I was the shy one, the one all the girls liked because I was a mystery they couldn’t wait to solve. They called me quiet, shy, and sweet. If only they knew I was anything but.
When I had to make a choice, the decision seemed simple. Shadow Phoenix was my life, but I’d always felt like an outsider, destined to lurk in the shadows of stardom. When Moon Mayhem burst into my life, she brought color and chaos along with her and knocked me off my carefully crafted axis.
My life was finally becoming what I’d always wanted with her by my side. At least until reality hit and my decisions had consequences that reached further than I could have ever anticipated. All I could do was hope to fix what I broke before it’s too late.
WARNING: This book contains scenes of violence, torture, adult language, and graphic sex.
It’s great to meet you! I’m a socially-awkward introvert who loves love stories. I’m not awesome at singing or keeping my house clean, but I somehow find the time to obsessively read romance novels. I consider it one of my many talents.
In my opinion, you can never have too many books (or french fries…), messy buns are a girl’s best friend, and I’d probably die without my laptop. If I wasn’t over-committing myself to future stories or procrastinating to meet my deadlines, I’m not quite sure what I’d do with myself.
Be sure to find all sorts of sneak peeks and my more than likely cuss-word filled rantings over on the blog. Oh, and if you’re a fan of getting in the mood to read and connecting to the characters that way, check out the playlists that accompany each story in the “Playlists” tab.
When I originally gave my rating I said 4 but then I thought about the middle of the book and dropped it to 3. And after really really thinking about it it’s now a 2.
Why?
Character development - very little to none. In the previous books Jericho was setup as the most mysterious member of the band. In HIS own book the only insight we got was his kinky side which kinda went away once he and Moon got together (saying your Mine over & over isn’t overly kinky). Overall, Jericho is still a mystery and I no longer have a desire to get to know him.
The author is good at pulling you into the story & hoping for more (except Maddox story that was trash). But around the 40-50% mark it goes down hill. It’s as though some great plots were created and a story was written around it. By the 80% mark it’s choppy, you know as soon as Jericho has a meeting danger or issues who’ll happen. He’ll get the call and leave the meet to go ‘save’ her.
The mystery with the biker gang would have been better if was sprinkled in book 1 or even book 2. And technically not resolved by the end really irked me. We find out the biker gang owns their record label & have been fucking with them BEFORE Jericho met Moon. But why?!
And can we discuss this security team?! How can you call them the best when they constantly fuck up and get over powered? So basically the security team is to let the audience know the new love will be a total damsel after being introduced as an independent strong woman. And her business suddenly goes away so she’s free to follow their careers.
So I’m done with this series....I believe there’s 2 - 3 more books but I’m not wasting anymore time.
After writing all this I want to drop my rating to a 1 but the way they meet is the only reason why I won’t change it again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I've been looking forward to Jericho's story since book one of this series. I love seeing this band continue to evolve. Moon and Jericho are a perfect match.
Disappointment level: When you’re expecting filet mignon but get chicken nuggets instead.
Was the BDSM in the room with us? Like, a lot of promises were made on what kind of character the MMC was gonna be and he wasn’t it. Also, there’s a way to write instalove and this wasn’t it either, the timing was off and made their declarations cringey. The end was anticlimactic - a major plot point was just skated over with no explanation that made it make sense. Needless to say, I won’t be reading anymore in the series.
I enjoyed this more than I anticipated. Definitely enjoyed the slight suspense plot but predictably did not enjoy the rock star aspect. Overall I enjoyed Moon and Jericho’s relationship. Undecided if I’ll read the read of the series or not.
I’m disappointed. Jericho had SO much potential and this just didn’t come through in the book.
I felt like his character development fell short. From reading the prequel book and finding out about Kayla, and seeing how he was in the previous books we actually didn’t see any of his issues really come back up in this. E.g. we never see him choking Moon, which was the issue he had and turned him off women. I feel like there wasn’t much on the whole Dom/Sub feelings the author wanted to get across in this book. Honestly the only kind of ‘kink’ we saw was him tying her hands up. We saw a little of ‘aftercare’ but really the author could have explored this more.
Some of the stuff in this book was either unnecessary (like the strip club - no one wants their friends to see their wife twirling round a strip pole! Or when they have sex for the first time in the club but he mentions he wants their first time together to be good then they screw in a dark corner), or wasn’t resolved at all (that the ROC controlled the record label the band were signed too), we see a glimpse into the future of the band making their own label but we don’t know what happened to the last label and if they defiantly got out of their contract and what they had to give up etc. it was so disappointing.
The violence that Jericho showed I thought was much much better suited to Maddox. In the previous books Jericho was constantly smoking weed etc but he just suddenly stops.
I did enjoy the way they came together through their game on Xbox and it was cute how they met at the mommy and me class (Kennedy is hilarious and I loved their friendship).
