Country Soul

by Remmy Duchene

Jackson Rawlings loves music; in fact, making music has been something he's always wanted to do. After his confession to homosexuality, his record label forced him out and after his latest world tour, he decided to give it all up. It breaks his heart to think of never doing music again but he just feels so broken.

Marques Lopez is a music exec who knows a good thing and a good man when he hears and sees them; and boy is Jackson Rawlings a good thing. But how is he supposed to put Jackson together again when he's been broken so many times?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Musicians, LGBT, Gay, Ebooks

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2011

About the author

Remmy Duchene is a Canadian-hockey-watching-baseball-playing kind of guy. He loves walking in the rain and bugging his friends about his latest story ideas. Remmy believes that true love comes in all shapes, sizes, and sexualities. He is always saying "I'd rather see two gay people in love get married than two straight people that hate each other."

Reviews

[.Lili. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Country Soul by Remmy Duchene is the story of a country music star who was kicked out by his record label once he revealed he was gay, and the music executive determined to give him his dream back.

My highlights:

· The characters. I thought Jackson & Marquez complimented each other well. I enjoyed them as individuals and as a couple.

· I enjoyed how the story starts off on a melancholy note but as the story progresses and their feelings grow so does the tone of the book. It felt like a song.

· The flow was smooth and easy to read.

· Loved how it ended- it was very sweet.

My only criticism is that I wish it had been longer. It was a bit insta-lovish, and everything tidied up too quickly for me.

All in all an enjoyable read. One to enjoy on a rainy with a warm cup of cocoa. 4 Stars.

*ARC kindly provided by Dreamspinner Press to Gay Book Reviews for an honest review.

[**Sognatrice di libri** · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lettura dolce, triste e anche sofferta ma molto bella. I due protagonisti Marquez e Jackson mi sono piaciuti molto con tutto che all'inizio per via dei loro caratteri sembravano praticamente incompatibili.

[FantasyLiving · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Hearts

This story opens on a whole lot of feels, and I’m grateful for it. Jackson grabbed my attention from the first page and held onto it throughout the story. His emotions were raw and real, and not whiney. Remmy Duchene hit the mark in portraying Jackson’s broken heart.

Jackson has come out and is still adored by his fans. Country music is his life’s work and he loves it with his whole heart. But his record label doesn’t feel like he is good for business, and ends their contract, stating “creative differences”, while still making money from his entire catalogue of work.

Enter Marquis. The executive of a small record label in New York City, that does not have a country singer on their lineup. But no matter, Marquis is fascinated by the enigmatic singer, and is outraged when he sees the final press conference where Jackson indicates he will be retiring. This is a travesty against the music industry, and music in general, and he is determined to get this man on his label with his full back catalogue of songs.

And then he meets Jackson, and his dick is so happy it wants out immediately, even though (especially because?) Jackson is a growly beast who doesn’t want Marquis in his space

Read the rest of my review on the blog

[Mandy*reads obsessively* · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started out with a bang, but fizzled a bit for me.
I was expecting more of the "broken and heartbroken" Jackson.
Marque and Jackson's relationship developed so quickly and I didn't really see their "love".
All in all a sweet read, but next time guys use lube more often( I mean 3 years no sex and then just a little rimming and no lube, really! Ouch) and condoms ( you are strangers, use condoms).

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insta-love but still I didn't feel any real connection between the characters. The whole 'big' misunderstanding was totally harebrained (and it wasn't that 'big' after all).... plus everything got solved way too easily.

[Idamus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insta love and no condoms? Hell no, so not my thing

[Love Is All Around · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voto: 4.5
RECENSIONE A CURA DI FRANCESCA
Venite a leggerla sul nostro blog!

[Mathilda Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wer auch immer sich diesen Titel ausgedacht hat … Ohne Worte, echt. *hüstel*

Am besten ignoriert man ihn einfach, denn die Geschichte über einen Musiker in einer Lebenskrise und einen Produzenten, der ihn wieder in ein Studio bekommen will und sich dafür kurzerhand bei besagtem Musiker einquartiert, hat eindeutig was. Jackson und Marques sind nämlich alles andere als einfach zu handhaben und der Autor schafft es selbst auf den nur 125 Seiten, die das Buch hat, die zwei lebendig zu machen.

Beide Charaktere sind keine Jungspunde mehr und glauben nicht wirklich an die Liebe oder daran, dass irgendjemand mehr von ihnen wollen könnte. Und als sie dann, unabhängig voneinander, bemerken, dass der andere mehr für sie sein kann, gehen sie damit sehr unterschiedlich um. Jackson säuft sich die Hucke zu, während Marques grübelt und schließlich die Gelegenheit nutzt, einen Abstecher nach NYC zu machen, weil es etwas in seinem Musiklabel zu klären gibt.

