Hello to the first book I completed in 2017! Idol is one I've had for a while (though apparently not as long as I thought, as it came out in 2016 after both Prince AND Bowie died), and that I picked up while I was binge-reading Mariana Zapata books earlier this year. It came up on Amazon as one of those "If you liked this, you might like..." books, probably when I was reading Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin, which was Zapata's rock star romance. I honestly wasn't expecting that much out of Idol, but I wanted a fast romance read for the last day of my winter vacation, so I went for it...And I really liked it! The story follows Killian James, one of the founding members of the rock group Kill John, who are basically the hottest thing since sliced bread, and girl-next-door Liberty Bell (yes, really). The book starts with Libby finding Killian drunk on her lawn, and then finding out that he's to be her new neighbor. She's initially less than pleased by this, but over the course of a few months the two end up close...and then Libby finds out that he's Killian James, and makes the connection. And Killian has to go back the band, which is reuniting after a year apart in the wake of another member's attempted suicide, and he ASKS LIBBY TO GO WITH HIM AND PERFORM. Gasp. Because clearly Libby is also an amazing singer/songwriter/guitar player. Obvs.
Okay, okay. I admit it. The premise of this book is basically super cliched. But I did still like it. Libby and Killian have undeniable chemistry, and there was a nice switch in the story where the woman is the one who wants to keep the relationship secret, rather than the man. (It's normally the other way around.) The other band members are fun, as are Scottie and Brenna, their manager and publicist (and Killian's cousin), respectively. There are some hot scenes in here, and the main conflict was one that I found believable. Killian and Libby both want each other and they both know they want each other, but they're simultaneously trying to protect each other, which causes some problems. Libby doesn't want to put pressure on the fragile dynamics of the newly-reunited band (she doesn't want to be a Yoko) and Killian wants Libby to be able to pursue her own career and have her own life, and not just be subsumed by his. While they could have communicated a bit more (you almost always can in romance novels) I thought this was a really realistic way to go with it.
There are a few issues, though. Callihan doesn't seem to have a firm grasp of the timeline for her book. The length of time that Killian and Libby spent together before he returned to New York fluctuates several times, from a few weeks to two months. There are also a few typographical editing issues; several times I found myself re-reading a line because I was confused, only to realize that it was because there was a word missing, or a word that was where another word should be. Nothing major, and the spelling and grammar are overall very good, but it was something that tripped me up. And yes, I did find myself eye-rolling a few times at the sheer ridiculous of it all, but I'm still looking forward to reading the books about the other band members and Scottie.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read Book 2, Managed.
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