Shock Mount

by Kelly Kay

★★★★★"I LOVE this book."
A rockstar romance love triangle without crossover, and everyone gets a happily ever after. And it all begins with a spilled glass of wine and a broken watch.

If Meghan Hannah's not falling down, she's falling in love.

She's a mess of herself and always has been. She's an expert at putting her foot in her mouth, tripping over nothing, and being a very loyal friend but love, not so much. But she thinks she has finally got it all figured out. Until she spills her wine on the wrong Rock Star. Now Meg needs to figure out what can truly make her happy or she may just end up falling down without anyone to help her up.

MEG
Everything is set and perfect. I know exactly what I'm doing. Why is the hot rock star smiling at me? Don't smile at me. I have my life together. Stop it, you stupid hot guitar player. Don't make me come over there and tell you I'm not interested. Fine. I'll talk to you, but just for a second. I mean, it is Ian Reilly, after all. Nope. Knock it off, Meg. Do not swoon. No swooning. Perhaps just one glass of wine.

Divorce behind me. Solid life in front of me. I'm making the leap into domestic life again with this cross-country commitment move to New York. Even though I'm leaving my beloved Sonoma behind, as long as I can text, my nearest and dearest won't be too far away. But now, this gorgeous man is threatening to ruin everything. I was completely positive I knew what I wanted. Damn you, butterflies and goosebumps. I don't think so. I am absolutely ready to fly out to start my new life in the morning. And Ian Reilly is most definitely, positively not a part of any of that. But do you think he would mind if I took a quick peek at his famous rockstar abs?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2020

About the author

I used to create "dreams" with my best friend growing up. We'd each pick a boy we liked, then we'd write down a meet-cute that always ended with a happily ever after.

Now I get to dream every day, although it's a little steamier these days. And I've discovered I can and will write anywhere I can. Keep tuned to Instagram to see all the times I fit in a sentence or two.

I'm a writer, married to a writer, mother of a creative dynamo of a nine-year-old boy and currently a little sleepy. I'm a klutz and goofball and love lipstick as much as my Chuck Taylors.

Good things in the world: pepperoni pizza, Flair pens*, wine, coffee, laughing with my friends until my stomach hurts, a musician at the top of their game, getting lost somewhere I've never been, matinee movies on a weekday, the Chicago Cubs, a fresh new notebook full of possibilities, bourbon on a cold night, Fantasy Football, witty men, walking through the local zoo in the rain and that moment when a character clicks in and begins to write their own adventure. I'm just the pen.

Reviews

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book had to grow on me before i actually really liked it.

it starts with a huge cast of friends. which are hard to keep track of at the beginning. im probably a loner on this, but i can only handle like 5 characters in a book. and she's got a whole damn committee! then these random friends from the past keep popping up and im like... bitch, how many friends do you have? id be exhausted!!! but then again, i just don't like... well... people.

and i hated her boyfriend. he's a huge douche canoe and i felt the need to shake her violently. but i guess, we've all been with douche canoes and needed to be shaken at least once in our lives. so, ill accept the major douche of a boyfriend in this book. because, frankly, we can all relate.

but the book itself was fun. meg is fun. the rockstar is fun. and i like fun.

be prepared- it ends on a cliffhanger.... BE. PREPARED. YALL.

[justchelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Updated: my review still stands for the first book. (Except the part about Brian, sorry Brian. Love you)
HOWEVER - please read my review of Crossfade, the 2nd part of this story before deciding whether or not you’d like to read these books.


I am not fully committed to this rating or review as I of course will be continuing Ian & Megs journey through to the end AFTER THAT DAMN CLIFFHANGER. I have not read the second book yet.

Guess I should say Ian & Jake & Peter & Meg & Brian & Wade & Annie & all the other fuckin million “best friends” this girl has.

Ian is cute, but is obviously very young and naive.

Meg is supposedly so unaware of how beautiful and amazing and so incredible she is that she has “no idea” that she pops like champagne bubbles when she walks in a room. But she is cocky as hell at times. Bleck.

The word bae. Bleck.

The whole premise of this book is based off this insane soul connection between Ian & Meg but i felt absolutely no depth to their relationship, the courting was cute AF, I was giggling and so eager for them to get either. but once they got together it was just sex, sex, sex and more sex until it wasn’t sex and they weren’t anything anymore.