Doch ohne den anderen geht es nicht, auch wenn es in Jacksons Fall erst seinen besten Freund Chad und Marques' Bruder Michael braucht, um den beiden einen Schubs in die richtige Richtung zu geben.

Die Geschichte spielt fast ausschließlich auf Jacksons Ranch und das lässt den Männern genug Raum und Zeit, die der Autor auch gut zu nutzen weiß. Es gibt kein großes Drama oder Unglück in der Story, aber das braucht es auch nicht. Jackson und Marques dabei zuzusehen, wie sie sich langsam aneinander herantasten und schließlich im Bett landen, macht jeden Menge Spaß.

Ich gebe volle Punktzahl und eine Leseempfehlung packe ich auch noch obendrauf. Zusätzlich bedanke ich mich recht herzlich beim Dreamspinner Verlag für das Rezensionsexemplar.

[El Ma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, was für ein vielversprechender Klappentext … Was habe ich mich auf dieses Buch gefreut. Ich mag Geschichten mit Musikern bzw. Künstlern, weil diese – trotz ihrer Sensibilität – meist Ecken und Kanten haben und die Geschichte dadurch oft sehr vielschichtig wird.

Hier allerdings wurde ein Thema, aus dem man so viel hätte machen können, durchgepeitscht, ohne dass man eine Chance gehabt hätte, die Beweggründe Jacksons auch nur im geringsten zu erahnen. Bei Marques als Produzent, wusste man wenigstens, warum er sich mit Jackson treffen will. Das daraus mehr wird, war für ihn (und ich denke auch für Jackson) das Sahnehäubchen obendrauf.
Was Jackson dazu gebracht hat, so zu reagieren, wie er es getan hat, hat sich mir im Laufe der Geschichte nicht im geringsten erschlossen. Hallo? Ein erfolgreicher und gefeierter Sänger outet sich, wird bei seinem letzten Konzert gefeiert ohne Ende und dann verkriecht er sich, nur weil ihm (s)EIN homophober Produzent gekündigt hat?
Hätte man auf Jacksons Hintergrund bzw. seine Beweggründe genau so viel Energie darauf verwendet, wie auf die Sexszenen, hätte aus dieser Geschichte echt was werden können. Der Weg von „mimimi“ zum Powerlover war kurz, schnell und schnörkellos.
Ein gebrochener Mann, dem man aufgrund seines Outings seine „Lebensgrundlage“ entzieht und der emotional am Ende ist, hat meiner Meinung nach ein bisschen mehr „Hintergrund“ und Tiefe in seiner Geschichte verdient. Dies war hier leider so gar nicht gegeben.
Zudem wurden Redewendungen verwendet, bei denen ich mir gedacht habe „reden wir jetzt über Männer im mittleren Alter (hier ist alles möglich von ca. 30 – 40/45) oder von Kleinkindern im Kindergarten …?”
Tut mir leid, in einem Roman, in dem einem ein Blick ins Schlafzimmer gewährt wird, möchte ich nicht lesen, dass ein erwachsener Mann „auf den Stuhl klettert“ und nach dem Essen wieder „heruntersteigt“ (im Original mag das eine gebräuchliche Redewendung sein, im Deutschen klingt das für mich etwas seltsam).

Von daher gibt es 3* für die Idee und die netten Protagonisten, aber mehr wird’s von mir leider nicht. Und dabei – und hier wiederhole ich mich – hätte man aus dieser Geschichte so viel mehr machen können

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

This story starts right off with Jackson’s fall from grace as he plays his last concert in front of a packed arena. Having come out as a gay man, his record label dropped him like a hot potato, despite the fact they were still making millions off him and his music. Heading back to his farm to figure out what he will do next with his life, Jackson finds himself looking into the bottom of a bottle. Marques, in the meantime, can’t believe that a record company would drop their money-maker just because he came out of the closet, especially since Jackson’s announcement didn’t stop the fans from buying tickets or albums. Deciding to recruit Jackson to his record label, Marques heads to the one horse town where Jackson’s farm is located. What he isn’t expecting is to find that despite the relatively short time between his career ending and Marques’ arrival, Jackson has sunken into a deep depression. Determined to bring him out of it, Marques isn’t expecting to fall in love with the man.

Read Wendy’s review in its entirety here.

