Wicked White
Michelle A. Valentine
Genre: Rockstar Romance
Release Date: June 23, 2015

After his mother dies, rock star Ace White—lead singer of the red-hot band Wicked White—is done with the celebrity game. The phony people, the meaningless one-night stands: he doesn’t want any of it anymore. Quitting in the middle of a sold-out tour, Ace sets out to find some place—any place—where he can be alone.

Aspiring singer Iris Easton’s life has never been easy. First, her mother walked out on her when she was a kid. Now she’s buried in debt, weeks after losing her beloved grandmother. When a mysterious and sexy new guy moves in next door, Iris can’t help but be drawn to his soulful gaze. She can tell there’s something from his past haunting him—something he’s not telling her.

Just as Ace starts falling for Iris, the media go on a worldwide hunt to find the missing rocker. Will true love conquer all, or will the truth be the very thing that tears the couple apart?

Wicked White is the first book I have ever read from Michelle Valentine. When I read the synopsis I felt like it could be a good story and I am so glad it was. This story has everything who loves a good rockstar romance would want. I was a bit nervous that the story would be cliche and overdone but the small details allowed for the book to stand on its own.

In this story we meet two people who are very similar in their passions and history but in different places on their timeline. Ace is a famous lead singer of the band Wicked White and after news of his mothers illness reaches him, he leaves it all behind quite dramatically to find himself and his passion once again. It is then that he meets Iris. She is a fun heroine. This girl has experienced loss too and has begun to pick up the pieces. Her dreams in New York are on hold and their chance encounter is enough to cause them both to stop on their tracks.

This story has all the normal check marks for a rockstar romance. An angsty (yet sweet) rockstar needing to escape his past and the sweet woman (with a great personality) who challenges him. Yet the details make it a great story. I loved Ace’s relationship with his  mother and the person he became because of her love and devotion. I loved the setting- a good chunk of the story takes place in a trailer park and a small sleepy town, giving the story a good pace. I loved Iris’ ambition and passion for musical theater. The connection between our two main characters intensified with their love of music and performance. It is the details like these that made the story more than a cliche for me and I appreciated the injection of feeling and fun.

I am definitely going to be checking out more of Michelle’s books and I am excited to see what her resume holds. Wicked White is a great story of learning to chase what you want, a love found when you least expect it, and the music industry in its many forms.