Mayhem
(Mayhem, #1)
By: Jamie Shaw
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: Jan. 20, 2015
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:
When college freshman Rowan Michaels meets gorgeous, up-and-coming rock star Adam Everest, she knows a player like him is the last thing she needs after her ex-boyfriend shattered her heart. But she can’t stop thinking about the kiss they shared on his tour bus.
On the first day of school, Rowan is stunned when Adam saunters into her French class. He’s soon failing miserably, and, on a whim, she offers to tutor him. But Adam doesn’t recognize her as a makeup-free, glasses-clad college student—a far cry from the beautiful, mysterious “Peach” he met at his concert.
During a wild weekend on tour with the band, Rowan can’t help falling for the sweet guy buried beneath Adam’s rocker persona. Yet she knows she could never compete with the girls constantly throwing themselves at his feet. She’d just end up hurt … again.
Peach is all Adam thinks about, though, and when Rowan realizes this, she has a decision to make: stay just friends to protect her fragile heart … or reveal the truth about the night they met and admit she’s fallen completely, hopelessly in love with him.
Rowan lets her best friend De talk her into dressing up and going out to a local club to see a band play. They are there to have a good time, except before the show even starts, Rowan sees her boyfriend of three years hanging all over and kissing another girl. This is the same boyfriend who has wanted to remain celebrate until marriage. Heartbroken, Rowan runs outside to have her meltdown which is where she runs into Adam, the lead singer of the band they are there to see. He’s kind, he listens to her, they have a heated moment in his tour bus that helps her forget about her cheating boyfriend for a little while. This is how the rock star met the college freshman, but what the two don’t realize is, they are about to share a room in French class together the following Monday.
Since Rowan was all dolled up, had a lot of make-up on and her hair done, she looked like a completely different person from how she normally looks. So on the first day of class, when Rowan is sitting in French waiting for the Professor to show up, she’s shocked to see Adam walking in with his harem of girls. He never notices she’s there, but then again, he never looks around. However, when the professor is ready to flunk him out of the class, Rowan steps up and tells the professor and Adam that she’s tutoring him in French and how he is really trying to do better in the class. Needing the class to graduate, he takes Rowan up on her proclamation and insists she travel with him and his band for the weekend while they go on a mini tour.
Adam wasn’t a new character for me. He was the spitting image of Travis from Beautiful Disaster. He was a bad-boy who could have any girl he wanted with the snap of his fingers, except for his Peach. Peach is the nickname he gave Rowan the night of the whole breakdown. He still puts Peach on the backstage list, hoping he sees her again, but she never shows. Now, there’s a second girl to add to the list of chicks who have turned him down, Rowan. Even though he is attracted to Rowan and still hung up on Peach, he still continues to mess around with other chicks, while on the tour bus with Rowan. However, the moment she gets uncomfortable and takes off, he drops the girls he’s with and chases after her. He pursues Rowan but she pushes him away insisting they remain JUST friends because she doesn’t want to be just another one of his girls on his hook-up Rolodex of names. Everyone knows that Adam is in love with her and would do anything for her, but not Rowan. So he bides his time by being her friend while allowing the groupies to sit in his lap, dry hump him, and suck face. He never lets anyone in to his room, except for Rowan. She’s the only girl he will share his private room with. Yeah… Adam was kind of a let down for me.
Mike (the drummer) was a huge sweetheart. When the guys all brought girls into the bus for some after party hanky panky, Mike is the only one doing his own thing. Rowan becomes close with him and they play video games together while everyone else does their thing. Mike is always the guy who hangs back from the crowd and allows the other guys to have at it when it comes to the groupies. I wish there was more of Mike. Hell, I wish Rowan changed courses in the book and fell in love with Mike instead. He was just such a sweet character and not typical of the rocker bad-boy character.
I liked that we got to go behind the scenes of the band. Rowan spends a lot of time on tour with them in that weekend span. It was a little difficult imagining a double decker tour bus but it was cool that Adam takes Rowan (and the reader) on a tour of the bus. We get to meet the other band members, the roadies, the groupies, the venues, and see what it’s like to be on the road. I think the behind the scenes look at the band was my favorite part.
This was an enjoyable read but it wasn’t anything I haven’t already read before. I felt like I was reading about an alternate universe of characters I’ve already read about. I know that had I not already read that book, this one would have had me squealing. However, in the end, I found the characters and story predictable, enjoyable, but predictable.
“You’re like a cute little chipmunk… on crack.”
I’d been eyeing this one. I don’t mind a bit of predictability but don’t want to feel like i’m reading one I’ve already read. Ah well.
If I hadn’t read Beautiful Disaster, or those like it, I’d probably love this one. However, for me, I found the relationship to be something I’ve already read before. I did enjoy those whole behind the scenes though. That was entertaining to read.