Dissonance

The Falling Star Trilogy #1

by Adeline Humphries

DISSONANCE is a haunting second-chance rockstar thriller romance about a spiraling rockstar, the woman he left behind, and the powerful forces that never truly let him go.

It is the first installment of The Falling Star Trilogy.


The world knows Jude Graves as the untouchable rockstar with a wicked smile and a platinum record.

Emma Easton knew him before the fame. Before the darkness.

Before the night he shattered her heart and disappeared without a word.


Seven years later, a very public overdose sends Jude crashing off tour and straight back into her life.

The headlines call it reckless, but Emma isn’t so sure.

He’s unraveling in slow motion, desperate to hide the reasons why.

And this time, she refuses to look away. Because Jude didn’t walk away all those years ago.


He was forced.


Powerful people still own him. Still control him. The kind who stage narratives, bury secrets, and silence anyone who gets too close.

Including her.

Loving him once nearly destroyed her. Trying to save him now might destroy them both.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Second Chance, Music, Booktok, Contemporary Romance

ebook

Published March 28, 2026

About the author

THE CROWNED MONSTERS DUET is my debut work as a dark romance author. It has since been re-released with updates and corrections.

THE FALLING STAR TRILOGY is a dark rockstar romance with thriller elements.

I'm Adeline and I'm a 31 year old dark romance author who started out writing spice-heavy work (CMD), then soon pivoted to more emotionally heavy work (FST). My work is ever-growing as I continue to hone my craft and figure out what kind of writing resonates best. You’re on this journey with me, so thank you!

When I'm not writing morally ambiguous characters, I’m living a quiet and adventurous life in the US with my husband and cats.

I am forever grateful for everyone who has picked up my stories and given them a chance. Thank you so much for supporting me on this incredible journey. Little me would be so proud to say that she will one day be a published author after scribbling in her notebooks for years.

Reviews

[Momma Eureka · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY POOR HEART 😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭💔

“I don’t read books to be happy. I read books to be emotionally devastated!”


CHECK TW !

♦️ HEAVY DRUG ABUSE - inject heroin, inject meth, cocaine, oxy and all other drugs
♦️ SEXUAL ABUSE
♦️ VIOLENCE
♦️ MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE

🖤🎸🖤🎤🖤🎸🖤🎤🖤🎸🖤🎤🖤🎸🖤🎤🖤🎸

Ever since I’ve read MY ROMAN EMPIRE which is The Edge of Darkness, I’ve been desperately trying to find a book that gives me the same vibe, same devastating feelings and same heartbreak. I am here to let you all know that I FOUND IT ! And if you are like me and want the same as I do . PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
First I need to explain that also like the edge of darkness this is a trilogy and the third book isn’t out yet. I am starting the second book so idk if my love for will change, I hope not because this first one is INCREDIBLE!
We are following the story of Jude Graves a rockstar and Emma Easton his high school girlfriend.
They met during high school years and felt in love , he always had the dream to be a rockstar and she wanted to be a therapist working through art. They loved each other immensely. Judge meets this guy who will make his dreams come through. Something happens and he breaks up with Emma leaving his love behind in pursue of his dream. She is left broken and devastated. Seven years passes and now he is back . But we learn he is not the same Jude. He is a famous rockstar, heavily addicted to drugs in a life he is trapped in it doing things he hates but he is “owned” ! He still loves Emma. He never stopped loving her and never forgot her but he is so ashamed of his lifestyle and feels so guilty about everything. His mind is TORTUROUS place to be ! IT IS VERY SAD AND TRAUMATIC ! Emma is the best and she is all he needs and he truly NEEDS HER MORE THAN AIR, she is a therapist and she also still loves him. He is everything to her and she is willing to go to hell to save him. Their love is beautiful, strong but painful. Just like in the edge of darkness we also have here memories of their past. And we have 2 amazing best friends, Micah is his best friend in a very similar situation (not aa bad as him but similar) also a heavy drug addict, he is part of the band , Jude protects him and that’s why Jude has it worse because he takes whatever is supposed to be to Micah he takes to himself. Heather is Emma’s best friend and she is also THE ABSOLUTE BEST!
I cried a couple times during the book because heavy drug use description always gets me straight in the heart, it’s too hard and too sad. The ending also made me cry and I am already seen myself as devastated as I was in Voracious because it’s the middle book and the author had the audacity to say in the end “It gets worse before it gets better “ 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I just want to die ! Kill me now ! Ugh …. Reading the second book immediately because I am sucker for devastating stories 💔🎤💔🎸

