Review: Take Me For Granted (#1, Take Me) by K.A. Linde

My Thoughts

An angsty, fast-paced rock star romance about two people, different as can be, that find a whole lot of rightness with each other.

Synopsis

Grant
Manwhore. Adrenaline junkie. Lead singer of ContraBand. What you see is what you get. I make no apologies for my actions, and by now no one expects any from me. I live my life the way I want and as long as it pushes the demons back, then I’m solid. I’ve never needed a chick for more than a good lay. Why would I need just one when I can have a different one every night?

Until she walks into my world.

Aribel
Mouthy. Perfectionist. Princeton student. Chemistry major. Yes, that pretty much describes me. Oh, and virgin. But I’m only nineteen, and have more important things to concern myself with. What really matters is finishing my degree and getting a good job. I’ve worked hard for what I want, and do what’s expected of me. I don’t need anyone to get in my way.

Until he opens up my world.

But if I give you my world, whatever you do…don’t TAKE ME for granted.

My Review

This is my first book from K.A. Linde, who I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. I’m a girl who loves rock star romance and this story definitely packed angst and drama and a whole lot of sexiness. I liked the story, but I truthfully wanted more. There were couple elements that pulled the story back from what it could have been. First, although we know rock star romances tend to be similar by nature, I wanted to see a little more differentiation and twist to the characters and to how the story took shape. The story takes an interesting turn by the end as we get to know more about Grant and I think I might’ve pulled in that element earlier to build in some additional suspense/drama. The direction she was going was really captivating and had real momentum to make the story stand out more as well as keep me more captivated throughout. Because I wanted more, there were parts that felt predictable. Nonetheless, I really feel she’s moving in the right direction and I’m hoping the next book expands on that story line to give the story a unique twist to hook readers.

“… manwhore. I’d earned that title and I was fucking proud of it.”

Grant lived for music. As the lead singer of ContraBand he reveled in the high of performing on stage… of creating something special with the guys he saw as his family. He also reveled in the life that came along with it. Girl after girl, night after night, he did anything to bury the pain that constantly lived inside of him. A pain that not many knew about and one that shamed him, reminded him, haunted him. It was easy for him. He had his pick every night of which woman warmed his bed, albeit only temporarily before she was kicked out. So when he meets Aribel at one of his concerts and she turns him down and berates him for his cheesy, overly sexual pick-up lines… well he’s hooked.

“You have a million other girls dying to fall in your bed. Give that chance to someone else.”

“I’m giving it to you.”

“Then you’re only going to be disappointed. So, just leave me alone.”

Aribel was the kind of girl who valued focus and education above all else. She was a chemistry major who cared more about studying about her calculus exam than finding another guy was simply going to bore her to death and waste her time. She was a perfectionist and at nineteen, still a virgin. When her roommate drags her to a show, she didn’t expect to get hit on my the band’s lead singer. His antics are the last thing she needs. Plus, hates attention, even though his already unsettles her in a way she would have never expected.

“I hated the spotlight. I was supposed to be invisible. I was supposed to get high marks in all of my classes, graduate top of my class, and then start as a lab researcher.”

Grant, being the stubborn, doesn’t-take-n0-for-an-answer rock star, is all about taking Aribel out. There’s something about her that makes him laugh. Makes him forget the bad stuff. Grant’s aggressive ways also begin to get to Ari and when they finally share a kiss, every nerve ending seems to come alive.

“I couldn’t figure out how Grant made my stomach flip the way it did. I’d always been so logical, practical… and he threw those qualities out the window with only a smile.”

As Ari and Grant spend more time together… first reluctantly, and then enthusiastically, the begin to know each other. Somehow, although opposites, they are exactly what the other needs. Grant makes Ari feel alive and Ari gives Grant a sense of worth and hope. She tells him that he’s good and smart and incredibly loyal with so much more than meets the eye.

“Arrogant, conceited, asshole, manipulative, playboy, rocker who cared for nothing or no one but which bed he was landing in. And while that image hadn’t wavered, he absolutely was every one of those things; I’d managed to find there was more to Grand McDermott… and that had been my downfall.”

What ensues is a story full of the push and pull we love to see. They both fall hard, but when the perfect storm of insecurities and misunderstandings threaten to tear everything apart, the story really takes off as we see how vulnerable and fragile both really are, particularly Grant. We see just how much Ari means to him and how she’s really saved him from so many things that have held him down.

“Every time I see you, princess, I’ve felt better. Every single day you push away the pain and the memories. You’re my life raft in and endless ocean. You saved me from drowning. You saved me from myself.”

Again, this story had all the right elements and I certainly enjoyed reading it, I just wanted a bit more. This is definitely the kind of book you can consume in one sitting and if you’re looking for a rock star romance with all kinds of sexy, all kinds of angst and a heck of an ending, this is your type of book.

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