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Men of Midnight Dreams #1

I Was a Famous Rock Star

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On sale now for only .99 on amazon! Special book launch price!!

What if the whole world knows who you are, but you wake up to find you have forgotten everything since high school?

When Caleb wakes up in a glamorous LA clinic, he is a changed man. His once-scrawny body is toned, his now-white teeth gleam, and everyone looks at him in adoration. Caleb shouldn't even be in the US--he's English, and has never traveled farther than London.

Somehow Caleb transformed from an eighteen-year old, sexually questioning, reclusive high school student who spent his free time composing and practicing music in his parents' shabby council flat to become a world famous rock star with adoring fans and his own mansion overlooking the Pacific.

Caleb bravely tries to fit into his new life as he recovers from his amnesia. But who is the handsome assistant publicity manager who visits him in the hospital? Why does everyone think Caleb is straight? What has Caleb forgotten? And will he ever remember?

Paperback

First published May 4, 2015

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Alexandra Ainsworth

9 books46 followers

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5 stars
18 (11%)
4 stars
54 (35%)
3 stars
50 (32%)
2 stars
25 (16%)
1 star
5 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for liz.
761 reviews41 followers
May 13, 2015
This was, frankly, terrible.

Amnesiac. Rock star. I saw this and was all "ABS0-FREAKING-LUTELY SIGN ME UP!"

Ugh. No. Underdeveloped characters. Worthless plot. Terrible, no good, very bad editing. Content AND grammar AND formatting fails.

I forced myself to skim to the end after about 40%. I have a problem with DNF, because I just want to get some HEA closure. It hurt though. Painfully bad.
Profile Image for Maygirl7.
824 reviews58 followers
June 19, 2016
2.5 stars

That was completely ridiculous. For about two-thirds of the book I could go with the ridiculous nature of the story and enjoy it for the fluff it is and then the idiotic storyline with his capital letters evil manager moved it from enjoyable to bad ridiculous.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,847 reviews
May 31, 2015
The blurb sounded intriguing and with the added lure of a 99p sale, I peter-pointered......sadly, this was not enough to save the story.....

Caleb awoke with amnesia, wiping the last five years of his memories. I don't think the author intended for the reader to feel like they had amensia too.....but that's how I felt reading this book.

The writing felt clumsy, even child like, all from Caleb's POV. I struggled with each character introduced as there was no background, scant information and very little interaction between them. The burgeoning relationship with Mateo felt stilted, no emotions and frustratingly one dimensional. The plot twist with Julian (the bands manager) was very simplistic and not sure what benefit was gained by it and the scandal between Caleb and Mateo was "seriously???.....*eyeroll*"

There were so many opportunities missed to engage and I'm not one for angst, but the potential drama alone could've added a depth to the characters and opened up the story, but I was sadly left feeling frustrated. The ending was a HFN with an epilogue, but overall, no rainbows and butterflies here for me.
Profile Image for Raj.
750 reviews64 followers
May 13, 2015
This book relies too heavily on peripheral drama instead of an actual incendiary romance.Whereas most books appear dense with emotion this one has as many holes as a sieve despite a forest of words gracing it's many pages.

I could not blend with any of the many players in this novel due to the main character Caleb dominating the entire story with his memory loss.His amnesia which is the main focus of the story makes the other characters appear flat & one dimensional & distracts from any emotional impact the book may have otherwise intended.

Mateo his main love interests fades into the distance because our main character himself barely recalls him aside from a few stolen kisses which does not justify a heavy pining romance.I'm unclear whether this is even a romance because neither character actually mentions the the L word.

The cover was unfortunately for me the only burning highlight of this boy band saga.
Profile Image for Lila Hunter.
Author 12 books87 followers
May 5, 2015
This book was a pleasant surprise for me. It was a light and enjoyable love story with some mild suspense. I finished it in couple of hours since I felt in love with Caleb in the first two chapters.

The pace was fast and I tried to read faster to see what was going to happen next. The author did a great job making all the characters interesting on a simple manner. As a reader, you have the opportunity to read an interesting story without much angst and some smexy times.

Some parts were a little repetitive, and the sulking felt a little blown out of proportion for my taste, but overall, it worked with the rest of the book.

