Holy smokes! Loved it! This book starts after Killer Valentine reluctantly cancels several concerts because Xan's voice is suffering and he needs to take a break.
"Rest your voice this weekend. Go find a cabin in the woods. Play your guitar, if you want. Read a book. Binge-watch movies. Don't talk. Don't shout. Don't sing. Don't make a damned sound until you have to warm up your throat for the show in Miami next week."
So he decides to attend his cousin's wedding in Paris. It's there that he meets Georgie Johnson. I loved to see more of the mysterious Xan from the first book!
Georgie has a past that has a way of catching up with her and when she is invited to attend her best friend's impromptu wedding in Paris, she decides it may be a good idea to get away. It is there that she meets Alexandre, who is Xan from Killer Valentine, unbeknownst to Georgie.
He wore a dark blue business suit with a peach tie, knotted tightly, and even under the layers of cloth, his body looked lean, like he was a runner or a swimmer. With his pale golden skin, like he could tan if he wanted to but never saw the sun, and that long hair that faded to blond at the end, plus his large dark eyes, the effect was slightly vampiric.
Alex and Georgie hit it off immediately due to a music connection.
It's clear from the beginning that both of these individuals are carefully guarding their pasts from each other, as a reader I found that rather frustrating.
Time to prod. She asked, "So why did you show up here, anyway?"
"Because you gave me your address. Considering how jealously you guarded your phone number, your address must be a rare and precious thing. I would be a cad to throw away such a jewel."
"How poetic," Georgie said. "Let's hear the truth this time."
Alex's bemused expression didn't change. Indeed, he seemed frozen until he blinked, swallowed hard and drained his glass. "I had to get away."
"From what?"
"Work." He refilled his glass and offered her more, but she was driving so she shook her head. "Why did you give me your address, if you were going to give me the third degree for utilizing it?"
"There's 'Alwaysland.' Now you're working on this one. What do you do with your songs?"
His tight smile was rather proper. "Isn't it enough that they exist?"
"You're being very Socratic, answering my questions with more questions. No, it's not enough that they exist. Assuming this wasn't a nookie run, you flew all the way here to bust into the music building in the middle of the night to play a song for me. It isn't enough to say that it just exists."
And finally the truth comes out, OMG, I was so glad when it did! And the ending is full of suspense and I was so hoping that things would end the way they did. Not a full blown cliff-hanger, but I cannot wait for the next book!!
This is the first I've read from Ms. Babylon, but it won't be the last!
I received this book in exchange for my honest review.