Once Upon a Boy Band
Midnight Rush #1
By Jenny Proctor
ASIN: B0CQ76BSK2
Publisher: Jenny Proctor Creative
Publication date: September 1, 2024
Print length: 358 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8989342266
Publisher’s Blurb:
Once upon a time, she slept with
his poster beside her bed. Now he's all grown up, hiding behind a burly beard
and lots of flannel ... and she doesn't have a clue.
Eight years ago, Adam Driscoll walked away from his stage name—Deke—and the
boyband that turned him into an international star before his eighteenth
birthday.
And he never looked back.
It didn’t even matter that everyone
blamed him for the band’s breakup. He might miss making music, but he had good
reasons for walking. Give him solitude over thousands of screaming fans any day
of the week.
These days, the only company he’s truly interested in is that of the vet who
works closely with his dog rescue—Dr. Laney Lawson. She’s brilliant, funny,
beautiful, and best of all, she has no idea he used to be a pop star.
But then Adam’s bandmates reach out about a one-time reunion concert benefiting
a charity that’s close to his heart, and he starts to wonder if some things are
worth a little extra attention. He loves the idea of singing again, but saying
yes would out him to the small mountain community that has become his refuge.
Worse, it would out him to Laney.
But old hurts can’t stay buried forever. And something tells Adam that scary or
not, saying yes is the decision he needs to make. He just has to hope he
doesn’t lose the life—or the woman—he loves in the process.
Once Upon a Boyband has all the crackling chemistry and sizzling kisses
you want in a low-spice, closed-door romcom. Perfect for fans of romantic
comedy with a little less heat.
My thoughts:
Once upon a time, back in the 1970s,
I, like so many young girls, had a crush. It wasn’t anyone at school. It was
Donny Osmond, the youngest and cutest of the Osmond Brothers. They were what we’ve
now come to know as a boy band.
No, I did not grow up to marry
Donny. I did work an evening at Osmond studios, typing the script for their
first Miracle Network Telethon. I encountered brother Jay once or twice in
other places. But that’s it.
The difference between the Osmonds
and Adam—formerly known as Midnight Rush heartthrob Deke—is that they didn’t
drop off the face of the earth, start dog rescues, and fade into welcome
obscurity.
Laney was a huge, huge fand of
Midnight Rush back in the day. And Deke was her favorite. She even has boxes
full of Midnight Rush and Deke memorabilia. But even she doesn’t recognize Adam
as Deke.
Until she does.
Adam carries a lot of guilt over
how his time in the band ended—both because he let his bandmates down, and
because he wasn’t with his mother when cancer took her. But when former
bandmate Freddie (hang on…we’ll talk about him more in a minute) shows up to
propose a reunion concert, Adam has a hard time saying no. He might have even
claimed to have a fiancée. Named Laney.
Let the fake-dating trope begin!
Adam and Laney are actually really
cute together. They are both crazy about music of all genres and eras, and it’s
fun to listen to them discuss it. And of course, the puppies are cute. Even
though we readers don’t actually get to see the puppies, they’re cute.
While Adam does eventually agree to
do the concert, and finds that he really enjoys being with the band again, his
lingering guilt becomes too much when management proposed a series of concerts,
rather than the one that was supposed to benefit cancer research. And when Adam’s
guilt gets too much for him, he disappears. Cuts contact. Goes for a walk
around his extensive property.
This takes the place of a third-act
breakup, and the method Laney finds to help him deal with is grief is super sweet
and satisfying.
All in all, this is a tender,
funny, sweet romance.
I do question whether Laney is
actually old enough to be out of vet school, based on the timeline presented.
Also, they mention the band being on TikTok before they broke up eight years
ago. But TikTok didn’t start until 2018. There are a couple of other time
glitches that were hopefully cleared up on final.
There’s also a nod to another
Proctor series when Adam wears an Appies hat. This is right and good and as it
should be.
Possible objectionable material:
Past parental death. Lying to friends/family.
Speculation over whether a man is gay; another male character has a boyfriend.
Adults drink alcohol.
Who might like this book:
All of us with a boyband crush in
our past. Music lovers. Romance fans.
Thank you to the publisher and
NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#NetGalley #BookReview
#Biblioquacious #JennyProctor #RomCom #OnceUponABoyband
One More Made Up Love Song
Midnight Rush #2
By Jenny Proctor
ASIN: B0FKPPQRYQ
Publisher: Jenny Proctor Creative
Publication date: August 29, 2025
Print length: 344 pages
Publisher’s Blurb:
Rule #1: Do not fall in love with
your very famous boss. Rule #2: See Rule #1.
As the personal assistant of
rockstar Freddie Ridgefield, Ivy Conway knows most women would love to
have her job. It definitely has its perks. She gets to travel, the pay is
great, and she’s among the first to hear Freddie’s new music.
The only problem? When she got the
job, Ivy promised herself she would never fall in love with
her boss. And it’s taking everything in her to stay true to her word.
Then Freddie kisses Ivy—an
impulsive move to save himself from a little bit of bad press—and everything
changes. Now, the whole world thinks they’re in love.
Even more significant: Ivy could
swear Freddie felt the same fireworks she did when he pressed his lips to hers.
What starts as an accidental
publicity stunt quickly turns into something more, but fame makes everything
more complicated. As Freddie’s spotlight grows to include her—and her
family—Ivy starts to wonder if the life Freddie can offer her is worth the life
she’ll give up. And how she’ll ever survive without him if it isn’t.
One More Made Up Love Song is a
fake-dating rockstar romance with all the crackling chemistry and tension you
want in a closed-door romcom. Perfect for fans of romance with a little less
heat.
My thoughts:
This time, it’s Freddie’s turn in
the spotlight. We got to know both him and Ivy a bit as secondary characters in
the previous book. Freddie absolutely depends on Ivy for just about everything.
She lives at his house and keeps his house organized. She’s been working for
him for five years, and was hired with the understanding that she would not
fall in love with him. Given that she wasn’t even a Midnight Rush fan when the
band was together, or a Freddie Ridgefield fan when she was hired, she didn’t
think that would be a problem. But, after a few years of close proximity, she definitely
caught feelings. So when the book begins, she’s thinking it might be time to move
on and move up into a position with a recording label.
At the same time, Freddie suddenly
starts noticing Ivy more, just not her looks, but how interwoven she is into
his life. And he likes it. He’s a little bit crushed when she talks about
changing jobs, leading him to realize just how attached to her he is.
When a situation with rescuing Ivy’s
sister Carina from a manipulative social media influencer calls for Ivy and
Freddie to kiss, paparazzi catch them and the picture is instantly viral. So
fake-dating it is. But it’s not as fake as either of them is pretending it is.
Again, this is sweet and tender. It
doesn’t even have a “you’d be better off without me” third act breakup. Once
these two decide they’re a couple, they’re committed to each other.
It’s a nice change.
Possible objectionable material:
Adults drink alcohol. Freddie has lots
of tattoos and a past as a bit of a playboy. Mention of tampons.
Who might like this book:
Again, anyone who likes music, rock
stars, and romance.
Thank you to the publisher and
NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#NetGalley #BookReview
#Biblioquacious #JennyProctor #RomCom #OneMoreMadeUpLoveSong
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