[Diverse · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5*

I love a great love story. I love when there's a Knight in shining armor! Jackson is tossed and abandoned by the music industry after he comes out. So, it starts off very emotional and I'm falling into all the feelings that are suffocating Jackson.

Marques swoops in pretty much and is like, "I'm going to make your dreams come true." So I swoon and I'm like OH THIS IS SO SWEET! And it was. SO SWEET! I did love these characters they were wonderful.

Personally, I had serious issues with how fast the pacing was. It was an insta love and I don't SO much have issues with that. I've read many books where it works and it's sweet, hot, and believable. But this was too fast. And no safe sex. I was like WHOA! And it kinda jolted me from loving it to simply just liking it.

So this is a romance. A sweet love story with literally no barriers. It's a fairy tale plain and simple and that's totally okay. I'd encourage people to use condoms however with strangers even if you feel it's true love.

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. My only complaint was that it was too short. I loved that Marques was like Jacksons knight riding in on his white horse to slay the dragon for him. Beautiful the way they came together. And I LOVED that there wasn't a specific top or bottom, that they both were switches, it was pretty hot. I think this story could have been a series book easily going on to tell about more of their life together and their marriage. Could have even had a book of his brother hooking up with Max and raising Jake together. Either way I loved it.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story start really emotionally and you just wanna know, why is the guy so hurting, what made him so tragically sad. From this point I was hooked with the story. The start was strong and deep. The plot was easy and enjoyable. Both main characters Jackson and Marques were interesting but everything played out to fast. The emotions were somehow real or described as real but I didn't feel them. Anyway this way enjoyable easy read.

[Mandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give this one 2.5 stars. I enjoyed the characters, but I felt everything happened too fast. Plus, I just could not get into the sex scenes. I kept yelling in my head, "Condom! Condom!"

[Dutchgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first edition: It was an okay but forgettable quick read, to fast, to insta love and i just didn't feel the connection between the main characters.

Edit on 31 may 2017:
I have the second edition on my DSP account (Free deal) not read that one yet!

[llv]

Rating: dnf

This book wasn't bad, I just couldn't get in to it. With the large TBR pile that I have accumulated, I decided it wasn't worth finishing.

[Feel The Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recensione a cura di Leyla per Feel The Book

Jackson Rawlings è un famoso cantante country che viene allontanato dalla sua casa discografica quando all’apice della sua carriera, stanco di nascondersi e di non poter essere se stesso, decide di fare coming out rivelando al mondo la sua omosessualità. I suoi fan lo sostengono e lo amano, ma la sua casa discografica lo butta fuori senza farsi alcuno scrupolo.
Anche se cerca di affrontare questo cambiamento nel migliore dei modi, Jackson si trova catapultato nella tranquilla vita di provincia che non è più la sua da moltissimi anni e soprattutto, cosa ancora più difficile per lui, è costretto a rinunciare alla sua musica e al suo pubblico.

Il libro inizia proprio nel momento del suo ultimo concerto e viviamo con lui l’immenso dolore che prova sapendo che non ce ne saranno altri, e che non sentirà mai più quelle emozioni che lo hanno accompagnato per la maggior parte della sua vita.

Dopo il concerto si rifugia nella sua città natale tornando a vivere nella sua fattoria, ed è lì che lo trova Marquez Lopez quando decide che non è giusto che la musica perda un tale talento.
Il loro primo incontro non è dei migliori, Jackson è in uno stato pietoso, solo, depresso e incapace di andare avanti con la sua vita, ma pian piano i due cominciano a capirsi e a lavorare insieme. Aiutare Jackson a riacquistare forza e fiducia in se stesso non è semplice, ma Marquez cerca di sostenerlo e incoraggiarlo sia dal punto di vista personale che lavorativo.

La storia non ha grossi colpi di scena, il tutto evolve in modo lineare e la relazione tra i protagonisti si sviluppa molto realisticamente, prima dal punto di vista esclusivamente fisico e poi con la nascita e la crescita del loro amore. È una storia semplice, romantica e sicuramente piacevole da leggere.

La psicologia dei personaggi è ben approfondita, durante la lettura si riescono a sentire le loro emozioni, sia l’insicurezza e la profonda delusione di Jackson, che la grande solitudine di Marquez, e non si può fare a meno di sperare che i due protagonisti capiscano di essere fatti l’uno per l’altro e di poter essere felici insieme.

Editing recensione a cura di Lilith per Feel The Book

[Emily Seelye · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars ✨

I enjoyed this up to the epilogue, where it kind of fell apart. Did the beta readers and editors fall asleep on the job? Jackson is finishing up a concert in Nashville and refers to Marques as his husband. In the next scene his driving his car through the streets of NYC to a restaurant and Mark asks him to marry him.