If you are looking for a simple relaxing summer read, this is your book. And yes, I already got the second book in the series.
Profile Image for Tina J.
1,338 reviews172 followers
June 12, 2019
POV ~> First-person: Caleb

Unimpressive cover with barely legible title font. The synopsis is what caught my attention.
I’d discovered this story a few years ago, then titled, I WAS A FAMOUS ROCK STAR and had placed it into my TBR only to learn it was removed from Amazon and after much fruitless searching, I eventually gave up. It remained in my TBR though, and I’d periodically look for it again.
This week, I stumbled across ACCIDENTALLY FAMOUS and I just KNEW I knew the synopsis. Boy was I excited to see the book I’ve been wanting to read for a few years now once again available under a different name, with a new cover and author name, too!
Caleb wakes in the hospital with no memory of the last five years. He learns he’s now a Pop Star in a Boy Band and though he feels a strong, magnetic pull to the man that’s waited by his side, they tell him he’s straight! He’s told many things by many people, several things warring against his instincts. Information and personal moments are being leaked and Caleb’s being made to look bad, there’s a traitor close by and he needs to regain his memories quickly before he loses the things that mean the most to him.
It’s a solid story concept with decent execution, however, there’s HEAVY use of UK terminology. Granted, Caleb *is* English and has only been in the US for the past 5 years (the same amount of time lost to his brain injury), so that would explain it, but it felt almost too much and like it would have benefitted from a translation page of sorts.
At one point, Mateo is referred to as Marcus and a few other minor errors were located, so maybe another quick skim of edits would not hurt.
Secondary characters were okay… the conclusion was a bit vague. I probably would not read more from this series.
.
Rating: [R] ~ Score: 3.95 ~ Stars: 4
==========================
⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I borrowed a copy of this book from Amazon via my #KindleUnlimited subscription and am voluntarily leaving unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐
Profile Image for Qin.
537 reviews45 followers
December 9, 2017
The plotline promised gold; the actual execution is so poor, so linear, trite and absolutely flat that the book falls below mediocrity into utterly despicable territory. Though Mrs Ainsworth is not an up-and-coming writer and with a respectable number of stories under her belt ought to know her trade by now, everything smacks of amateurism here, from the atrociously unrealistic intrigue which has no right to be called "fluff" since it fails to create happy feelings in the reader, to the undeveloped and formulaic characters, feeble love story, inadequate ending which provides little closure, the whole wrapped in the kind of melodramatic, occasionally ornery writing apt to damage even first-class storytelling (let one sample of her way with words suffice:

"“I need to tell you . . .” I clear my throat. My voice roughens, sounding strange even to me.

“Yes?” She leans forward, and the line of her cleavage deepens.

I turn around to make sure the door is shut behind us, but of course it is. I stare at the door and the sweeping cream-colored curves of the frame. Everything here is flawless, every detail perfect, and I'm a glaring exception that makes me want to hang my head in shame. Nausea rises in my throat, as if urging me to make an excuse to leave the room. I can't even live up to the perfection of the bloody hotel room, much less the clamoring of my fans. Sweat dampens my hands, and I stuff them in my pockets. My voice is hoarse when I speak.

“Debbie, there's something I need to tell you.”

“Something's wrong?” Her eyes widen even more. “It's the clinic stay, isn't it?”

“Well . . .”

Debbie straightens, and her feet plop onto the floor. Hot pink toenails press against the thick carpet. “Oh, Caleb. I'm so sorry. The head injury. It was more serious, wasn't it? That's why you've been so withdrawn? And head injuries are terrible things. Some football players get them, and . . .” She stands and wraps her arms around me. “Oh, Caleb. How long do you have left to live?”").

The narrative voice of the rock star retains the same flimsy quality from beginning to end, so much so that one soon grows convinced that there is not one chance in heaven that this goody-two-shoes teenager could ever have topped the charts. As for his PR agent and love interest, he exhibits the smarts of a goldfish, all gobsmacked charm and Latino chic to Caleb's all-Englishman pale beauty. The remainder of the cast seems to have been lifted straight from a bullet list, for their lack of depth and roundedness; not a single one of these crudely sketched characters comes alive before the reader's eyes. As an illustration of both gripes, let me quote the following passage, in which Caleb's moronic internal discourse and the cardboard stamp of the secondary cast break out in earnest :

"A producer reminds Miranda it’s nearly time to start the show, and she waves good-bye to us. “We have a surprise for you!”

“Great!” My eyes drift to Mateo, and his expression flickers with worry.

Cheerful music bursts through the room. The tempo is upbeat, but it does little to help me relax, and nothing to diminish the sensation that my chest is being squeezed. She's probably just going to give me nice underwear like Ellen gives her guests. Maybe she'll diversify and give me socks. I could use socks. A surprise doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. I mean, she seemed excited, right?

Miranda rushes out to the audience, weaving her way through adoring fans in stilettos, the high heels visible as she twirls around. The audience is not comprised of prim New Yorkers. They wear the colorful, casual, comfortable clothes of tourists. They clap their hands as Miranda approaches the stage, and a wild glee seems to take hold of the room.

Miranda is here. She leans into the microphone. “Good morning, New York City!”

The crowd explodes, and she lifts her hand up high, doing a dance before them.

