Book Review: Riot by Jamie Shaw

Riot (Mayhem #2) by Jamie Shaw

Blurb:

When Dee Dawson meets sexy mohawked guitarist Joel Gibbon, she knows it won't be long before she has him wrapped around her finger. No guy has ever been able to resist her … but Dee's met her match in a player like Joel.

Dee's not the relationship type—not after seeing the pain "love" has caused her friends and family—yet she's desperate to make Joel want her more than anyone else. He quickly becomes an obsession, and when a reckless attempt to make him jealous ends in disaster, Dee turns into the damsel in distress she never wanted to be. With her carefree world crashing down around her, the last thing she needs is Joel's pity.

But Joel is suddenly determined to prove he cares, and no matter how hard Dee tries to push him away, he refuses to let her shut him out. Now the girl who swore she'd never say those three little words must choose between guarding her heart and losing Joel forever … or falling head over heels for the tattooed rock star of her dreams.

My Review:

Riot is book two in the Mayhem series and is about Dee Dawson (Rowan's best friend from book one) and Joel Gibbon (Adam's band mate). 

Dee likes playing games with guys. She gets them to fall for her and then breaks their hearts, vowing to never fall in love after witnessing her parent's disastrous split when she was 11. Falling in love is all wrong, it just sets you up to get hurt. Luckily for her sexy rocker Joel loves playing the field and isn't looking for a relationship. But when a plan to make Joel jealous backfires and makes Dee more vulnerable than ever Joel begins to see Dee in a different light. Suddenly he wants more than casual hookups with her and it scares Dee. 

Can Dee allow herself to love Joel back? Or will she let the love and happiness she always thought she never wanted slip through her fingers? 

I really, really liked Riot - although not as much as Mayhem. Don't get me wrong, the story was great, I still love the band and their friends, and the sex scenes were oh-so-steamy. I just didn't really like Dee. She actually drove me nuts. 

The way Dee felt about falling in love and not letting people get close to her was really sad and it made her seem like a cold-hearted b****. I know she had a raw deal with her mom - but Joel had it worse and he still wanted to give things a chance between them. 

That was the other thing I wish we could have seen more of in this book - Dee contacting and having it out with her mom once and for all. I also wonder why Joel would return to his mom's place after all that she put him through.

Overall, this book was a fun, quick, sexy read perfect for fans of rock star romance. I adore the secondary characters like Leti - he reminds me of Lafayette in True Blood for some reason - and seeing more of Adam and Rowan after book one ended was great. I love this series and I can't wait to see what's in store for Shawn and Kit in book three!

My Rating: 

4.5 of 5 Stars!