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Get What You Need
From the author of "Louder Than Love" comes a long-awaited return to Lauder Lake...ten years later
Sometimes getting what you want is the easy part.
Katrina Lewis-Graves isn't the type of woman to run from problems. But she knows to get out while the getting's good. Fourteen years ago, she left Manhattan for small town solace after a freak train accident left her widowed with a one-year-old. Seeking sanctuary in her hometown of Lauder Lake, Kat ended up stumbling upon a soul mate of legendary famed guitarist Adrian "Digger" Graves.
Now she's fleeing Manhattan once this time with her rock star husband and troubled teen daughter in tow. This time, it's to save Abbey...even if it means dragging her, kicking and screaming.
Across the pond, another woman is taking flight. Adrian's estranged daughter Natalie has not wanted for much in life back in England. Horses, houses in the country, cars, closets full of couture – all courtesy of, but with no thanks to, Digger Graves' heavy metal music success. Her parents' divorce had robbed Adrian of much of his fortune, as well as any meaningful place in his daughter's life. But as her own marriage and entire privileged pinnacle comes avalanching down, Natalie jumps on a desperate whim at the open invitation her stepmother Kat has made to "come stay anytime you want."
Lauder Lake may not be what Abbey or Natalie want, but it holds some surprises – and may just be exactly what they both need...
Sometimes getting what you want is the easy part.
Katrina Lewis-Graves isn't the type of woman to run from problems. But she knows to get out while the getting's good. Fourteen years ago, she left Manhattan for small town solace after a freak train accident left her widowed with a one-year-old. Seeking sanctuary in her hometown of Lauder Lake, Kat ended up stumbling upon a soul mate of legendary famed guitarist Adrian "Digger" Graves.
Now she's fleeing Manhattan once this time with her rock star husband and troubled teen daughter in tow. This time, it's to save Abbey...even if it means dragging her, kicking and screaming.
Across the pond, another woman is taking flight. Adrian's estranged daughter Natalie has not wanted for much in life back in England. Horses, houses in the country, cars, closets full of couture – all courtesy of, but with no thanks to, Digger Graves' heavy metal music success. Her parents' divorce had robbed Adrian of much of his fortune, as well as any meaningful place in his daughter's life. But as her own marriage and entire privileged pinnacle comes avalanching down, Natalie jumps on a desperate whim at the open invitation her stepmother Kat has made to "come stay anytime you want."
Lauder Lake may not be what Abbey or Natalie want, but it holds some surprises – and may just be exactly what they both need...
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 11, 2025
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Topper
14 books278 followersRock. Write. Repeat.
Jessica Topper broke the rock romance mold with her 2013 debut novel LOUDER THAN LOVE. Her follow-up romantic comedy, DICTATORSHIP OF THE DRESS, was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2015.
After working almost two decades in the music industry, Jessica hung up her touring boots in order to concentrate on her writing. She lives in Western New York with two cats who love to walk across her keyboard, a teenage writer girl and a husband who wishes to remain anonymous. You can visit her at www.jessicatopper.com.
Jessica is the author of two series:
LOVE & STEEL
(Louder Than Love, Deeper Than Dreams, Softer Than Steel – NEW EDITIONS COMING SOON)
MUCH “I DO” ABOUT NOTHING
(Dictatorship of the Dress – January 2015, Courtship of the Cake – June 2015) from Berkley/Penguin RandomHouse.
Jessica Topper broke the rock romance mold with her 2013 debut novel LOUDER THAN LOVE. Her follow-up romantic comedy, DICTATORSHIP OF THE DRESS, was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2015.
After working almost two decades in the music industry, Jessica hung up her touring boots in order to concentrate on her writing. She lives in Western New York with two cats who love to walk across her keyboard, a teenage writer girl and a husband who wishes to remain anonymous. You can visit her at www.jessicatopper.com.
Jessica is the author of two series:
LOVE & STEEL
(Louder Than Love, Deeper Than Dreams, Softer Than Steel – NEW EDITIONS COMING SOON)
MUCH “I DO” ABOUT NOTHING
(Dictatorship of the Dress – January 2015, Courtship of the Cake – June 2015) from Berkley/Penguin RandomHouse.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 6, 2026
Ugh, I read this book almost a year ago and I couldn’t really review it because I love the series so much and this story is just as exceptional as the first book in the series. I don’t have adequate words to describe how amazing it is and how wonderful the storyline is. How lovingly and purposefully crafted each and every character is. I gave this review my best shot and I still don’t think it’s good enough, but it’s definitely from the heart.
When I read Louder Than Love almost 13 years ago, the story just stayed with me. These characters crawled in my chest and made their home right inside my heart and I haven’t been able to shake them since, nor would I want to.
Back when I first read Louder Than Love, it was just a standalone story about a washed up British rock star and a widowed librarian with a 4-year-old daughter crossing paths in New York, discovering so much about themselves. Learning how to heal, how to find peace, and how to love again. It is a beautiful story about love, loss, rock ‘n’ roll, and second chances.
Then something wonderful happened, the author expanded this world by making it into a series and gave us more books and more wonderful characters to love. I was over the moon! And now we get a 5th book and I am so excited to tell you all about it. Here we go!