“This morning we have some very special guests. It’s a true privilege to see them again.”

The crowd leans closer. “Let me introduce the most fabulous band in America. Not that its members are only American. We’ve watched them grow up these past five years. Ladies and gentlemen—Fifth Element!”

When she announces our presence, the crowd breaks into further hysterics.

“Those fans,” I scoff. The words feel foreign in my mouth, but Ezra told me the old me used to be annoyed at them.

Giovante and Kyle smirk, and Julian turns his head to us.

Luca raises his eyebrows. “You mean you didn't miss them in the clinic?”

“Nope. Totally peaceful for once,” I say, my heart hammering at the lie."

I do not grade it one star because the fundamentals of the prose style are sound and the book thus does not deserve to be lumped together with those that exhibit subliterary characteristics.
Profile Image for Hrtnsoul28.
1,180 reviews
February 24, 2017
This was actually a good story. I enjoyed Caleb thinking him and Mateo were a couple and the awkward aftermath. Ezra was a funny guy so him as the best friend was perfect. I wish Julian got more of what is coming to him but maybe that will be in later books.
Profile Image for ButtonsMom2003.
3,772 reviews41 followers
June 11, 2016
This is the first book I’ve read by Celia Blyth and I enjoyed it very much.

After falling off of a stage Caleb doesn’t remember the last 5 years of his life; he thinks he’s still 18 and is shocked to learn that he is part of a famous boy band. He’s also disheartened to learn that he’s supposedly an alcoholic and drug user; he never thought he’d ever do anything like that.

When he wakes up after being in a coma he hears a wonderful voice that he doesn’t recognize. When he sees Mateo he feels a connection that he can’t explain and feels desire that he’s not sure what to do about.

This story had a lot going on and it definitely kept my attention. I can’t imagine losing 5 years’ worth of memories. Caleb has to reconcile the person he remembers being with the person that everyone says he is now. He remembers that he knew he was gay but never came out. Now he has to face the fact that everyone believes he is straight and fight the attraction to Mateo that he can’t seem to forget.

The only thing that I had any issue with in this book – a very slight issue – was the fact that there was an awful lot of what I think must be British slang/jargon which I had a little difficult time with. A glossary of terms would have been helpful. I’ve read several books by British authors (I don’t know if Ms. Blyth is British or not) but none that I can recall had as many terms that I found a bit difficult to decipher. This didn’t really distract me too much and it didn’t keep me from enjoying the book. I only mention this because some readers are critical of authors who write dialogue they think is incorrect or has words that are misspelled. In this case Caleb happens to be British and I imagine the language used is normal from where he hails from.

I received free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Antoinette.
371 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2016
Accidentally Famous" could have been a beautiful story of two people getting a second chance at love. Caleb wakes up from a coma with no memory of the last five years. Soon after he meets Mateo and there's this connection Caleb just knows Mateo is someone important to him. When people start telling him and the last five years Caleb can't believe what he's hearing, he hates the person they've said he's become. If the author would have stuck with that and Caleb and Mateo this would have been a really good book. The things put in the couples way as obstacles were over the top. Contains a few spoiler alerts. When Caleb wakes up from the coma in the hospital he being kissed by a teenage hospital volunteer. Not only does nothing happen to this girl, Debbie, his manager uses Debbie to manipulate Caleb into doing what he wants. This is so unrealistic first of all an unknown volunteer would not be allowed to just go into a patients room, especially a rock star in a coma, whenever they wanted. Second a hospital volunteer would not be intimate with a patient in any way, can we say lawsuit. Debbie does this and then sells the pictures to the media and gets rewarded for it. I know crazy things happen in the music business but the things Debbie and the bands manager, Julian, do are just too much. I'm giving this book 3 stars for Caleb and Mateo's parts together.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dutchgirl.
552 reviews
May 10, 2015
Early in the story we learn that Caleb has amnesia due to a fall off the stage at one of his concerts. He is now transformed from an eighteen year old, sexually questioning, reclusive high school student to a world famous rock star with adoring fans and his own mansion overlooking the Pacific.

I did read it in one go because i wanted to know what happend to Caleb and who wanted him to fail as a Boyband member and why they wanted that to happen.
I really liked Caleb and i liked the fact that even though he has amnesia he didn't accept everything that was said about him, he questioned things and eventually that brought him to the truth. I also liked Mateo and i found their journey towards eachother very enjoyable.