I really liked reading about their journey to love and I was glad that other than a small misunderstanding that was resolved right away, there was no relationship drama. All conflict was with Jacksons old record label and the fight to get his music back after they dropped him for being gay.

[Babette Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Federica D'Ascani)

Perché ultimamente gli uomini mugolano? Gemono, mugolano, e lo fanno in continuazione. Se vedono due chiappe, se vedono uno a torso nudo, se vedono un paio di mani coi peli sopra. Mugolano pure quando non c’entra niente. Ora, mi ripeterò, ma mi chiedo: perché? Marques, che parte con le più buone intenzioni, vede Jackson e che fa? Gli preme l’erezione contro la gamba. Ma che è? Perché?
Come rovinare i romanzi sul nascere. La terza stella è solo per la traduzione, il libro ne merita due.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

piacevole lettura e personaggi non convenzionali,non perfetto ma molto valido e romantico

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, easy, short read. Insta love okay. Might be more interesting with legal conflict, to add the suspense. In general great book to spend an evening. However, no lube and condoms? Tsk tsk

[Love Bytes Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Heart Review by Kimberley

Jackson Rawlings, a country music artist pushed out of his record label for being gay, felt that he had to give up his love, his passion, which is music. Instead of fighting for what he loves, what has driven him all of his life, he decides to bow out and go home. This is where Marquez Lopez finds him.

Marquez Lopez, a music executive with his own recording label, decides to find him and make him fight for what he wants. At first it appears that he’s doing it because of the money, but as you continue with the story you realize that Marquez truly believes in Jackson and he’s pissed off that someone as talented as Jackson Rawlings was dropped from his record label because of his sexuality. Marquez tracks Jackson down and pushes him back into the industry that he loves. He felt that Jackson was way too talented to just quit. It’s this determination that I admired about Marquez’s character. He was determined to show Jackson’s old record label how their homophobia cost them a major talent in the music industry. His strength gave Jackson the strength he needed to really fight back against his old record label and to get him back into the music game.

I liked how the story played out. The author always manage to have the perfect balance of angst and romance. There would be some who complain about the story having too much sweet but when you’re writing romance, that’s what it supposed to be about. I happen to like the fact that she doesn’t draw out the angst or have too much drama in her books. Drama and angst is good to a point but I lose interest when it’s long and drawn out.

Duchene’s books are simply about men who meet and fall in love. Yes, there are issues between these men, but they’re recognized, worked through and resolved quickly. This allows the rest of the story to concentrate on the couple developing their relationship into something that’s lasting.

As always, I enjoy reading her books because I feel that she is one of the very few authors who go out of her way to feature characters of color in ALL of her work. I like the fact that she has this drive to include and represent all colors of the LGBT community in her books and I wish that more authors in this particular genre would do this. Everyone wants to see themselves represented and to have their stories told.

Duchene has decided to step up and do that for us.

This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson Rawlings, country music star, comes out, only to then find himself “retired” from his record label. Jackson didn’t want to retire, but he’s tired and broken, and so has given in to the not-so-tolerant owner of Brutus Records—too easily, according to his best friend, Chad, but Jackson believed that no one would care if he was gay, because his music was what his fans loved.

Marques Lopez, owner of Phoenix Records, is willing to take a chance on Jackson. Marques is a surprise—he’s not just a businessman, he’s about family too. He doesn’t promote country music—yet—but he sees a big opportunity in getting Jackson on his label. He tracks down the musician at his ranch, only to find he’s not welcome, but Marques wheedles his way in and makes Jackson an offer he can’t refuse. Marques is really the hero in this story, as he sets out to prove to Jackson that his music is still what the fans crave. These two men may come from different places, but the music brings them together in more ways than one.

Remmy Duchene’s Country Soul is an easy, enjoyable read. It has a little drama, a little jealousy, and a lot of love. It’s also about not giving up without a fight and not making decisions based on what others may think.

Reviewed by Maryann for The Novel Approach
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.co...

[Love is Love Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally appeared on Love is Love Book Reviews.

A musician dropped from by his record company for being gay falls for a record executive bent on saving his career. It was an enjoyable low-conflict story with few, if any, surprises. I thought the wordsmithing was good overall and the heroes are both well-drawn and likable. It just all felt too fast and a smidge shallow.

Based on the blurb I expected Jackson to be more broken, more resistant to Marques and need more than a bit of magic peen to turn him around, but that wasn’t the case. The story desperately needed more relationship development for the very sweet ending to be truly satisfying. Considering the heroes’ backstories, I would have expected the romance to unfold over a few months not just a couple weeks. More time would have allowed for a lot more yummy unresolved sexual tension and conflict to drive the story along.