THE COMMITTEE. Lord halp me if this girl can’t figure out ONE DAMN THING BY HERSELF.
How many fuckin friends does one person seriously have at their beck & call AT ALL TIMES.
Oh, Meg does of course cuz she’s soooOooO perfect and amazing. mmmmMk.

Peter - love you, please be my best friend.
Scott - die in a fire
Wade - creepass
Brian - cute, but probably could have done without this character completely
Jake - your married with kids, stop being a pig
Frannie - irrelevant because she’s a female
^ this is like.. 1/3 of the damn characters in this book.

[Evelyn Goughnour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book at 10:00 Pm and was just going to read a little to get sleepy. I ended up reading the whole book because it was so good. It was hot and good.

[Lakea · Rating 4 out of 5]

NO!

I ran out of book. How did I run out of book? I mean it couldn’t have been from rarely putting it down. I read it in bed, I read it in the grocery store.

I did NOT read it in the bathroom.
I have standards.

Sometimes.

Okay, I think I’ve been in Meg’s head too long. It’s a wild place to be. She’s funny and dorky and klutzy. She has a big heart but can’t find her way out of a paper bag. I loved her character. She is who she is and that’s the one constant.

The guys in her life, that’s another story. I can’t wait until the next book to find out about it.

[Cindy Valdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect read!

I loved going on this journey with Meg! I was holding off reading it until Crossfade was out so I wouldn’t have to wait for the sequel, but I got so hooked that I stayed up late and woke up early so I could finish it. So thanks for the bags under the eyes today Kelly Kay....it was totally worth it!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, okay... when I started this book I had no expections and within the first chapter I was completely hooked!! 😍 The banter, the chemistry, the total cinamon roll of a rockstar who loves the every day girl for who she is... and she doesn't see him as a rockstar, but just a man. I'm such a sucker for a rockstar romance and a reverse age-gap too!! I couldn't put this book down 🥰... *runs off to start book 2*

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It Takes A Village

To keep up with our heroine Meg.
I can't remember reading a book that gives a voice to most of Meg's tribe. This unique story almost reads like a screenplay. I was visualising the characters and scenes, especially the ones with Ian, the adorable swoon-worthy and very hot rock star. At the end of book one, Meg has screwed up. On to book two.

[lesley childs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me laugh several times as well as frustrated but all in all a good read

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put the book down. Meghan with a silent h has trouble with relationships. Her committee (aka bffs) are always there for her at the drop of a text. Meghan decides to give it a go with her long distance boyfriend Scott and move to New York. At her going away party, she falls (literally) into Ian Reilly, singer and younger man. Can one night of conversation be enough to change her mind? This is one book you can’t miss.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book I have read, by this author. It was great. The characters are well developed. The theme of the book was good. It was a great read by this author.

[Kathleen | katiereadsandrambles · Rating 2 out of 5]

i’m sorry i do not get the rave reviews on this one

[Lacy Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear Meg should be my best friend. I loved this book and the characters in it. The author crafted well thought out characters that I could identify with while telling an intriguing story! Can't wait for the next book! I have to know what happens with Ian!!!!

[Christine Biesheuvel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant Attraction!
Wow, another wonderful book by Ms Kay, I just love them all. And this one takes me back to my youthful days, with an instant attraction, marvelicious hurricane affair, even with no future ahead (and the age gap was not that big). Laughing throughout the book, feeling great, dancing around the room… and then the ending…. As warned it leaves me with a sort of a cliffhanger (I already read the Carriage House Chronicles), a compelling urge to find and read Crossfade, and a bit of sad.
Highly recommended.

[Nina Frankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book roped me in from the beginning. The character and story building is awesome. The story is light, fun, funny and sexy. I am going straight to book two!

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved!!!!!

How do you hold on to something new an
d good when you have so much baggage from before ? How do you get back what you are sure you've thrown away for no reason? Loved this book!!!!!

[Sara M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive the advance copy of the new book by Kelly Kay, a standalone story of two childhood friends called Present Tense to be released March 30th, but then I heard that there is a connection to a previous novel, Shock Mount, and it's sequel, Crossfade - and that the ebook for Shock Mount was available for just $0.99! So I bought the ebook - and flew right through it! And after the way it ended (... ... IYKYK) I had to get the next book right away! And now I've read them both and I'm so happy, and overwhelmed, and exhausted, after this rollercoaster ride of emotions.

These two books tell the story of Meg Hannah - and Meg will be present in Present Tense, too, that's the connection, yay! - who has survived a childhood with a bipolar mother and an absent father, she's been through a divorce after her husband of almost ten years cheated on her, and she has decided to uproot her life in California and move to New York to be closer to the new man in her life, Scott. The night before she moves she has a chance encounter with Ian Reilly, a famous singer, who is completely smitten by her. As weeks and months go by Ian can't get Meg out of his mind, whereas Meg finds out that life on the east coast is not as easy as she had hoped it to be...

These two books were wonderful, Meg's circle of close friends - especially Peter, Brian, Jake and her sister Annie - was amazing, and I loved how the point of view changed between characters in different chapters. This was a story of love and a story of growth - and a story with a lot of steam - with surprising twists and great conversations.

[Barbara Kellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve become a Kelly Kay fan and am making my way through her body of work. I was amazed that Shock Mount was her first full length work. The chemistry between Meg and rock star Ian is electric from the moment they meet, and their affair is a fantasy come to life. I love the author’s calculated intention to make readers wait with bated breath for them to intersect and reconnect somewhere, somehow. And when they do: BAM! Fireworks!! The best parts of this book for me were all about Meg and Ian’s entanglement; those chapters heavily invested in Meg’s group of ride or die friends (“The Committee”) gets confusing; I found the names, back stories and texted convos are hard to keep straight. But that won’t deter me from exploring more of Meg and Ian’s deepening connection in the sequel/encore, Crossfade. Next up!

[Esther Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went back down the Kelly Kay path and I am not upset. This is the story of Meg and her many incredible friends. It's about found family and finding your path. I loved it. Hate the cliffhanger because it means I'll be up all night finding out what happened! So good, sexy and really great characters. Ian is so flipping hot. Love a reverse age gap. Not a huge one but enough to make it a little bit taboo. But the famous singer part is super sexy. Totally recommend and happy the second book is out and ready for me to dive into.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and sexy. Meg is confusing and great. She's fabulous and a mess and Ian is perfect for her to come out of her rut. But there's something else brewing. I ran to get the second book, which thank goodness was available immediately. I can't wait to see how this all works out.

[Hayden Ragatz · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I could not get into this book, you are just thrown to the wolves with how many character introductions there are. I couldn’t even keep track of who was the main character for the first few chapters! This bitch has a million friends in her beloved “Committee”

And the Committee, I never find it realistic to have so many male friends. Meg has 2 female friends, one is barely mentioned and the other is her sister, which doesn’t count. Somehow she’s this wonderful amazing enigma of a woman that men line up to JUST be her friend?? And honestly, the way these “friends” treat her (the constant snuggling, kissing, calling her “darling” “my love”) is sooooo out of character for the straight men in her Committee.

Like Wade AND Jake have full on wives… yet they fall to her feet & pledge their love to her?? And from their POVs, are absolutely enamored by her?? It’s sooooo odd to me. It’s definitely main character syndrome on STEROIDS in this book. And don’t even get me started on Jake, he’s technically the second love interest, but we barely see him? He’s literally just a midwestern boy in some garage band, that’s friends with her ex husband, and oh by the way, HAS A WIFE AND KIDS. I don’t see the appeal. Maybe it’ll come in the second book but for right now I’m #teamian

I definitely enjoyed the banter between Meg & Ian leading up to her breaking up with Scott & then the bits afterwards. I do hate that she chose to run off with Jake & not tell Ian where or why she was leaving. Like hate to give kudos to Scott (he’s such a piece of shit bastard) but he had a point of her just upping and leaving without any explanation. Ma’am, you are 37 years old, you’re telling me you can’t communicate?? And especially to the guy you’re head over heels with?? I understand the trauma with Jennifer, and that choosing Jake was because of history, but come on.

Oh, and Ian saying Bae. Total ick.

I do give props to Kelly because her writing is spectacular. I love how descriptive she is and how well thought out the side characters stories are. And how fleshed out the history between Meg & all her friends are. You could argue it distracts from the plot but it was soo good I didn’t even care.

