Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Nicole R. Taylor's The Devil's Tattoo. My stop includes all the details for the book, my review, and an awesome giveaway!
This tour is presented by Xpresso Book Tours. To follow all the stops along the tour, click here.
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The Devil’s Tattoo by Nicole R. Taylor
Publication date: September 1st 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance 18+
Zoe Granger picked up her first guitar the day her heart was smashed into a billion pieces. It was a way to keep her mind off her inevitable downward spiral, but music soon became her escape. She's been burned too many times to tell and is just happy to coast through life, never putting herself out there. That's until her best friend Dee suggests they start a band and suddenly she finds herself not just a part of it, but fronting the whole outfit.
They call themselves The Devil's Tattoo and when they release their debut EP, it rockets to the top of the charts and it's like an overnight fairytale. Contracts, photo shoots, royalties and interviews are heaped onto the shy Zoe and it's like she's finally found her place. Then comes the phone call that changes everything. They've been asked to co-headline a tour with one of the hottest bands of the moment, The Stabs and Zoe will never be the same again.
Will Strickland is one fourth of the hottest indie rock band to ever grace the airwaves. He's the bass player in The Stabs, hot as hell and could have his pick of any girl that flings herself at him. But he's only got eyes for Zoe and she has no idea why he'd bother. She's got one hell of a trust issue and an attitude to boot and Will seems to be the one who wants to tame her, but is he game enough?
The Devil's Tattoo and The Stabs go on the road and it's either going to be a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven. Only time will tell who will come out on top and Zoe's determined to do it without getting her heart broken… again.
They call themselves The Devil's Tattoo and when they release their debut EP, it rockets to the top of the charts and it's like an overnight fairytale. Contracts, photo shoots, royalties and interviews are heaped onto the shy Zoe and it's like she's finally found her place. Then comes the phone call that changes everything. They've been asked to co-headline a tour with one of the hottest bands of the moment, The Stabs and Zoe will never be the same again.
Will Strickland is one fourth of the hottest indie rock band to ever grace the airwaves. He's the bass player in The Stabs, hot as hell and could have his pick of any girl that flings herself at him. But he's only got eyes for Zoe and she has no idea why he'd bother. She's got one hell of a trust issue and an attitude to boot and Will seems to be the one who wants to tame her, but is he game enough?
The Devil's Tattoo and The Stabs go on the road and it's either going to be a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven. Only time will tell who will come out on top and Zoe's determined to do it without getting her heart broken… again.
**Book Trailer**
The Devil's Tattoo is the first in a new series of twenty-something rock stars. It introduces a cast I hope to get to know much better. And focuses on Zoe Granger and Will Strickland.
Zoe and Will are both damaged. They each have suffered trauma in previous relationships and have focused on music to heal. Will is the bassist for the popular indie band, The Stabs. And Zoe, having spent the last few years learning to play guitar, finds herself fronting the rising band, The Devil's Tattoo. Will sees The Devil's Tattoo perform and recognizing their brilliance, and also due to the crush he's rapidly developing on Zoe, makes sure the bands tour together.
Zoe and Will have both shied away relationships for obvious reasons. Heck, Zoe has pretty much shied away from being social in any capacity. They both have an immediate attraction but while Will wants to act on it, Zoe steers clear. They're both keeping silent about their secrets - their past hurts. What they do connect over is music. Music is their passion and it helps bridge the awkwardness between them.
I enjoyed the bonding between Zoe and Will done through the music. However, I wish they'd both been more open with one another about their pasts earlier on. I do understand their trust issues though. I would have liked to have delved deeper into their histories. I think it would have augmented their character growth. And it would have made witnessing their budding feelings as well as Zoe's transformation richer.
The supporting cast was great - particularly Dee. While we get to know Dee better than other side characters, I did enjoy them all and look forward to becoming better acquainted further into the series.
One thing to note - Ms. Taylor is Australian and the book's setting is Australia. Don't be thrown off by the colloquial language and phrases.
Also, I know this is an ARC so hopefully this is fixed but the verb tense shifts in some places, which distracted me. The Devil's Tattoo is nicely paced and flowed well. It's written as a dual POV between Zoe and Will and I generally like this format. However, I don't know that it added that much to this story. I liked watching Zoe blossom from recluse-like to rock goddess because it showed her strength and fortitude. But again, it would have been more satisfying if I'd had a deeper look into her background - what had made her the Zoe we first met. Will doesn't grow quite as much. He has the reputation of being a player but it's never really explained nor does he truly fill that role in the book. I liked Will though, and I was pleased with his emotional growth - even if it was limited.
Overall, I liked The Devil's Tattoo. I became invested in Zoe and Will and cared about their outcome. And I will be picking up the next in the series for more Dee!
**I received an ecopy of the book, as part of the tour, in exchange for an honest review.
Zoe and Will are both damaged. They each have suffered trauma in previous relationships and have focused on music to heal. Will is the bassist for the popular indie band, The Stabs. And Zoe, having spent the last few years learning to play guitar, finds herself fronting the rising band, The Devil's Tattoo. Will sees The Devil's Tattoo perform and recognizing their brilliance, and also due to the crush he's rapidly developing on Zoe, makes sure the bands tour together.
Zoe and Will have both shied away relationships for obvious reasons. Heck, Zoe has pretty much shied away from being social in any capacity. They both have an immediate attraction but while Will wants to act on it, Zoe steers clear. They're both keeping silent about their secrets - their past hurts. What they do connect over is music. Music is their passion and it helps bridge the awkwardness between them.
I enjoyed the bonding between Zoe and Will done through the music. However, I wish they'd both been more open with one another about their pasts earlier on. I do understand their trust issues though. I would have liked to have delved deeper into their histories. I think it would have augmented their character growth. And it would have made witnessing their budding feelings as well as Zoe's transformation richer.
The supporting cast was great - particularly Dee. While we get to know Dee better than other side characters, I did enjoy them all and look forward to becoming better acquainted further into the series.
One thing to note - Ms. Taylor is Australian and the book's setting is Australia. Don't be thrown off by the colloquial language and phrases.
Also, I know this is an ARC so hopefully this is fixed but the verb tense shifts in some places, which distracted me. The Devil's Tattoo is nicely paced and flowed well. It's written as a dual POV between Zoe and Will and I generally like this format. However, I don't know that it added that much to this story. I liked watching Zoe blossom from recluse-like to rock goddess because it showed her strength and fortitude. But again, it would have been more satisfying if I'd had a deeper look into her background - what had made her the Zoe we first met. Will doesn't grow quite as much. He has the reputation of being a player but it's never really explained nor does he truly fill that role in the book. I liked Will though, and I was pleased with his emotional growth - even if it was limited.
Overall, I liked The Devil's Tattoo. I became invested in Zoe and Will and cared about their outcome. And I will be picking up the next in the series for more Dee!
**I received an ecopy of the book, as part of the tour, in exchange for an honest review.
Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the University of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser.
She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!), traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.
The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th 2013
She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!), traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.
The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th 2013
This sounds like it has a lot of likeable characters who are well developed! I also love an Australian setting! :)
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of Zoe and Will, esp if they are well developed
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour! Thanks for sharing your thoughts : )
ReplyDeleteThis sold the book for me -->The Devil's Tattoo and The Stabs go on the road and it's either going to be a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven.. Love it!
ReplyDeleteNext I wonder if Zoe is related to Hermione? :P lame joke I know, been off lately hence my absence in the sphere.
It's good that it's set in Australia, rockers with that hot Down Under accent?! Whew!