Get What You Need takes place 10-ish years after the events of Louder Than Love. Adrian (British rocker) and Kat (widowed librarian) have been in wedded bliss for years now. Adrian’s rock career has been revitalized. Adrian and Kat have a beautiful son together along with Kat’s daughter and Adrian’s adult daughter from his first marriage. Their family is a beautiful kaleidoscope of hopes, dreams, music, and so much love.
The story follows Abbey’s adjustment to a new school, a slower lifestyle, and the daily desperation she feels being far away from her “boyfriend” and Natalie’s (Adrian’s daughter) healing journey after a failed marriage. We’re gonna need lots of funny movies, chocolate, and salty snacks to even crack the surface of all the feelings that need feeling.
I absolutely loved–and cringed–watching Abbey’s teenage struggles. We’ve all been enchanted by a cute bad boy, but her relationship could be easily summed up in Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble. I don’t have a daughter but I could easily empathize with Kat and Adrian’s parenting struggles. Thankfully, Abbey has a lot of people who love and support her.
Natalie has only been mentioned in the books but we finally get to meet her in this story and she’s absolutely lovely. You’d think she was a spoiled princess with her dad being a rock god, but I found her to be sincere and approachable. Natalie has experienced tremendous heartbreak and I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her everything was going to be okay. I really enjoyed getting to know her and watching her healing journey.
What really tugged at my heartstrings was Kat and Adrian’s son, Blu. He’s a beautiful neurodivergent boy that is the apple of everyone’s eye. Having a son on the autism spectrum myself, I really appreciated the way the author respectfully portrayed the character. The representation was beautifully done. As much as I love Kat and Adrian, I think Blu is my new favorite.
Get What You Need is a beautiful story of family, healing, self discovery, forgiveness, and faith and is a testament to the heart of the book.
The Rolling Stones say it best: “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.”
When I read Louder Than Love almost 13 years ago, the story just stayed with me. These characters crawled in my chest and made their home right inside my heart and I haven’t been able to shake them since, nor would I want to.
Back when I first read Louder Than Love, it was just a standalone story about a washed up British rock star and a widowed librarian with a 4-year-old daughter crossing paths in New York, discovering so much about themselves. Learning how to heal, how to find peace, and how to love again. It is a beautiful story about love, loss, rock ‘n’ roll, and second chances.
Then something wonderful happened, the author expanded this world by making it into a series and gave us more books and more wonderful characters to love. I was over the moon! And now we get a 5th book and I am so excited to tell you all about it. Here we go!
Get What You Need takes place 10-ish years after the events of Louder Than Love. Adrian (British rocker) and Kat (widowed librarian) have been in wedded bliss for years now. Adrian’s rock career has been revitalized. Adrian and Kat have a beautiful son together along with Kat’s daughter and Adrian’s adult daughter from his first marriage. Their family is a beautiful kaleidoscope of hopes, dreams, music, and so much love.
The story follows Abbey’s adjustment to a new school, a slower lifestyle, and the daily desperation she feels being far away from her “boyfriend” and Natalie’s (Adrian’s daughter) healing journey after a failed marriage. We’re gonna need lots of funny movies, chocolate, and salty snacks to even crack the surface of all the feelings that need feeling.
I absolutely loved–and cringed–watching Abbey’s teenage struggles. We’ve all been enchanted by a cute bad boy, but her relationship could be easily summed up in Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble. I don’t have a daughter but I could easily empathize with Kat and Adrian’s parenting struggles. Thankfully, Abbey has a lot of people who love and support her.
Natalie has only been mentioned in the books but we finally get to meet her in this story and she’s absolutely lovely. You’d think she was a spoiled princess with her dad being a rock god, but I found her to be sincere and approachable. Natalie has experienced tremendous heartbreak and I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her everything was going to be okay. I really enjoyed getting to know her and watching her healing journey.
What really tugged at my heartstrings was Kat and Adrian’s son, Blu. He’s a beautiful neurodivergent boy that is the apple of everyone’s eye. Having a son on the autism spectrum myself, I really appreciated the way the author respectfully portrayed the character. The representation was beautifully done. As much as I love Kat and Adrian, I think Blu is my new favorite.
Get What You Need is a beautiful story of family, healing, self discovery, forgiveness, and faith and is a testament to the heart of the book.
The Rolling Stones say it best: “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.”
January 13, 2025
Jessica Topper’s Love and Steel series is one of my all time favorite series, so I was thrilled when she announced she was writing a second gen addition to this series. I’ll admit when I read the synopsis and saw that precious Abbey (with an e) was acting out as a teenager I was shocked (well, not really but I wanted to believe the best in Miss Abbey) and when I saw that Natalie (Adrian’s grown daughter) was coming to visit after her marriage falls apart and they were all going to be living the Lauder Lake house I was very curious about this book and I can say is it did not disappoint.
