What do you think?
Rate this book
Upstaged #1
Opening Act
Wannabe singer and band front man Erik Von Nordgren hates snarky brit Asher Berkley with a passion. From the moment he turns up at practice with his twin sister Daisy, who is one of the band the two have hated each other.
Through a series of 'tit for tat' incidents they annoy, frustrate and exasperated each other. The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up.
Until the day that Erik throws Asher in the school pool, when everything begins to change. Erik is so far in closet he's in Narnia and Asher has a dark past and trust issues that stand in the way of any relationship, let alone one with the brash American who hurts him every time they try to get together.
A relationship doomed from the start, or so you'd think.
Through a series of 'tit for tat' incidents they annoy, frustrate and exasperated each other. The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up.
Until the day that Erik throws Asher in the school pool, when everything begins to change. Erik is so far in closet he's in Narnia and Asher has a dark past and trust issues that stand in the way of any relationship, let alone one with the brash American who hurts him every time they try to get together.
A relationship doomed from the start, or so you'd think.
- GenresM M Romance
259 pages, ebook
First published November 15, 2012
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
S.L. Danielson
28 books85 followersaka Stephanie L. Danielson. I've been an avid reader since a small child. My first loves were science fiction as well as general fiction books.
Later, I began writing my own stories with a romantic flavor to them.
With influences running the gamut from romance,sci-fi, and drama, my muse was found.
In 2007 I was first published with Love Resurrected, and have since released over a dozen other books, mostly in the contemporary gay romance genre. I am particularly fond of young adult/college age boys to write about.
When not working on a new book, I can be found shooting pool and darts, hanging out with my husband, parents, and cat, cycling, skating, or spending way too much time playing computer games.
Later, I began writing my own stories with a romantic flavor to them.
With influences running the gamut from romance,sci-fi, and drama, my muse was found.
In 2007 I was first published with Love Resurrected, and have since released over a dozen other books, mostly in the contemporary gay romance genre. I am particularly fond of young adult/college age boys to write about.
When not working on a new book, I can be found shooting pool and darts, hanging out with my husband, parents, and cat, cycling, skating, or spending way too much time playing computer games.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 1, 2012
sweet and lovely story :)
May 18, 2018
First we have Erik, who is in a band. He and Asher, the new emo kid, instantly hate each other. And they continually harass each other.
Then we have Erik's best friend Billy. Billy is in love with Erik, but is constantly hurt by Erik's insistence on remaining closeted. They had made a pact to keep each other's secret, but Billy wants to be out of the closet now. And Erik just can't let himself be openly gay.
The story starts to get complicated as we start meeting some of the other guys. Don't blink or you might miss one of the couplings of the moment. Seriously, pay attention though. There is actually a wonderful overall plot to this story. And the couples that form in the end are super sweet.
I loved Asher. My heart freaking broke for him. He is so darn damaged. And then Erik repeatedly hurts him. When they do admit to liking each other, Erik just can't let his feelings show in public. He constantly denies Asher and damages Asher more.
Honestly, Erik was an ass. He's likeable because he has his reasons for being an ass. But, he is an ass. He is horrible to Asher. And he repeatedly almost loses Asher. When it seems like he has finally gone too far, Erik needs some help to win him back. It actually ends with a very sweet and romantic prom night for all.
This book contained a great story, but sometimes the pace of the story confused me. I enjoyed it, but I was personally left feeling that the story had so much more potential. I think it was the writing style was just so fast and jumped around so much. There were so many people and so much going on. I think it would have been more enjoyable if the pace was slower and there was a little more "meat" to the story at times.
The heart of story itself though was really good. The end was just beautiful. I would definitely recommend reading this.
May 23, 2018
This is a pretty decent read. I enjoyed this book. It was a good read about young love. A book about learning to trust in not only ones self but those around you. It is a book about learning to love ones self. A book about learning to truly live and love both another person but also who we are inside.
Erik is in a band with his high school friends. He loves the way they sound and he music they Crete. What he does not like I his band members twin brother. He is quickly becoming a thorn in Erik’s side. From the moment Erik and Asher met sparks began to fly. The problem is, where there is sparks, there is a flame. Where there is a flame, there is usually a fire.
Asher is not one to trust easily. He has been hurt badly in the past so he is not willing to let anyone get close to him. When he feels a slight attraction to Erik, it freaks him out. He does not want anyone to get close to him. Erik feels the same.
Erik cannot let his secret get out. Only one person knows hat he is gay and that is his best friend Billy. So when Asher gets close to revealing the truth about Erik, Erik lashes out. When Erik lashes out at Asher, Asher takes revenge as well.