This was a good read and i look forward to the next part of this serie.
148 reviews3 followers
June 16, 2016
How do you proceed when you wake up with no memories of the last 5 years and see the man of your dreams? That's what happens to Caleb, the superstar in a boy band. The story is how he fumbles his way through his life, trying to piece together what happened to turn him from a boy with a dream of sharing music with the world, to the man he doesn't recognize as himself. He knows how he feels about Mateo, but he's never come out and is backed into a corner by the media frenzy surrounding his bad reputation.
This is how he learns to stand up for himself and choose love.
A lovely story which had me smiling a lot and gave me the warm fuzzies.
Some editing issues but nothing major. See if you spot the mattress misplacement in the hot scene in New York.
I received an ARC in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Lisa ~ Books Are My Drugs ~.
1,314 reviews100 followers
January 16, 2016
★★½ 

I can only imagine how disorienting it would be to wake up in a clinic to find out you'd lost the last five years of your life & nothing you wanted for yourself (except to be working as a musician) has happened. Thankfully for Caleb, he didn't just accept everything he's being told about his past self & he's re-learning who he really is. And he's working to make his second chance at success what he wants it to be.

The plot point with Julian was fairly obvious. And I'm not a fan of the communication breakdown or I'm breaking up with you for your own good tropes. A lot of grief for both Caleb & Mateo could have been avoided if Caleb had been honest with Mateo about being blackmailed & had Caleb allowed Mateo to be an adult & make his own decisions about his own life.
Profile Image for R.B..
Author 11 books67 followers
May 21, 2015
Like another reviewer has said, the author has a decent writing style and the premise was interesting, so after reading the sample, I bought the book. Unfortunately, it never really delivered, and there were a number of not-very-believable plot points - eg the amnesia which suddenly cleared up out of nowhere, but went on much longer than is (as far as I'm aware) medically usual. There were also a few typos and poor word choices/duplications here and there, but only minor issues. Overall, I think much more could have been done with the characters and story, given such a good premise and obvious writing ability. A shame.
Profile Image for joani.
1,644 reviews6 followers
November 13, 2015
It had me hooked...

Till the last chapter..then it fizzled. What happened to justice?? Julian just gets to walk away?? And why did Caleb have to leave if he was able to just come back. That made no sense...he came right back to Mateo anyway...with the threat still out there. I was thinking" wow I can't put this book down and I can rate it with five stars" but then it all came down...rushed with the easiest possible ending slapped on...disappointed...I am happy they are together but the end could have been a thousand times better!!!!
922 reviews7 followers
June 11, 2016
I received this book free for an honest review.
I kind of enjoyed this book but it was missing something. I found that the characters were quite shallow without depth. This was I think because nobody was introduced properly threading any back story. Caleb could have been so much more if we had some more of his back story.
There didn't seem to be that much chemistry in the relationship between Matteo and Caleb. Julian just seemed to be there to provide a bit of angst and drama.
It was an okay book and i will be reading more by this author to see if they improve with more experience.
Profile Image for Suzanne Ellis.
179 reviews3 followers
August 4, 2016
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
23 year old Caleb's life is changed irrevocably when he falls from a stage and develops amnesia, forgetting the last 5 years as a famous rock star. When he wakes up, he thinks he is only 18 years old. Add in a grasping, unscrupulous manager an extremely unbelievable (and unlikable) character and a sweet 2nd main character that the reader will fall in love with and, all in all, the book was a good read. It is a great premise and the author did well in fleshing out the story. I will read more by this author in the future.
Profile Image for Kendra T.
3,073 reviews39 followers
July 9, 2016
I liked the premise of this book. To wake up and not remember the last 5 years, and then to find out that who you were for the last 5 years goes against everything you ever wanted for your life. I couldn't imagine such a feeling, but I thought it was explored pretty well. Mateo was a great partner for Caleb, and it was nice to see Caleb finally be free to be open with what he wanted in his life.
Profile Image for Calila.
1,178 reviews102 followers
August 12, 2016
This is a weird one. I really liked the main characters and the romance between the MCs. But the plot was SO predictable and telegraphed from the start. Julian was such a cartoon villain and I didn't understand why no one could see it. Also so confused on why he hated Caleb SO MUCH. It made no sense because there was another member of the boy band that was openly gay so it couldn't have been that. I just don't get it.
Profile Image for Paisleyrowan.
366 reviews50 followers
July 22, 2017
This has a strong voice which is compelling and gives the same sense of confusion and wonder the main character feels. the only complaint I really have is the reunion between the two lovebirds seems very tame and anti-climatic. Almost passionless, especially when throughout the rest of the book the tension was almost palpable.
185 reviews2 followers
May 7, 2015
Different

I personally don't get boy bands but the story was fun to read. It would definitely be strange to wake up and not know who you are. Then find out your famous.
Profile Image for Anke.
2,505 reviews97 followers
dnf
June 7, 2016
It started ok, but then it lost me. At least it was free.
Profile Image for Nikki.
1,600 reviews4 followers
May 19, 2015
Not for me I'm afraid.
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