Reading Lauren Rowe’s books is a complete experience. You get so much more than you thought you would when buying a book. She writes them, narrates quite a few of them and writes music for them!
Her books are sultry, steamy, romantic and the banter, oh the banter! There is a special kind of humor in her books that makes you fall in love with her characters. She also has a wonderful way of writing in a universe where, though she has separate sets of trilogies and duets and standalones, they all are linked. But the genius in that is that you CAN read them separately, but you if you read them all, they interconnect and it’s like finding little easter eggs throughout the books. I’m still in awe as to how she can keep up with the timelines! Like, seriously!
And for her books in the River Records umbrella you find a crapload of wonderful stuff on her website. There are interviews, bios, magazine covers and music for the bands that are signed to the Reed Rivers label. It’s not just some silly music just to say there is music related there – it’s GOOD music! You can also find music by 22 Goats, Alessandra Tennison and Fish, Savage and Layla in Apple Music!
On her website, she has a reading order list, and this is what I suggest (I will try to be as spoiler-free as possible):
The Club Trilogy – which is actually 4 books. In these books, you meet the Faraday brothers and and in them Jonas and Sarah find their happily ever after. You definitely have to read them all and in order. The Club there is not the variety where you play tennis in or where you go dancing with your girlfriends, if you know what I mean… 😉 It’s more of a “dating app” of sorts that both brothers join at some point. Sarah is the “intake agent” who reads Jonas’ application and his answers are way too alluring to ignore and not contact him. We end up getting a bit a of thriller mixed in with their wonderful story. Jonas is a wonderful tortured soul and Sarah, who has her own demons, is the perfect cure for all his ailments.
A word to the wise: read book 4 (the epilogue book) AFTER you read Josh and Kat’s story. It will be spoilerish as there is a time lapse. (Veeeeeeery sexy books, I am telling you, so be advised you will fanning yourself a bit there. Just sayin’ )
The Josh and Kat Trilogy – Infatuation, Revelation and Consummation – Josh is Jonas’ brother (I totally didn’t want this to be pun-y, Jonas Bothers, get it? LOL yeah, yeah, I amuse myself…) story. He meets Kat Morgan in The Club and he is oh-so-definitely attracted to her, but their story develops in this trilogy. It’s a funny, sexy, reaaaaaaaally sexy story. Kat is Sarah’s best friend and she is also the “girl” Morgan, the only sister in the next series. Kat is a hellion, an “honorary dude” and Josh’s “unicorn”. There is no one like her. Josh, like his twin Jonas, has a lot of demons from the past, but hurricane Kat, instead of destroying everything in her wake, puts all his pieces back together. In these books, you get to meet Josh’s best friend, whom he met I college – Reed Rivers and you will learn a whole lot more about them in his own books.
The Morgan Brothers – Five books telling the stories of Kat’s brothers. This series is so so so so good! The brothers are incredibly funny. The banter is quintessential Rowe in these books and there are no better book boyfriends than the Morgan Brothers. You have Hero ( Firefighter Colby falls for Lydia, the nurse who takes care of him in the ICU after he gets hurt in a fire), Captain (Ryan and Tessa – a sort of comedy of errors, with mistaken identities , assumptions, instalove to instahate to true love), Ball Peen Hammer (Keane, a male stripper – yes, you read it right, a stripper!!! – and Maddy-Behind-The-Camera – a love story that starts in a long car ride. This is my favorite of the four. There is no way you can meet Keane and not fall in love with him. He may be annoying as hell sometimes, but he can be Prince Charming too. This book reads like a classic romcom. ) and Rockstar (where Dax falls for the oh-so-forbidden Violet, who gives him not butterflies, but fireflies in his belly). The music for this last book is amazing, especially the 22 Goats hit “Fireflies”. All these are standalone novels, but like I said, you will be missing so much if you don’t read them all.
There is an honorary Morgan brother, who you will meet in Mr. Bodyguard. He’s Keane’s best-friend and in-all-senses-but-sexually “wife” Zander Shaw, who becomes Aloha Carmichael’s (one of Reed’s stars bodyguard). If you like the bodyguard trope, this book is definitely for you.
The Reed Rivers Trilogy – If you read the series above, you definitely meet Reed, Josh’s friend from college. Everyone thinks he’s some sort of hard ass asshole, but deep down, Reed is man who carries a lot of baggage from his past. He built his Rivers Records from the ground up and he is known in the industry as The Man With The Midas Touch. He has been living up to his reputation, making him either be hated/feared or envied. But, then Georgie shows up. She’s a young, feisty reporter (too young for his tastes) but as soon as he sets his eyes on her all he he can think of is: MINE.
The three books are great. You get to learn that Reed is not really the asshole everyone thinks. He’s been making people’s dreams happen without them even knowing it. I strongly suggest getting the audiobooks. Reed is brought to life by the amazing Jacob Morgan, and that alone is a treat! Also check Lauren’s website for the a lot of goodies! There is a whole River Records session there that will knock your socks off!
http://www.laurenrowebooks.com/river-records
Smitten – the story of Fish, from 22 Goats (you fist met him in Rockstar, as he is Dax’s bandmate) and Alessandra, Georgie’s “sister” (there is a complicated family dynamic there). It is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest books I have ever read. From the beginning of the story to the amazing flash forward epilogue, you will fall in love with this wonderful couple. The audiobook is amazing. Again we have Andi Arnt with another awesome narrator, Tim Paige.
The Love/Hate Duet – the books that introduced me to Lauren Rowe. It’s the story of Savage and Layla, two artists signed by River Records. It’s an enemies to lovers/rockstar romance with a lot of heat that is a lot of fun to read! I strongly recommend the audiobooks. They are narrated by Anti Arndt (who is narration royalty) and Jacob Morgan (who you already know can do no wrong in my book!!). This duet is also a “complete experience”: go to Lauren Rowe’s website and check all the good stuff about Savage and Layla. You will find original music, “interviews”, bonus scenes, the works!
I wrote a specific review for the latest one, Colin’s book, Swoon! He’s the third member of 22Goats.
I can’t recommend Lauren Rowe enough. Seriously.
Note: These are definitely 18+ books. If you have propensity to clutch your pearls, these are not for you.
Possible triggers: well, there are way too many things that happen in these books that can be considered triggers, so I don’t think I can name them all, but go in knowing you will see violent death of parent/assault/suicide/near death situations of main characters. If you have specific triggers, be advised you may need to check it out more before you start.