[carolina (semi ia) · Rating 2 out of 5]

to the ones comparing this to The Edge of Darkness trilogy: I hope your pillow is scorching hot on both sides. Jude and Emma wish they were Kade and Stacey!

[ℛℰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
My heart has always been

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊

🎸dark rockstar romance
🖤 second chance
🎸 childhood sweethearts
🖤 she is trying to save him
🎸 tortured MMC

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊

𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙠𝙞

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ ⩇⩇:⩇⩇

‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊

I was glued to this book. I couldn’t leave it for one minute. I literally left everything I had to do and postponed it till I finished this book!!! This book was a huge roller coaster. The MMC has been through much !!! I wanted him to be saved so bad, but I knew there were still 2 books more, so I knew things were progressing for worse at the end.

the characters’ romance and their love for each other is unmatched. They are so cute and sweet together. I love them so much. You can actually feel the love they have for each other in the book. The FMC was so kind and loving; I adored her and her caring nature. She never gave up on the MMC no matter what happened, and honestly, the man needed someone like her in his life. Their past memories were so special and added a little light to the darkness in the book.

I also loved that their families weren’t evil or bad because in every other dark romance book, the families have to be related to the devil or something; don’t get me wrong, I love a childhood trauma rep, but not all the reasons for a person to be broken happened because his parents were horrible. I loved that the author wrote them differently in that aspect

I loved the side characters so much. Micah and Heather were amazing. Usually, I don’t care for the side characters’ relationship; borderline hate it because they steal time from the main characters and feels so cliché, but in their case, no, their relationship didn’t feel forced upon me.

Last but not least, a sign that assures me that a book is going to get a high rating from me ,other than it holding me in a chokehold to finish it ,is if it reminded me of a song or if I find myself actively thinking about a song that reminds me of the book. This book reminded me of 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙠𝙞, actually, last February, I was obsessed with this song, and I was searching everywhere for a book with vibes like this, but I was not successful and eventually stopped trying. Guess what !? I found this book, and it immediately reminded of this song !!!! Another song that that reminded me of this book is 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝘼𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 oh and 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨(𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠) 𝙗𝙮 𝙆𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙇𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙧 honestly I could construct a whole playlist that reminds me of this book which is honestly something that is very rare to happen to me


All in all I highly recommend the book just be prepared for the emotional damage


Pre-read

A second chance rockstar romance with Tortured MMC ?! Sign me in

[Samantha C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Sarah]

Soft dnf at 54% because it's a little slow for my liking right now

[Sara's reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not okay…..

[Kenia Coronado · Rating 5 out of 5]

masterpiece!

This book brought emotions into me!! I love this feeling of getting attached to broken characters. Love love love and im jumping into book 2 asap!

[Calista Presti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last 5% had me in my FEELS🥺🥺
My poor Jude….
When people say this is a crossover of EOD x The Words… believe them. I’d say this touches way more on the addiction though. This story makes you feel every emotion. I desperately need a Jude & Emma happy ending and will be reading the next two stat. I just know I’m going to hurt a lot more first.
I’m so glad I picked this up!!

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ Holy shit dude this is ALOT to unpack. This book had me clutching my pearls. The darker themes hit so fucking good and just so depressing…..in the best way. It wasn’t perfect but oh my god it was gooooood. Tragic as fuck. Represents addiction very well.