These two are so busy trying to one up the other that they both almost misses out on why is truly important in life. Love. Even when they do finally get their heads out of their butts, Erik still seems to find a way to mess it up.
Can Erik figure out a way to get the man thy he wants and keep his secret at the same time? Can Asher figure out a way to trust even though he has been hurt badly in the past?
This was a decent read. I enjoyed the constant back and forth between these two. It was a lot of push and pull and it took a lot to finally get to a good place. I think others will enjoy this read as well. It was very entertaining.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
Erik is in a band with his high school friends. He loves the way they sound and he music they Crete. What he does not like I his band members twin brother. He is quickly becoming a thorn in Erik’s side. From the moment Erik and Asher met sparks began to fly. The problem is, where there is sparks, there is a flame. Where there is a flame, there is usually a fire.
Asher is not one to trust easily. He has been hurt badly in the past so he is not willing to let anyone get close to him. When he feels a slight attraction to Erik, it freaks him out. He does not want anyone to get close to him. Erik feels the same.
Erik cannot let his secret get out. Only one person knows hat he is gay and that is his best friend Billy. So when Asher gets close to revealing the truth about Erik, Erik lashes out. When Erik lashes out at Asher, Asher takes revenge as well.
These two are so busy trying to one up the other that they both almost misses out on why is truly important in life. Love. Even when they do finally get their heads out of their butts, Erik still seems to find a way to mess it up.
Can Erik figure out a way to get the man thy he wants and keep his secret at the same time? Can Asher figure out a way to trust even though he has been hurt badly in the past?
This was a decent read. I enjoyed the constant back and forth between these two. It was a lot of push and pull and it took a lot to finally get to a good place. I think others will enjoy this read as well. It was very entertaining.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
dnf
January 25, 2013DNF for now, will try again some other time. Just wasn't for me, I don't know if I'll ever really finish it but I'm not the type of person to not finish something so might try again, just not for a long time.
June 4, 2018
A great story of enemies to lovers. Erik and Asher instantly despise each other when they first meet, but it truly is a fine line between love and hate. As they continue to fight and do horrible things to each other, their attraction to one another shines through. But can Erik get over his fear of coming out in order to have a real chance at a relationship with Asher. I really like how strong Asher is, especially after everything he went through, and I really admire him for sticking by Erik.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
March 22, 2014
2.5stars.Previously reviewed at
So a YA angst fest of a hate to love relationship is what I anticipated when I started this book, and to be fair it is what I got - yet somehow it just didn't rock my world, not even a little bit. While the premise held promise the writing just didn't follow through. I've given this a lot of thought, how do I want to review it,I'm not keen on negative reviews, either writing them or reading them, yet I owe to it blog readers to be as honest as I can about my opinion of the book.
Firstly, one major thing this book had in it's favour is the differentiation of the characters, I didn't feel I was reading one character in duplicate - and this isn't just because (of the two MC's) one was a Brit and one was an American. They had their own personalities, their own styles and this did come through, maybe it is a result of two different authors writing the book, I'm not sure but it worked.
As I said I liked the idea of the story-line, though friends to lovers is my bag I also enjoy the spark and kindle of a romance between two sworn enemies. The angst was there, the mutual dislike, I could see the fire that would eventually turn the relationship around but.....but.....it just didn't quite work.
"The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up."
It was a story that made me dizzy, it kinda felt like the authors had decided on the storyline and tried to cram as much into 259 pages as possible. All good right? Well no, not when it means the main characters don't just go from hate to love but instead went hate/love/hate/love/hate/love.....I lost track of how many times. Teens are fickle, I know I was one (too long ago to think about but still I was one), but these two made Vicky Pollard look as though she has deep and meaningful relationships.
I don't want this to turn into a bitchy review so I'll just say the relationship is more than on again/off again, it skirts round the same issues without ever resolving them. Erik hurts Ash by refusing to let the relationship become known beyond his band-mates. Fine, I think coming out is (unfortunately) a very hard thing for a lot of teenagers to deal with. But I felt that the authors weren't actually addressing this issue, they weren't tackling Erik's anxieties of letting people know he was gay, it seemed it was purely there to add a convenient conflict. And Ash - ever heard the phrase fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? Once Erik had broken the same promise several times don't go back for more, not unless you're willing to change your expectations, cos it just ain't going to work.
So Ash, hurt by Erik goes and sleeps with a fellow fan of the band Vince, and by the next day they are boyfriends, devoted to each other. Until (a couple of hours later) Vince tells Ash he loves him and Ash has some kind of break-down. His terrible past is hinted at throughout the story, yet it's never fully resolved exactly what happened. We know some of it but I never could quite work out who James was, what he did and why the words I love you were so difficult for Ash to hear.