There was just nothing really going on in this book even though there two different plots that eventually crossed over I felt there wasn’t a lot of action actually going on.
I’m loving Connor and his crew and I’m sad he doesn’t have a book. Same for Montana
I’m not sure how I feel about Griffin yet, he is obviously just a young guy who is excited to be playing with his fave band but I don’t know how I feel about him as a character. He’s obviously cocky and a little shit but maybe he will grow on me
I really enjoyed all the other Shadow Phoenix books. I like how all the books have a little suspense in addition to romance. But, I almost didn’t finish this book. I didn’t like the main characters, especially Jericho, who is controlling and violent. Moon’s personality and actions were inconsistent throughout the book. Also, there was too much violence. I don’t need to read about fingers getting cut off or acceptance of punching friends in the face. And really, I don’t think many husbands want their wife to strip in front of their friends. That didn’t even make sense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
After reading Chased, I figured I would read about the band members of Shadow Phoenix. The plot was pretty good with some spicy scenes. A few things were off/ missing to me. Like Jerichos past with Kayla seemed significant but wasn’t thoroughly discussed. Jericho also seemed to be into heavy dark / BDSM type relationship which wasn’t portrayed in the relationship when they were physical.
I want to start by saying that I have not read any other book in this series/world so I had no context of the characters going into it.
I was initially drawn to this book from a TikTok that seemingly promoted it as a gamer guy/girl romance. Even after finding the book and reading the description, I assumed most of the book was going to be Moon and Jericho getting to know each other over gaming and later finding out that Jericho was in a band. I was a bit disappointed that the mystery of their identities was only a few chapters. And after a while it seemed like this book was trying to tap into a lot of different tropes but not fully committing to any.
While I did stick around to finish the book, it wasn't necessarily an enjoyable experience. Jericho's anger/control issues and "demons" had me rolling my eyes on more than one occasion. The random punching his friends in the face really was not it for me. Also, I'm usually all for female characters who accept the morally gray man, but there was something about Moon that I just didn't like.
Overall, I understand that everyone's tastes are different. I'm neutral on whether I would recommend this book to someone or not. It was a nice quick smut read.
I was soo excited to read this book after I found it on my TikTok FYP. BUT it left me wanting, and not in a good way.
I wanted to see more of Moon's personality and more mystery around her mother. I also wanted more of her and Bexley's friendship - like if they are BFF's there would be so much more that Bexley was involved in. I wanted more mystery in the beginning stages of their relationship. I wanted him to play more into it than he did - why did he give himself up so soon?
There were a few SUPER odd scenes in this book - 1.) The dance club and their first real intimate encounter. I feel like this would have been WAY better at her studio or even his house in the swimming pool or his game room. I wanted to see the desire in them. The "can't unlock the door quick enough" desire. 2.) The strip club. Like... WHY? I get the whole "make your man jealous" thing but there are other ways of doing this. I love the spontaneous and adventurous mentality that Moon has, but the strip club? I don't want my man's friends to see my goods. So no, this part was for me.
Overall, I hated a 3 star because it was a page turner and kept me intrigued. I would also give it a 3 star in the spice area too as there were some good scenes and some that could've been more than they were. Due to this book, I probably won’t read the rest of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
honestly hated this. I was kind of into the first quarter of the book but then everything went downhill. I did manage to finish it but wow were the characters boring in terms of character development. I saw this as a reel recommended by the author and thought wow this girl sucks at doing reels but it's free on kindle so might as well give it a shot. I shouldn't have done that. The male protagonist is a complete asshole with forced depth that only makes me think he's more of an asshole. He sucks so much, I hate him. Overall everything sucks and I absolutely should not have given her a chance. The names in and of themselves were extremely difficult to get through as someone living in 2023 and not wattpad 2012 where we thought stupid 'aesthetic' first names were 'sooo tumblr' and used material/abstract/common nouns as actual names for homo-sapiens.
I know judging a book by its cover is bad but I will absolutely do so from now on. The cover sucks, it's an ugly 'trying too hard I just don't know at what' type of font. I hate everything about this book, I dislike the author and everything she did and I will now absolutely be judging by covers from now on.
Oh boy, I'm at 90% now and I'm really thinking of dnf'ing the book. The last 70 pages were an editing horror. Whoever the author's editor is has the wrong job. There were so many logical and timeline errors throughout the book but the last few chapters were the most horrible. I am an editor myself and I would never let the book be published like that. Apart from all the logical errors, the whole realisation of Jericho was not well thought out. I don't know the other books but the way Jericho is described doesn't fit and is contradictory. Even though I think the book is good in parts, I am bothered by all the little mistakes, which in total are enormous. I will read the last 30 pages but I can't give it more than 2 stars. But since I am interested in the other characters, I will read book 1.
Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language. I understand it perfectly but I have no practice writing or speaking it.
I wanted to like this book, this is the first book of the series that I read. You never find out what happened with Jericho’s ex girlfriend Kayla and why he refused to have a girlfriend after her. Maybe it was in a previous book, but for such an integral part of this characters psyche, we should have seen that. Also, the drama was over to quickly without a lot of feeling. *spoilers* Moon’s mom has been missing for 15 years but a band can find her in less than a day? Also, it comes across in the beginning that Jericho is into some heavy BDSM type relationships but it does not come across in the book at all.
Playing Jericho introduces Jericho as a dark mystery. He wants control over everything in his life both in & out of the bedroom. He is a gamer & controls Luna, another gamer, though the game. He meets Moon and is curious about her. Who does he pursue, Moon or Luna? There are many surprises and twists throughout the book that leaves you wanting to keep reading. Heather does not disappoint the reader in keeping you wanting more. Playing Jericho is a fantastic book that is well written, keeps you wanting more and makes you fall in love with Jericho.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Moon is a yoga instructor who is also a gamer, Jericho is the drummer for Shadow Phoenix who loves gaming as well. They are teammates on the game they play but they meet in person at her yoga studio and have no idea that they know each other on the game. They share a connection online that is amazing and a connection in real life that is also amazing. They have a whirlwind romance and get married in Vegas. There are hurdles along the way including Moons mom who disappeared years ago, A violent MC club and a shady record company owner. Overall a great story.
Jericho is the strong controlling quiet one. He hasn’t risked even a one night stand since his disastrous night with Kayla when he was a teen. Now he falls head over heels for Moon. She falls for him too, just as quickly. The violent MC angle was a bit weird, at least with its abrupt conclusion. Seems there should have been more about the MC/ record label issue, but maybe that’s in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Honestly I felt this book putting me into a slump. It was good at first but then felt like it was getting choppy. Moon was spontaneous and Jericho said he wasn’t but then he changed so quick and they got married in vegas and then gangs popped up out of nowhere and he said he was into such kinkiness that he almost killed a girl but then he really wasn’t. I got to almost 60% of the book and stopped cause it just felt all over the place and my attention was just no longer there honestly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Really enjoyed Moon and Jericho's story on how they met online playing games and met later at Moons job, not knowing who they were. Enjoy hearing about all the members of the band from previous books. This book also keeps your interest in wondering why Moon is being followed and how Jericho and his security guys and band members help out. Looking forward to reading next book in this series.
The beginning was really good. Thought their chemistry was great and enjoyed how they met and their story of being together continue to expand through the book. Until I reached the end and I was skimming over the pages to just finish the book because it was no longer interesting. Took a turn at the end which I wasn’t a fan of. Would’ve been interesting to read the other books in the series first.
Talk about an edge-of-your-seat thrillride?! Wow. I loved the story of Jericho and Moon. When Jericho, the quiet, but dark bad boy of Shadow Phoenix meets Moon Mayhem, an amazing bright spot in the world, his whole normal is turned upside down. But what will happen when the demons come out to play? Read to find out! Lots of steam, plenty of thrills, and an HEA that's perfect. Highly recommend!
Jericho has been and remains my favorite character from this series and I was so excited to read his book! I finished this book in one sitting, as I have the others I've read. The chemistry between the two main characters is sizzling and I can't wait to read more from this author. One person found this helpful
The dark mystery is finally revealed. In the other books you don’t see too much of Jericho so he becomes a bit of an after thought. You know he is always there for the band and forms a strong bond with Kennedy, but it was so nice to finally have something strong to connect to him with. Him and Moon melt my heart 💜
Woven within the fabric of this romantic story were some very gritty scenes. Captivating story with action, adventure, mystery and suspense. Once again thr characterizations were many and varied, yet each clearly distinguishable. Good Stuff!
I was so happy to finally read Jericho’s story because, well, mystery is alluring. All in all, I think the story was an incredibly wholesome love story. I personally *cringe* at Jericho’s jealousy. Maybe it’s just me, but jealousy like that is concerning. Nonetheless, I love the book and the series thus far
Jericho's need for control is told in this next book in a great series. Moon is a sweetheart but strong and Jericho's equal as well as his sanctuary. Loving this series ❤
Absolutely amazing!!! I think this was the best one yet. I loved Moon and Jericho's chemistry and liked each of their characters individually. Fantastic storyline that had plenty of twists in it to keep you guessing. Can't wait to read the next one.
Jericho is the quiet and shy one of the band. If only they knew his secret. He met Moon and she was what he wanted and he would do whatever he could to make her his.
I got this on Kindle Unlimited
WARNING: This book contains scenes of violence, torture, adult language, and graphic sex.
This books MMC is the worst type of guy. Just randomly punching people in the face for saying one wrong thing. I swear a teenager wrote this book. He's a giant douche and I couldn't even keep reading because it was terrible.