I just have a soft spot for addicts. I cried. Give me the devastation. Jude mf Graves carried the book for me 🤧

Jude and Emma’s love story felt like a nod to Lil Peep and Emma’s story in real life….. hello ugly tears. iykyk and that makes this story 400 million times more heartbreaking. ((I haven’t seen the author mention that specifically but she referenced Lil Peep a lot so you don’t have to be a detective to see the parallels ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹))

I just found out this was a trilogy and not a duet….. kill me. I am sat for Heather and Micah 😩😩😩😩 AND I just have to say how much I adore Jude and Micah’s friendship🥲

Book 2 is supposed to be way darker help

[Nicola Pringle-Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this may be a me problem, I’ve not long finished the edge of darkness and this is trying way too hard to be that for me.

Emma the FMC is annoying me. I cannot vibe with her AT ALL.

I like Jude the MMC is a broken man, with TRAUMA and is battling addiction. However the storyline/plot is just EVERYWHERE, there’s hardly any rockstar/music in this book except a few lyrics chucked about here and there, and with a rockstar romance I do like the music aspect (drive/reverse for example).

I lik the concept of what this is trying to do and can see the vision, but right now I won’t be continuing.

I’ve seen the other two books have raving reviews so I may continue in the future but right now it’s a no from me.

[Hailey P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a MUST READ dark rockstar romance. And i mean DARK!! (think edge of darkness dark!!!)

Every character goes through so much my heart BREAKS for them.

And yall… Jude is my new top tier YEARNER. HE KEPT A PHOTO OF EMMA IN HIS POCKET FOR SEVEN YEARS. SEVEN. This is all while they’re broken up mind you!!!

Gah I cannot 😭

not only are Jude and Emma EVERYTHING— but the side characters?!! Micah & Heather?! Perfect friends. They are absolutely 100% who you want fighting in your corner.

This is book 1 in a trilogy and it is ABSOLUTELY a book you’re going to want to add to your tbr. Immediately.

[Deni Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a book that isn’t for everyone. One of the heaviest books I’ve ever read. The pain, addiction, love, murders, and all the horrible trauma the characters go through are described in such detail that it actually makes you hurt and even feel sick.
I really loved the idea of the rock star band. At the beginning, I kept imagining the characters and connecting them to some of my favorite bands, wondering how they manage to live like that and whether they actually live a similar lifestyle in real life. I’m honestly a little disappointed that this idea wasn’t explored and developed even more.
Emma is such a strong woman. Everything she did and her entire fight for someone who was so quickly falling into darkness was, to me, an absolute act of strength and devotion.
Even so, I wasn’t able to connect with Jude and Emma as strongly on an emotional level, and despite everything that happened, the book didn’t manage to make me cry. Some of the resolutions felt a little illogical to me, and I found the dialogue somewhat repetitive.
I really liked Micah and the strong brotherly bond he has with Jude. I also found it interesting that he started developing feelings for Heather, and I definitely want to know what’s going to happen with the two of them.
I started this book because so many people said it was similar to "The Edge of Darkness", and honestly, it really is. There are so many similarities, and the atmosphere definitely reminded me of it.
If you want to experience a similar atmosphere again, I definitely recommend this one.

The ending was horrible, and I’m going to continue the series. 😭

[Brandee Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

What in the Kade Mitchell's drug addict rockstar brother did I just read!? Holy shit!!! I actually have been avoiding reading this until we got closer to book 2 release date because I just knew I would want book 2 asap and I am actually unwellllllllllll!!!!!!! Like tears, anxiety, I wanna throw up!

This was so good. I'm heartbroken. I'm mad! I truly can't even imagine how painful book 2 is going to be....I'm not ready... but also I need it like I need air!!

If first loves who get separated by fame and bad people who get you addicted to drugs and blackmail you to murder people then you OD on stage and are sent back to your hometown to clean up your act then run into your first love again sound up your alley I'm begging you to read this!!

5 ⭐️!