To complicate matters even more Erik's best friend Billy is also in love with Erik - something happened once upon a time and he's carried an unrequited love for him ever since. But then Billy takes on comforting Vince after Ash so cruelly dumps him and, wow, yep they manage to fall in love and get their shit together before Ash and Erik. Every two minutes someone was falling in or out of love. I don't want insta-love, insta-angst - I want good, solid reasons for it. I want to feel the change happen, understand why enemies are starting to like each other. Or not. I don't want it there just because it's convenient. And I certainly don't want to get tennis-spectator neck from the changes that happen so damn fast. All this and I've not even touched on the head hopping that happened at times.
In my opinion (don't ya just hate that phrase, but it's true) this story could have done with being put in a drawer for a few months and then attacked with an editors eye and fat red felt-tipped pen. Erik and Ash were potentially great characters, with a great romance and story to tell, I just felt let down by the execution of it all.
So a YA angst fest of a hate to love relationship is what I anticipated when I started this book, and to be fair it is what I got - yet somehow it just didn't rock my world, not even a little bit. While the premise held promise the writing just didn't follow through. I've given this a lot of thought, how do I want to review it,I'm not keen on negative reviews, either writing them or reading them, yet I owe to it blog readers to be as honest as I can about my opinion of the book.
Firstly, one major thing this book had in it's favour is the differentiation of the characters, I didn't feel I was reading one character in duplicate - and this isn't just because (of the two MC's) one was a Brit and one was an American. They had their own personalities, their own styles and this did come through, maybe it is a result of two different authors writing the book, I'm not sure but it worked.
As I said I liked the idea of the story-line, though friends to lovers is my bag I also enjoy the spark and kindle of a romance between two sworn enemies. The angst was there, the mutual dislike, I could see the fire that would eventually turn the relationship around but.....but.....it just didn't quite work.
"The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up."
It was a story that made me dizzy, it kinda felt like the authors had decided on the storyline and tried to cram as much into 259 pages as possible. All good right? Well no, not when it means the main characters don't just go from hate to love but instead went hate/love/hate/love/hate/love.....I lost track of how many times. Teens are fickle, I know I was one (too long ago to think about but still I was one), but these two made Vicky Pollard look as though she has deep and meaningful relationships.
I don't want this to turn into a bitchy review so I'll just say the relationship is more than on again/off again, it skirts round the same issues without ever resolving them. Erik hurts Ash by refusing to let the relationship become known beyond his band-mates. Fine, I think coming out is (unfortunately) a very hard thing for a lot of teenagers to deal with. But I felt that the authors weren't actually addressing this issue, they weren't tackling Erik's anxieties of letting people know he was gay, it seemed it was purely there to add a convenient conflict. And Ash - ever heard the phrase fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? Once Erik had broken the same promise several times don't go back for more, not unless you're willing to change your expectations, cos it just ain't going to work.
So Ash, hurt by Erik goes and sleeps with a fellow fan of the band Vince, and by the next day they are boyfriends, devoted to each other. Until (a couple of hours later) Vince tells Ash he loves him and Ash has some kind of break-down. His terrible past is hinted at throughout the story, yet it's never fully resolved exactly what happened. We know some of it but I never could quite work out who James was, what he did and why the words I love you were so difficult for Ash to hear.
To complicate matters even more Erik's best friend Billy is also in love with Erik - something happened once upon a time and he's carried an unrequited love for him ever since. But then Billy takes on comforting Vince after Ash so cruelly dumps him and, wow, yep they manage to fall in love and get their shit together before Ash and Erik. Every two minutes someone was falling in or out of love. I don't want insta-love, insta-angst - I want good, solid reasons for it. I want to feel the change happen, understand why enemies are starting to like each other. Or not. I don't want it there just because it's convenient. And I certainly don't want to get tennis-spectator neck from the changes that happen so damn fast. All this and I've not even touched on the head hopping that happened at times.
In my opinion (don't ya just hate that phrase, but it's true) this story could have done with being put in a drawer for a few months and then attacked with an editors eye and fat red felt-tipped pen. Erik and Ash were potentially great characters, with a great romance and story to tell, I just felt let down by the execution of it all.
March 16, 2013
Don't let the two-star rating affect your decision about this book. This started out really good. It's just not connecting with me right now though. It has two of my favorite things: rockers and teenagers. I'm going to put it aside and try it agiain in a bit.
March 6, 2013
I just couldn't get in to this story, I tried, I really did, but it just wasn't for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews