cover image Hillbilly Rockstar

Hillbilly Rockstar

Lorelei James. Signet Eclipse, $15 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-451-41397-0

Country music star Devin McClain reluctantly takes on a bodyguard after several dangerous incidents during a tour. Army veteran Liberty Masterson is eager to take the job and gain valuable work experience, even after Devin insults her pedestrian looks and doubts her physical capabilities. His opinion of Liberty changes after she gives herself a makeover to better blend in with his crew as his “personal assistant.” Inevitably, Liberty and Devin start an affair in which she’s in charge of his movements outside the bus and he dominates her inside. However, what starts as a fun premise with the woman protecting the man quickly becomes tedious as the long-winded James repeats herself: danger, then a misunderstanding, then sex, over and over and over. Devin and Liberty are connected to Muddy Gap, Wyo., where the rest of James’s Blacktop Cowboys series is set, but little action takes place there, which may disappoint series regulars. (Aug.)