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very heavy on the TWs and their use. I barely have words to describe the turmoil this book puts you through. I would only say the pacing is on the slower side, but it is for a reason. The author builds the relationship between the characters in this way.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty much a copy and paste version of Edge Of Darkness. I get you want to be a dark romance but come on. Have an original idea. Right from the get go I was hold up this sounds exactly like Kade Mitchell. I went in blind cause people were telling me to read this. Well I look at the synopsis and what do you know, it says right of the bat if you like EOD. The writing is ok and she isn’t even close to Leigh Rivers’ writing.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 I felt like most of the story was very passive and everything was explained instead of allowing us to feel and experience. Things like important events, memories, emotions and it really took away the immediacy or any connection that I might’ve formed with the characters. Jude and Emma love each other so much but I don’t understand why…? We have chapters of them yearning for each other but it just felt flat without the why and only being told their past in a bland passive memory passage. And lastly, this is more of a personal taste than anything, but I found the record label doubling as a crime center kind of weird and took away from the rockstar element. Just felt like a mismatch to me.

[gettinglostINAbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.”

Dissonance by Adeline Humphries
Falling Star Trilogy #1
Dark Thriller Romance

From the very first page, I had a feeling this story was going to destroy me, and honestly, it did exactly that. It was dark, heavy and incredibly emotional.

Jude is a famous rockstar, but behind the platinum records and the public image, he is being blackmailed, controlled and used by his manager Nolan (who uses the band for his criminal activities) they keep them addicted because it gives them power over him and Micah, his best friend and the drummer of the band. I could genuinely feel the cage around them and that horrible sense of helplessness, especially in the way Jude and Micah’s struggle with substance addiction was portrayed and their knowledge that each time could be their last one.

Everything changes when Jude overdoses on stage and is sent back to his hometown, where he is reunited with Emma, the love of his life and the woman he left behind seven years ago. She never stopped loving him, and she is determined to help him escape the life that was forced upon him.
Their relationship isn’t simply about second chances and old feelings, because there is an entire world of secrets, manipulation and danger standing between them and the life they want.
But when Nolan makes a deal with the Russian druglord Alexei, Jude has to make the heartbreaking decision to push Emma away again in an attempt to keep her alive.

“𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹. 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗵𝗶𝗺. 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.”

What broke my heart the most was how Jude sees himself after everything he has been forced to do for Nolan and Alexei. He genuinely believes he is beyond saving, as if the things he was made to do have taken away any chance he has of ever being worthy of Emma or a life outside of their control. Watching him carry that guilt and convince himself that there is no way back for him broke my heart, especially because you can see how desperately he wants to believe that he can still be saved when he is with Emma.

I loved Emma’s friendship with Heather, they are friends who protect each other no matter what, and when Heather ends up with Micah I couldn’t be happier.
Micah is Jude’s best friend and the drummer of the band. They have been through so much together, and their bond goes far beyond being best friends and bandmates. Jude would do anything to protect Micah, even when it means putting himself in danger, while Micah is one of the few people who truly understands him and sees the person behind everything he has been through. I really loved their connection.

This was dark, heartbreaking and completely addictive, with the kind of emotional tension that kept pulling me further into Jude and Emma’s story. If you love second-chance romance with rockstars, forced separation, addiction, dangerous power dynamics, dark secrets and a love that refuses to disappear, Dissonance deserves a place on your TBR.

[Shelby | Spicy.booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a tough read. Fantastic for those that love reading hurt/comfort…. But just know there is a lot, LOT of hurt before there is comfort and the small bit of comfort is very short lived. This is a trilogy after all, and you know it’ll get worse before it gets better.

Jude is a rock star that is absolutely spiraling. He’s addicted to just about every drug out there, and his will to live is just pretty much gone. It’s really hard to read just how bad off he is…Jude is fucked up, and you are experiencing this downward spiral with him. There is some light that occasionally breaks through with the sweetness of Emma and the love these two have for each other. I wouldn’t say they are truly happy moments, but they are definitely emotional. Emma is a strong ass FMC that holds her own and wants to save her man, no matter what.