As always Ms. Topper weaves an intricate story filled with many layers each one just as important as the other. Kat as always is trying to manage the household while Adrian prepares for his next tour, Abbey continues to rebel in her own way, Natalie tries to manage her grief, and Blu (Kat and Adrian’s 5 year old son) finds his way in a world that doesn’t always support the neurodiverse. I loved watching the way he relationships grew between Kat and Natalie, between Natalie and Adrian who have never been all that close, between Blu and Natalie which was so special, and mostly between Abbey and Natalie as they both navigate life and love.
I was transported back to the first time I read Louder than Love and the magic of that book, yet this book stole my heart a bit more with each page I turned. I loved that she didn’t shy away from hard topics and she showed us how confusing love can be at any age. I highly recommend Get What You Want and while you can read this without reading Louder than Love, I think you will get so much more out of this book if you read it first. Let me also state that romance does bloom in this book and it is quite beautiful to watch.
Jessica Topper has done it again, from the first page to the last I was immersed in this wonderful story as this family works to repair past hurts, heal broken hearts, restore trust, and most of all love fiercely. It is easy to say You Get What You Need is my favorite book so far this year and will most definitely be on my favorites of 2025 list.
As always Ms. Topper weaves an intricate story filled with many layers each one just as important as the other. Kat as always is trying to manage the household while Adrian prepares for his next tour, Abbey continues to rebel in her own way, Natalie tries to manage her grief, and Blu (Kat and Adrian’s 5 year old son) finds his way in a world that doesn’t always support the neurodiverse. I loved watching the way he relationships grew between Kat and Natalie, between Natalie and Adrian who have never been all that close, between Blu and Natalie which was so special, and mostly between Abbey and Natalie as they both navigate life and love.
I was transported back to the first time I read Louder than Love and the magic of that book, yet this book stole my heart a bit more with each page I turned. I loved that she didn’t shy away from hard topics and she showed us how confusing love can be at any age. I highly recommend Get What You Want and while you can read this without reading Louder than Love, I think you will get so much more out of this book if you read it first. Let me also state that romance does bloom in this book and it is quite beautiful to watch.
Jessica Topper has done it again, from the first page to the last I was immersed in this wonderful story as this family works to repair past hurts, heal broken hearts, restore trust, and most of all love fiercely. It is easy to say You Get What You Need is my favorite book so far this year and will most definitely be on my favorites of 2025 list.
April 9, 2025
I read and loved Jessica Topper's Louder than Love, but you needn't have read any of her prior books to really enjoy Get What You Need. This is a great stand-alone story primarily focused on two women trying to grow up and find themselves: Abbey, the rebel teenager and her half-sister Natalie, a young adult going through a hard time. These characters and all others--including love interest Collin, who I absolutely adore--are realistic, three-dimensional, people you can't help but root for as the plot unfolds. And the setting, charming Lauder Lake, adds to the charm of the novel. I read a lot of fiction a year, most of which unfortunately unmemorable, but this novel will stick with me and is one I highly, highly, recommend.
January 18, 2025
Kat and her husband Adrian "Digger" Graves have moved back home, their daughter Abbey is involved with an undesirable, lying to them and doing drugs. Across the pond, Adrians's daughter is going through a divorce and decides to come visit them.
February 27, 2025
What a treat to reconnect with the characters from LOUDER THAN LOVE, one of my all-time favorite reads.
Kat and Adrian are now juggling marriage with parenting a neurodiverse five-year-old and a rebellious teen. Adrian, aka rock god Digger Graves, is also about to go on tour.
But first, they decamp from their Manhattan penthouse to Kat's tiny home at Lauder Lake. Their plan is to stay for as long as it takes to save Abbey, their fifteen-year-old, from her less-than-savory boyfriend. This also means cutting Abbey off from her phone and social media. Obviously, Abbey is pissed.
Into the drama comes Natalie, Adrian's estranged daughter who is running away from her life of privilege in England and her soon to be ex husband.
Neither Abbey nor Natalie is thrilled to discover they'll be sharing a bedroom. In addition to their own problems, they have some sibling resentment to work through that includes very different childhood memories of the guy they both call dad.
But maybe Lauder Lake is the place where they can heal and make unexpected discoveries--about each other and about love. Watching their relationship evolve was a bonus in this fabulous story about blended families, famous fathers, and second chances.
Kat and Adrian are now juggling marriage with parenting a neurodiverse five-year-old and a rebellious teen. Adrian, aka rock god Digger Graves, is also about to go on tour.
But first, they decamp from their Manhattan penthouse to Kat's tiny home at Lauder Lake. Their plan is to stay for as long as it takes to save Abbey, their fifteen-year-old, from her less-than-savory boyfriend. This also means cutting Abbey off from her phone and social media. Obviously, Abbey is pissed.
Into the drama comes Natalie, Adrian's estranged daughter who is running away from her life of privilege in England and her soon to be ex husband.
Neither Abbey nor Natalie is thrilled to discover they'll be sharing a bedroom. In addition to their own problems, they have some sibling resentment to work through that includes very different childhood memories of the guy they both call dad.
But maybe Lauder Lake is the place where they can heal and make unexpected discoveries--about each other and about love. Watching their relationship evolve was a bonus in this fabulous story about blended families, famous fathers, and second chances.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews