Jacqueline's Reads: Giveaway + Book Review

This is no fairy tale romance. There are no hearts and flowers. This is a rock star romance with sex drugs and heavy metal.

“I loved him, though, and poison or not, I couldn’t turn him away”

“Ethan had once said that he never wanted me to hate him. Well, if that were true, he shouldn’t have asked for it.”

Val is a goodie virgin. She listens to her parents, doesn’t drink and has never used drugs. Ethan is everything opposite of Val, tattoos and all.

This is their story.

Be prepared for, tons of hook-ups, partying, drinking, drug usage, angst, intense sexual tension, fighting, crying and jaw-dropping, throw-your-e-reader-against-the-wall, hair-pulling-out CRAZY MOMENTS!

…. I know I need a breather too.

The beginning starts with the end. Val is with Ethan in the future and then we are flashed back to how they got together. Mostly this is what Bullet is about, Val and Ethan’s relationship.

Bullet.Is.No.Easy.Ride.

“ Oh, I don’t think you’re prude, Val. You just haven’t met your drug of choice, and you definitely haven’t met the right guy”

I liked Val, I thought she was an interesting Heroine and it was nice to see her grow and mature throughout the read. But damn, that girl got around! She hooks up with guy after guy after guy. I guess that’s what happens when you like a guy who is in a heavy metal band with three other sexy dudes. Usually this would bother me, but it was interesting to see how Val reacts to each person and what she learns from each relationship/hook-up. I really did feel like she owned her own skin in the end.

Now, Ethan. Oh Boy. Where do I begin?! Ethan is an anti-Hero. You will want to reach into your eReader and punch him in the face… multiple times. I get it, he’s sexy, he knows how to play guitar, he has Daddy issues, loves to drink, do drugs and have sex with many woman. However, there’s some redeeming moments I found in Ethan and it gives you a glimpse of hope that there is a future for them.

I can honestly say Bullet makes me as a reader go out of my comfort zone. Yes, I like hearts and flowers, yes I like swoony moments and yes I want my Hero to be "virtually" perfect, so you see how Bullet put me on edge. Let’s just say I am more pop than heavy metal, HOWE VER, I appreciate the complexity of the story.

Bullet is Raw, Gritty, and Dirty

If you like crazy love stories with shocking after shocking moments then Bullet is for you (and I know many of you readers love those kind of reads). Also, If you are anything like me, you need your HEA and you will get that in Bullet, you may just have to a take Valium or two before you get there.

Rating

4 Stars

GOODREADS

Author Interview

How did you come up with the idea of Bullet? What made you decide to make it such an intense read?

What I said in the foreword to the book is completely true, that Bullet is based on a story I wrote when I was eighteen years old. It was basically a fantasy. I “came of age” in the eighties and Lita Ford was my idol. I wanted to be just like her, but I was going to college and had to focus on that. And, as much as I love music, I didn’t play an instrument. I could sing, but that was the extent of any musical talent/training I had. I was a writer, though, even back then, and I had a hell of an imagination. I thought, “What if someone in my position had an opportunity to really follow her dreams?” And the story that became Bullet was born. The original was definitely the work of an eighteen-year-old dreamer. Bullet was my take on it years later. Yes, the sex and drugs were in the original book, but not like in Bullet and not nearly as gritty. I don’t know that I set out to make Bullet intense. Instead, I sought to make it feel real, and I think I succeeded. I honestly didn’t expect the response I got, though, but I love it. I had no idea it was going to be that emotionally charged…but then I was too close to it to see that.

How did you come up with Ethan, Val and Brad?

Again, they were characters in that original book, but Ethan’s name was David in the original. I was coming up with different names for a lot of the characters that I had in the original—for instance, Clayton’s name was originally Brian; Zane’s name was originally Tom; but Brad and Val were Brad and Val in that book. You honestly want to know where the characters came from? When I was in high school, I had a hardcore crush on a guy I went to school with. He was in band and he played the bass drum, but he and a couple of his friends put together an air guitar band (we were so into that back then) for a contest. It’s been so long now, so I don’t know what’s my vivid imagination and what was real, but I think they were planning to start a real band.

Well, this guy and I almost became girlfriend and boyfriend, but it just didn’t work out. It was just as well, because we were two completely different people. So I asked myself, “What if an innocent naïve girl really did fall for the damaged guy, the guy on drugs who fucks anything that doesn’t run away?” But, as you know, there was more to it than that. The tagline for the book is “What if you discover the man you want is toxic?” How many girls stay with that guy who is wrong for them and why do they do that?

I wanted to explore that. A lot of people have criticized the book, saying that Val stayed with Ethan too long, but they seem to forget that Val is very young and inexperienced. She’s been sheltered her whole life. Ethan is exciting and new to her and she loves him. She forgives him. But I hope readers can see how she matures throughout the book, how she changes and grows, and so I also hope that in turns lends credibility to the book. The entire book builds toward the end, and I knew which guy she would end up with before I started writing it.

So, anyway…long story short. These characters first started off as amalgams of rock stars I already adore, but I would hope they don’t come across as caricatures. I hope they seem real. Ethan is what I would imagine a lot of damaged folks are like—they come from broken, abusive homes, and they learn early on how to self-medicate to help themselves through life. Ethan also, thanks to the drugs, tends to come across as narcissistic and even sociopathic at times. Those are the drugs talking, and you’ll see what sobriety does for him in Rock Bottom. Val is a lot like I was as a teenager, so I tried remembering all the things I felt and believed back then. Some of her poems are actual poems I wrote at that age that I just pulled out of my writing trunk and tweaked for the book. I thought that might add a touch of authenticity. And, last, Brad represented the good guy. What kinds of qualities did I think I and all women would love to see in a guy? He’s not only hotter than hell, but he’s steady, loyal, reliable, strong, driven. He’s a good guy. He might not feel dangerous and edgy, but after hanging with Ethan, I don’t know that a girl would want that dangerous edge anymore.

Ethan is definitely an anti-Hero, what made you decide to go in that direction?

It worked, didn’t it? Again, the whole premise was this: You can't save everyone. Sometimes a person can only save himself and sometimes you have to walk away to save yourself before he drags you down with him. If Ethan hadn’t been an anti-hero, you probably wouldn’t have liked the ending! :)

What inspires you to write?

Anything and everything. Writing is a compulsion for me, a need. I can’t not write, so literally everything around me inspires me. Music, though…that’s my number one.

Who is your favorite author and what is your favorite book?

Toni Morrison, Paradise

What can we expect from book 2, Rock Bottom?

Ethan’s redemption. Forgiveness. Life. But don’t expect flowers and sunshine. It’s a dark book. Ethan has to walk on coals to get to where he needs to be, and it’s not always pretty. Then again, Bullet wasn’t either. I have to admit I’m nervous about this one, because a lot of my newest readers have only read Bullet, so I hope they’re not expecting more of the same. This one is more like Everything But—told from multiple points of view and in third person. My hardcore readers who have been with me a while will have no problems with it, but I’m nervous as hell about my newer readers. My goal, though, is to show him on the inside. A lot of readers hated Ethan with a passion, not understanding that he’s not necessarily a bad guy. I hope to turn readers around with the book.

About Jade

Jade C. Jamison was born and raised in Colorado and has decided she likes it enough to stay forever. Jade's day job is teaching Creative Writing, but teaching doesn't stop her from doing a little writing herself.

Unfortunately, there's no one genre that quite fits her writing. Her work has been labeled romance, erotica, suspense, and women's fiction, and the latter is probably the safest and closest description. But you'll see that her writing doesn't quite fit any of those genres.

You'll have to discover Jade's writing for yourself to decide if you like it.

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