[Tracey Cramer-Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a CLIFFHANGER. Somehow I missed that (I don't usually buy cliffhangers). But since that is my own fault (it's clearly labelled as part 1 of a duet) I'm going to rate this book on its own merit. I love a rockstar romance, but this one, not so much. It starts off with Meg and Scott as a couple, which was interesting because of the conflict, but quickly falls apart (helped along by the incidental appearance of Ian). The "reverse age gap" is only 8 years and at their ages (she's 37 and he's 29), I don't really consider that a gap. Besides, they both acted like they were 19, especially Meg (who is a hot mess but apparently an irresistible one), the phone switch thing, and the entire situation at the 'end' of the book. At one point Meg shares that she's raised 65 million in funding for documentaries, but not once does she appear to do a stitch of actual work, which is apparently (at the moment) a documentary about kids which are near and dear to her heart (yet not once do we see her with a child). It's a rather long book, but it drags on a bit because a lot of it is s-e-x. Both characters are 'smitten' yet they haven't done anything that brings depth into their relationship. The writing mechanics were poor (in particular the paragraph breaks around dialogue, so I often did not know who was speaking) which I could have overlooked if I'd felt more than lust between the characters. There are also random chapters from other (supporting) characters' point of view. I would have liked to see more depth to Ian and a more grown-up romance.

[Sandie Chraponski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whole new group of characters to love!

I have been saving this duet of Kelly Kay’s because I knew I would read it quickly and then have to wait for something new, but now that I’ve read book one I am so mad at myself for waiting! Kelly has given us a whole new batch of characters with this duet, I mean we very briefly met Meg in wine country, but I knew then that it wouldn’t be enough.

Meg is a klutzy, strong yet insecure character who hasn’t had the best of luck with the men in her life, the men that aren’t a part of her Committee anyway. Until her last night in Sonoma when she meets a young pop star who seems too good to be true.

This is another epic Kelly Kay story that could not be written in one book, since this is a duet you are not going to get your HEA at the end, but at least you don’t have to wait to find out what happens since book 2 is already out and available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

This is a steamy romance, but really it is so much more, it’s smart dialog, it’s witty banter, it’s about connections, it’s about friendships, it’s about relationships. This is really just about everything you could want and then probably some things you didn’t know you needed.

To me a Kelly Kay story is an attention grabbing roller coaster of emotions, it’s different in the best possible way, it’s just more. If you haven’t read her take a chance on this one, you will not be disappointed!

[Jen]

Wtf did I read?

This book was a hot mess of characters. I started to get bored at about 30% but I kept on pressing through hoping it would get better.
So, I just kept on reading about Meg and her Committee, her rude dumbass bf Scott and her chance meeting with Ian the rockstar who gives her a broken watch.

At 60%, I just gave up and skipped to the end. I kept reading about this “cliffhanger!”in reviews on GR. I read said cliffhanger and it was pretty lackluster, imo. The guy leaves her on (…). That, to me, isn’t really a cliffhanger but what do I know 🤷‍♀️. After that slew of texts that she sent I’m not surprised that was how it ended. She constantly writes these quirky texts to her Committee and BF de jour. You never know what verbal diarrhea is going to come out of Meg’s mouth.

I love when you find a book or a new to you author and the characters just click. You fall in love with their story so much that when it ends it just has such an impact on you. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that feeling. I can’t say that I was invested in any of these characters. I’m sorry but Shock Mount didn’t do it for me.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Filmmaker Meghan meets famous younger musicians Ian the night she is moving from Sonoma to New York to live with her long term boyfriend Scott. He’s smitten with her, and her close friend group (mostly guys) are so supportive when she realises Scott’s true colours. The attraction between the two is off the charts, but can they make it work with all the long distance and consuming career challenges?

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
Upfront warming that this story ends on a total cliffhanger. Warning to have book two (Crossfade) readily available - I threw out my “to read” list and skipped to continue the story. This super steamy story features realistic characters who despite being famous, are really down to earth with the hang ups and fears that is mere mortal’s experience. I enjoyed the close family and friend group and the way they rallied around to support Meg.

Read on Kindle
My rating 4/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hated this book for a while, but it eventually grew on me.

[Doom Sunshine]

DNF 66%

[Kelly]

Cliffhanger...not interested enough to purchase book 2, predictable. Annoyed with a 30+y/o woman with tween communication skills. Seriously, just tell him, you are both ADULTS.

[Coralee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Sharilyn Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start

But wow when it’s gets going it’s a page turner. There are a lot of characters so hard to keep up at first, but I got it! Onto the next

[Sarah Brennan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this one. It's well written and fun, but there is just way too much going on. There are so many characters, so many tangents, that the plot of this book is just way too hard to keep track of.