Love in the Margins

Rock Star. Front man. Demon. A descendant of satyrs and the lead singer in a band that feeds on the energy of its audience, Trevor Sand is growing weary of the constant need to perform. He needs the legend of the Muse—a woman destined to be a demon’s eternal companion and only source of sustenance—to be true.

Misty Grant has never been bold, but when Trevor singles her out among hundreds at a concert, she takes him up on his explicit offer. During an erotic night in his hotel room, she learns that his touch is as electric as his lyrics. But when Trevor’s demon is aroused, her desire turns to horror and she runs.

Knowing that he’ll die if he loses her, Trevor must find Misty before his enemies do. But even if he can save her, he knows that regaining the trust of his fated Muse will be his greatest challenge

I should have finished this in one sitting, but the flu and my own writing kept getting in the way. Stupid life. Anywhoodle. I liked this action packed novella. And I mean action packed. I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary romance lately and CR is surprising lacking in supernatural fight scenes.

Misty Grant is working a job she’s not wild about and living in a city she’s not to keen on. When she has the chance to catch her favorite band with her favorite leading man at a Hollywood club, she risks being late for work the next day to catch the band live. Trevor Sand is a Demon-Satyr who is has been sort of looking for his muse for a million some odd years. I say sort of, because he and his band mates(who are also demon dudes) are having some doubts as to whether these muses actually exist. Oh, but they are about to find out.

I won’t spoil the deets, but Misty manages to get close to the band and even closer to

Trevor, if you know what I mean. Trevor then realizes that Misty is the goddess he’s been sort of looking for all along. As with any good paranormal romance, they run into some paranormal danger and battle that danger to stay together.

So here’s what I liked.

Misty and Trevor were both likeable folks. Misty’s smart and realistic when it comes to her own safety, which some heroines like to suddenly forget once they meet their supernatural stud muffin. Though he’s a uber famous rock star/demon, Trevor is a nice guy. Rosso avoids all opportunities to turn Trevor into a jerk/monster just because he isn’t human. He checks in with Misty every step of the way which makes their fated mates connection easy to swallow.

I loved the descriptions of Trevor’s powers and how he draws energy from his fans. The descriptions are very vivid and I could see myself in the crowded club singing and dancing along with the madness.

The sex is plentiful and hot. The first sex scene is POW hot and creative and the subsequent sex scenes are all different, which I appreciate. I hate reading the same sex scene five times.

Rosso also wrote bits of five or so songs to work into the narrative. I thought the lyrics broke up the prose nicely and kept the reader grounded to the fact that Trevor is a rockstar at heart. His status isn’t used as a setup and then tossed to the wayside as soon as he meets Misty. There’s also a bit about their connection in the lyrics, but I don’t want to spoil that either.

Lastly, I loved the action. Misty and Trevor have to battle some supernatural baddies. Misty isn’t hanging with her local fight club, but she holds her own, tapping into her natural fight or flight response and kicking and punching as hard as she can to help save her own butt.

Here’s what didn’t work for me.

The whole story takes place in twenty-four hours. I think it would have worked a little better if it was stretched out over a few days. Misty has a lot of new info to sort through. Supernatural evil is after them and she and Trevor have to have some sex. There were moments where I wanted to shake them both and tell them to stop hooking up. THERE’S DANGER COMING FOR YOU, DAMN IT! A longer timeline would have smoothed out the transitions into the sex pit stops.

There was also this part with a Hispanic pizza delivery guy. He does the two a solid, but the whole time I kept thinking, wouldn’t he be worried about losing his job?. I’m just super aware of what people of color are and aren’t willing to do when they are on the clock, even for rock stars.

Overall, I enjoyed this novella. Rosso is working on a sequel which I will definitely check out. I want to see what’s in store for Trevor’s band-mates.

Final Assessment: Should you read it? Yeah. It’s fun and quick and sexy. Grade: B

Series: Demon Rock