If you like low-conflict, easy romances, especially ones with musicians/artists, you’ll enjoy this book.

I really like the cover. Garrett Leigh has a lovely, soft hand with design that I appreciate and that’s certainly true here.

[Lila Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson Rawling’s farewell concert is in progress when the story starts. We get to experience his inner tumult and his battle to keep a positive outlook when giving his last press conference. He knows his career is over since the moment he came out and his record label dropped him. The fans and his crew, on the other hand, still faithful to Jackson and his music.

After all the goodbyes, Jackson travels with his best friend, Chad, back to their hometown of Hallesford. And from there on, he nurses his broken heart, alone in his ranch. At this point, we get to meet Marques and learn about his family and his plans to save Jackson’s career. When he gets to the ranch, he finds Jackson struggling with his new life circumstances.

Together, they brought back Jackson’s career and established a relationship that moves further than work colleagues. The book ends with an epilogue sealing their HEA.

Complete review available at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Tracy~Bayou Book Junkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

*copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*

After Jackson is outed to his record label they drop him. Marques, a record exec in NYC has followed Jackson's career forever, and isn't happy when Jackson "retires". He can see how heartbroken Jackson is, so he heads to Jackson's small town to try to convince him to sign with his label and continue making music. What he never expected was to find not only a star, but love.

This was a sweet and steamy story. It flowed well and the characters had a good chemistry. I adored the banter between Marques and Jackson. It was sweet and snarky at times. The characters were well developed. I absolutely adored Marques' nephew Jake and loved the interactions between them.

My only problem is, it took forever for them to meet. This story is on the short side, and while the ending was perfect, I wish the book has been a bit longer. I wanted more of Marques and Jackson!!

Very enjoyable, and highly recommended!!

You can find my other reviews for Divine Magazine at ~ http://divinemagazine.net/jreviews/my...

[Andrea Goodell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m normally not a fan of musician books, I know weird, in the minority, but there you go.

What I loved about this one, it is was more about the back end, behind the scenes and not the fore front of the whats going on the stage or the antics in the dressing rooms.

We’ve Jackson, who was outed at a gay performer and shortly after his record label dropped him. Now he’s lost all confidence and has ran home to lick his wounds.

Marques, hears about what has happened and swoops in to rescue Jackson and kick start his music career.

What neither one excepts is the connection they feel out of the studio.

These two, the music they make, the insecurities they both have, the fun they share, all over a short and bumpy period.

The fact that Marques will go to bat for Jackson, no matter is so touching. And when they realize both want the same things. fist pump yes!

The epilogue at the end is perfect. Nice way to give us our HEA
I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review by Crystals Many reviewers

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackson parted ways with his recording company after coming out as gay. Marquez wants to sign him with his company, but has to convince the country singer that not all companies are as much of a jerk as his former one. He gets Jackson to agree to write and release one song and if it does well, Jackson will sign with Marquez. But, these two sexy men create more than just music together.

I really enjoyed this story. While the ending wasn’t as engaging and strong as the beginning, it did lend a sensuality to the growing bond between Jackson and Marquez. Neither one took charge of the relationship and just let things happen, which was refreshing and realistic. Marquez came in and saved Jackson from a life of nothing and gave him hope for a future – as a musician and as a partner to a man he loves. But, Jackson gave Marquez just as much in return…a hope for love. Love that! I can only imaging the sweet, sweet, music these two will make in their future.

*copy provided for review.

[Kittykills]

yawn fest! I see where this isn't the first book this writer has published. even if it read like a first time one. for me the whole book felt forced. I really didn't get a feel for either of the characters like I have any other books that I have read recently, the stilted XXX scenes were cringe worthy. 7yr dry spell aside, no lube but sex anyway....ummm not!.... I couldn't see the MC's getting together. not sure I'll be reading this author again.

[Federica D'Ascani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perché ultimamente gli uomini mugolano? Gemono, mugolano, e lo fanno in continuazione. Se vedono due chiappe, se vedono uno a torso nudo, se vedono un paio di mani coi peli sopra. Mugolano pure quando non c'entra niente. Ora, mi ripeterò, ma mi chiedo: perché? Marques, che parte con le più buone intenzioni, vede Jackson e che fa? Gli preme l'erezione contro la gamba. Ma che è? Perché?
Come rovinare i romanzi sul nascere. La terza stella è solo per la traduzione, il libro ne merita due.