I’m trying to really think about how I feel about this story and I’m trying to be pretty vague here, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but things are not what they seem. I devoured the story, didn’t want to put it down but I also skimmed some because it was just hurt on top of hurt, and it’s a lot. There are also some horrible people involved in this story that just made me want to toss my kindle. It’s not bad enough that the MMC is battling addiction but there’s a whole storyline to go with that and it’s intense and frustrating. Can I just skip to the HEA?! 🫣🥹

Contemporary MF
Dark Romance
Suspense / Thriller
Dealing With Addiction
Tortured MMC
Second Chance
Hurt / Comfort
Slow burns
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to read book 2 in this trilogy immediately, even though i’m totally aware it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’m not even remotely prepared for what’s to come. 💔

This book was totally heartbreaking my poor Jude 😭😭 I heard this was like the Edge of darkness trilogy by Leigh Rivers and so far yes it definitely is, not as good but very similar.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️2

Please read trigger warnings if you start this series because it has a lot, especially heavy on drug addiction including heroine and Meth.

Somebody please tell me it has an HEA i might not survive this if doesn’t.

[Holly Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Don’t think this was really what i was expecting. Not dark romance in the way i like it just a bit tragic with sex scenes that are too lovey dovey for me. Still going to finish the series cus i need to know how it ends

[Norbbu·✦.· · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

I was immediately drawn into this book and hooked by the characters. It has the same feeling as Edge of Darkness (my favorite series), but not in a bad way. I absolutely love reading about tortured souls, star-crossed lovers (kind of), and second chances. I also really liked how addiction was portrayed, it felt awful and real, and I think the book handled that aspect well.

That said, I felt like the plot progressed quite slowly, and some things didn't make much sense or didn't quite feel believable.

Even so, I'm still going to continue the trilogy. The characters interest me enough to keep reading.

[cyndireadss · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally feeling every emotion rn

[Cassidy St-Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS IN THIS AUTHORS WRITING?

THIS IS SO EDGE OF DARKNESS CODED! But made into its own story and madness! I love it! I have been looking for something that can make me feel everything like the Edge of Darkness trilogy did! Adeline delivered!!! Boy oh boy! Where do I even fucking begin?

The darkness!!! The yearning!!! Second chance! The addiction! I read this book in 2 days!!! I WAS FUCKING LOCKED IN AND APART FROM SLEEP I COULDN’T PUT THIS DOWN!

I was so heartbroken and happy Jude and Emma! Just the emotional roller coaster of just their live story alone! OH MY FUCKING GOD ITS HEARTBREAKING! The way Adeline writes had me feeling all of the emotions! It’s so intense and had me going through and feeling all of the ups and downs of all the characters!! I LOVE ALL OF THEM! MICHA AND HEATHER ARE EVERYTHING!!! UGH!!!

If you’re looking for something to completely completely absorb you, have you completely engaged, immersed. That has you laughing and crying with these characters, that destroys you and puts you back together in the best way and the romantic relationships and friendships is heartbreakingly beautiful! If you’ve been searching for the love and readers high like the Edge of Darkness trilogy did!!! This is for you! No regrets and I can’t wait to dive into book two!

Sorry if some of the writing is repetitive and a little scattered! I’m still flabbergasted and processing but I don’t want to have too much time to process this before writing this review! I want it raw and fresh for the full of raw firs impressions and honesty but gah! This is so dark and beautiful and heartwarming and heart wrenching all at once! Im feeling all of the emotions and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love this so much! I have been chasing the high and readers experience from the Edge of Darkness trilogy for so long! Nothing I’ve read has came close to it, that alone has put me in a spiral more than I’d like to admit! But thanks to an amazing friend of mine who recommended me this masterpiece! I have finally found it!

