so I guess I would give this one 6 shredding guitars if I could. Again, the explicit and kinky nature that make up a large part of her books is not going to be for everyone, but if that sort of thing doesn’t offend you, I think you will find, as I have, that Bella writes it better than most anyone else out there.
My Review of Evolving Urges
5 Electrifyingly HOT Guitars for Evolving Urges
It is no secret that I am a big fan of all of Bella’s fictional bands, and even more so, the way she writes them. ** I will go ahead and insert the standard warning here that all of Ms. Jeanisse’s books are for mature audiences of the over 18 variety for very explicit sexual situations. ** While I happen to think that Bella is one of the best authors of erotica I have ever read, if you are not a fan of explicit erotica, or if you have an issue with any combination of pushing boundaries in the bedroom, these may not be the books for you. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Gasoline and, specifically, Evolving Urges.
Evolving Urges is not a stand alone book, so I highly recommend that you have read Gasoline first, to get to know Tommy, Dominic, Jon and Dean before you jump into Evolving Urges. EU may change your mind about some of your perceptions of these Rock ‘n Roll bad boys, but I do feel you need to be familiar with them to truly appreciate the intricate dynamics exposed in Evolving Urges. I am having such a hard time trying to figure out where to start this review, and how to encompass all I want to highlight. While I have loved every one of Ms. Jeanisse’s books that I have read, I can definitely see her growth as a writer in each new book. I have to say the aptly titled Evolving Urges is her best one to date. While her erotica has always been out standing and her characters have always been well written with plenty of personality, Evolving Urges shows significant growth in portraying the emotions and motivations of each character. As all of the guys in Gasoline are in their late 30’s, most have been able to get away with acting younger (okay, more immature) through the nature of their profession. Most of them seem to have been pretty wise with their money, which too many real bands missed the memo on (as well as one member of Gasoline) but as they each get a bit philosophical about nearing 40, they are realizing there are things missing in their lives that money can’t buy, and are just starting to see that love, marriage, children, health, dealing with aging parents…the vision differs a bit for each member, but the simple fact that they are all looking beyond the sex, drugs and Rock’n Roll lifestyle brings a deeper dynamic to the story.
Tommy – it is easy for me me to start with him as I was caught in his charming web from the time we were first introduced to him in Triple Threat. He was the ultimate good time man whore rockstar at that time, but his time spent with Crystal started awakening needs and desires in him he didn’t dream existed. The thought of wanting something more than sex, that he liked waking up with a woman in his arms…these concepts were completely foriegn to him, but by the end of Gasoline, he was starting to wonder what it would be like to have a relationship. Don’t worry – this is still THE Tommy Fisher….there are still plenty of hot and sexy times, and while he is havingx thoughts of how nice it would be to have someone who cared about him, not just because he is THE Tommy Fisher, he thinks it will be impossible to find a woman as open as Crystal. He realizes it is not Crystal herself he wants – just something like what she and Giovanni have. And then we meet perhaps my favorite new character. Hailey is a well known criminal lwayer, a bit bored with getting spoiled rich brats out of the punishments they deserve for their stupid, selfish antics, even though she has built a good career out of it. She is bisexual, and finds ways to discretely fulfill her needs. She has no idea who Tommy is when she hits his radar, and her spunky, spitfire personality puts him in his place a number of times before she starts to succumb to his charms. Could there be a future here between these two people who have no idea what a relationship might look like as neither has ever had one because neither has ever wanted one. Beyond the chemistry between the two, I truly came to adore Hailey. She’s fiesty and mouthy, but she has some very human insecurities about having curves in a world of too skinny waifs, and walls about as thick as those surrounding Fort Knox built up around her heart. I found her a mix of extremely relatable and who I want to be when I grow up.
Jon gets the surprise of a lifetime when a girl he guiltily remembers from a night in the band’s early days. He has fond memories of getting to know her while partying one evening until she willingly goes to bed with him, without mentioning it was the first time she had been with a man. In his guilt, he was not proud of the way he hand sent her off and never called her after. With a bombshell that would turn Jon’s life completely upside down and inside out, she lets him know exactly why not a day has gone by in the almost 18 years since that she hasn’t thought of him. When her claim is proven, which he didnt doubt it would be, he realizes that he is still enchanted and a bit beguiled by her as a woman, well beyond the matter that caused her to track him down. Do they have a chance for a second chance? How will his band brothers take everything that is going on? Who can he talk to about his overload of conflicting emotions?
Dean still doesn’t particularly impress me, but he did willingly agree to rehab at the beginning of the book, not that he had much choice. However, he did stick with it, and after he got out, he continued to stay clean despite continual pressure from his other band, Raining Black. I’ll refrain from sharing my thoughts on the guys in that band on a Sunday morning, but in that crowd Dean is almost a good guy. I don’t know that there is anything that could truly make me like Dean, but I could almost feel sorry for him for the way he was treated by the girl he was spending his time with to fight to stay sober – IF she wasn’t someone he should have never gone near in the first place, and IF I could forget how he had treated every woman we had ever seen him with, not to mention what he did to Tink (girlfriend of Wicked End’s Brandon – who are easily in my top 10 all time book couples.) But I will admit that what the woman did and said to him when he was at his very lowest was pretty darn harsh.
That leaves us with only Dominic to discuss, but there was a reason to save him for last. Though there is nothing about him that screams “book boyfriend” to me (probably a testament to my historically terrible taste in men – present husband excluded – more than saying anything about Dom.) Dominic has been through hell. Many years before, in the early days of Gasoline, Dominic was in a car wreck in which his much beloved wife and absolutely cherished little girl were killed. This isn’t a spoiler for those who have read Gasoline, but it is heartbreaking to address, regardless. Much of this book is about Dom finally trying to move forward. His relationship with the lovely Noelle is the catalyst, but that doesn’t make it an easy subject to address. While the other guys in the band have long since moved into fancy high security condos or mansions, Dominic still lives in the small apartment he had shared with his first family. His little girl’s room had never been touched. While I love Bella as an author, I honestly never dreamed one of her books would bring me to what most would consider an “ugly cry”, but the scene involving cleaning out her room broke me. I can’t say anything else about it, or I will be right back at it. But very honestly, there was so much healing in this book for Dom. His brother whom he had been estranged from since the accident was forced back into his life when Anthony’s wife left him and their kids and took every cent he had saved over nearly 20 years, leaving him losing their business and their home. Once they settled their issues, they were able to begin rebuilding the close relationship they had once had. Dominic got to know and spoil his niece and nephews and great nephew. Dominic and Noelle’s love continues to grow and they are able to work things out with Winter Wind to for her to stay on the east coast to record, to sign with Demonfire, and to be on the bill for the next Gasoline tour. That sounds like I just spilled a whole lot of spoilers, but honestly, that is the tip of the iceberg. I really hope we see a happily ever after for these two – few characters I can think of in contemporary fiction/romance deserve a HEA more than Dominic Spinelli.
Obviously a 5 star read – I would give it many times that if I could. Again, the sexual scenes are very explicit and require an open mind, but they are extremely well written if you embrace erotica. I am sad to read that Ms. Jeanisse has stated that this will be the last dedicated Gasoline book, but she promises we will see the characters in other upcoming releases. As glad as I am to hear that, I am not ready to give up hope that she might change her mind somewhere down the road and give us at least a Book 3. I can’t say enough good things about this one and it has my highest recommendations to every open minded rockstar romance and/or erotica fan. Bella has really outdone herself with this one, and I know this is one that will stay with me for a long time to come.
Backstage Books 