The Has-Been and the Hot Mess by Isabel Jordan

Rom Com/Contemporary
Publication date: ​11/20/2020
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

The Great Book Slump of 2020 is over!!!  

Plot Overview: A down-on-her-luck PR expert attempts to save her career by helping a hot, has-been rock star get back into the limelight so that he can win a job creating an original score for an upcoming movie. And the has-been rocker just happens to be her teenage crush. Hilarity, hijinks, and light-hearted feels ensue. 

Trope bingo:  Rock star romance without an alphahole jerkwad 

There's so much to love here. Let me just break it down in list form: 

1. A rock star hero who is (at the start of the book) not famous. He's been out of the biz for fifteen years. You don't see that too often in rock star romance. 

2. The hero, Jackson, is grumpy, reclusive, and he rescues dogs. It's like he was created JUST to fulfill my personal catnip reading needs. And while he did have a drug and alcohol problem fifteen years ago, he's completely clean by the time the story starts, AND there is not one mention of him ever being a manwhore. I really appreciate that. I can't tell you just how many times I've read about rock stars who have banged every groupie within a hundred mile radius.  

3. Kendall, the heroine, is smart, funny, snarky, and properly versed in nerd topics. I adored everything about her. 

4. Kendall's best friend (and Jackson's brother), Ray, is ALL kinds of hilarious. I hope he gets his own story one day. And Kendall's grandpa Frank? I kind of want to fix him up with Ruthie from You Complicate Me. The hijinks those two get into...

5. This one is kind of a slow burn, which I really appreciate. But when the sexy times do happen, they're scorching hot.

6. The dialogue is SUPER witty and fun. Lots of delightful banter, which, as you know, I ADORE.

7. Did I mention the hero rescues dogs? And I don't mean he occasionally comes across a stray that he takes to the vet and finds a good home for. No, I mean he runs a LEGIT dog rescue where the dogs live like kings and probably don't ever really want to leave. 

So, long-story-short, this one is fun, light-hearted, hilarious reading that makes for perfect distraction material. Can't recommend it highly enough. 

 Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
Kicks the CRAP out of the romance stigma! No rehab needed.