IF YOU LOVED THE EDGE OF DARKNESS TRILOGY AS MUCH AS I DID AND YOUR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THAT AGAIN THIS IS IT!

[JustJen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ughhh... this book.

It didn't make me cry, but it did make me put my Kindle down multiple times just to stare at the wall in silence. At one point I genuinely felt the need to go outside and touch some grass because my brain needed a hard reset.

This is the perfect amount of dark. Not dark for the sake of being shocking, but dark with purpose. Think The Words by Ashley Jade and Kid by Jescie Hall. If those two had a wildly unhinged love child, Dissonance would be it.

Jude and Emma completely owned this book. They felt raw, flawed, and painfully human. Their chemistry, history, and emotional baggage had me completely invested from the start. I wanted to shake them, hug them, and scream at them... sometimes all on the same page. Every chapter had me saying, "Just one more," until suddenly it was way past my bedtime.

This has officially earned a spot on my God Tier shelf. I closed the book and immediately downloaded the next one because there was absolutely no chance I was walking away after that.

Adeline Humphries... what the hell? Respectfully, I need book two injected straight into my veins.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’m glad you came,” she whispers. I open my eyes, throat tight. “I’d come running every time you called.”


This was so hard. It gave me a small vibe of Kade from EOD because it was the MMC facing a lot of the trauma. Shouldering it to protect his loved ones. Forced into a life he never wanted but doing it anyway.

The drugs. The blackouts. The memories.

I love the mafia/hitman (whatever you wanna call him) aspect of the rockstar romance. A different take. And one I’m eating up.

4-4.5 I think.

[Kayla Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An angsty, gut-wrenching, second chance, rockstar romance. Emma and Jude are such a tragic story and I am hurting so, so, good 😭😭😭. I don’t know how I’m going to survive 2 more books!!!

If you loved The Words, The Edge of Darkness Trilogy, and the dynamic of Aoife and Joey working through Joey’s addiction, this is a MUST read.

5⭐️
2🌶️

[Catarina Vieira | umlivroduplicado · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is The Edge Of Darkness & For Wrath and Redemption child and I will stay by that forever

Mixed feelings going on but you can bet I will continue this series

Jude is actually pissing me off while I am really in pain for him BUT UUUUGH!

Emma girl idk what to say to you anymore

[Rhiannon Chillingworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the type of book I would describe as very readable, but totally ridiculous.

I am a bit of a sucker for rockstar romances, when in the mood. This isn't really a rockstar romance. The band stuff is mostly irrelevant and it is more of a convoluted mafia thing, which I don't normally choose to read.

The positives are that it is intense and does draw you in, and it definitely explored the bleakness of addiction. The romance is mainly fine, but it does become quite cheesy towards the end.

The biggest issue is just how silly it all is. I can suspend my disbelief to a certain extent with these types of books, but the whole premise is daft. There is no reason why a Russian mafia boss would care about some rockstar who gets blackmailed into killing people and being interested in his skill set. Jude is literally just some guy, it's not like he has special skills or training or anything. The whole obsession with him is silly. Considering this plot line is the main drama and reason why Jude and Emma can't be together, it's a pretty big thing to find annoying.

In the last third I I also just wanted Emma to dump his ass and move on. He's not worth it. So the romance ended up not hitting right by the end, either.

This is also heavy, massively so, to be point if absurdity. It's is unrelentingly grim. It appears the next book is even worse, so I'm not sure I'll be continuing with the series.

[Tarnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at 34%
i really wanted to like this but the writing just wasn’t for me

[Lindi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have thoughts. But first: my thoughts come with a disclaimer. I am a dark romance girlie through and through. My top ten books of all time is the Torment duet (IYKYK). Enough said.
Let's start with the rating of this book. I'm rating it 2 stars for now. Only because I am so upset with these characters. The storyline grabs u, the on page drug use is a hard read cause it's done so fu**ing well. I could feel all of it when Jude did drugs and was high.
Now here is where I was struggling to enjoy the book. The FMC Emma has an art degree and part owns a business where trauma counseling is done. She helps her patients express or showcase feelings and their emotions through both colour and art while simultaneously going through therapy. Amazing right. The moment she and Jude, the mmc meet again after 7 yrs, her main focus becomes getting into a relationship with Jude and also believing she can save him with her love. Love fucking conquers all right. (Yeah right). She almost has this God complex or mentality that she can save him. While she does try and help him and we see her saying that she is too soft on him, she never pushes him or questions anything. Even when she witnesses him doing drugs in her home with Micah, she never argues or tells him not to. Even though she knows he is a drug addict, she constantly asks him if he is OK when he is being weird or is a bit twitchy during withdrawals. She knows the symptoms but choses to be oblivious. (Which yes, most of us does with loved one's so I can't be too hard on her there).
The worst for me is that she pushes the relationship so badly and even talks about kids and marriage as if this guy is capable of it right now. He is a bloody addict sweetheart. She dreams of them when they were teenagers and inlove while Jude is standing right in front of her bleeding his heart out. He keeps wanting to break it off with her to shield her from him and his life. But she never listens. It's alot of "I can't let him go" type drama. To me, she just sees it all roses and butterflies. To be fair, he hides alot of what he is experiencing from her. But she should know better man. The author sets up this whole character who does therapy with broken people, but it just never delivers 😔 for me. Then. Then there is the saga of Adriana. Emma hates it so much, but the way its expressed from the fmc is almost no emotion.
Another thing Jude is constantly telling her is that he does not want to have a sexual relationship with her and also with Adriana. She just says she doesn't care. And takes him to get tested. Bugger me. If some1 is doing this to my man i will RAGE. I will scream. I will fight. My response will not be I dont care if i have to share u, my love will fix everything. This fmc bothered me so badly. She hears he has killed people, it just gets glossed over. Oh well. He kills people. Swallow..... there is no freaking out from her at all. I constantly want to cup her cheek and say aawwwww. U so cute.

Next let's do Jude. Jude Jude Jude. He is so weak in character. While I am not talking about the drugs usage, I am talking about him not fighting to get clean. Never once does it come up that he wants to get clean. He doesn't see a future for himself and would rather die. Not even in the beginning stages of his drug use did he even try. I know I sound hypocritical but this guy just allowed things. He just accepted it. I don't know if it's because he is in such a deep depression and just wants to die or well, if he is just a weak character. He doesn't even try. Which made me so mad. And there are 2 more books and the author states that book 2 is even darker. I don't know am I being horrible, but u r being raped guy. For 7 years. Plan something. Drug her. Kill her. Choke her. But not for 7 yrs. If they need u so badly they will let u live. But oh, I forget, u wanna die, u have no fight left in u.
It's difficult reading such books for me where the mmc is so complacent and the fmc is so... I don't even know. Yes I want a strong heroine ( excuse the pun) but the mmc needs to have a backbone too. I want to see him making a plan to get out. Even if u don't fight it so they don't know ur plans, but do something. He always runs to do drugs, which I suppose... he is heavily addicted. I have so many things to say about dear Jude.

U know the problem with having loved 1s doing drugs, we often don't see what's right infront of our eyes. I had a family member die because of drug usage and till today I don't call him a drug addict. This mmc was functional.

Then there was the Micah character, he and Jude trauma bonded so badly. I wanna know his story. He is there simply to be with Jude. I can't fault the character since he was just there to help and be there. Even though he himself is supposedly a heavy drug user too, he just controls himself better.

This is supposed to be a book about the band as well, but atleast 2 percent of the book is about music. Yet the music that is mentioned on the playlist is very prevalent throughout the book, or music they listened to when they first met is written in to the story, but the actual band.... nothing. The other 2 band members quickly gets taken out of the story in the first few chapters. U would never know this mmc is in a band. No camera's in his face or people recognizing them or paparazzi wondering about, nothing.
Anyway, that's me. Thanks for being her for my rant.