Title: Fractured Trust
Series: Fractured Rock Star #3
Author: L.M. Dalgleish
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 20, 2021
BLURB
Summer Mackenzie’s high-school sweetheart shattered her heart years ago when he betrayed her. Now he’s a world-famous rock star and the last thing she wants is to see him again when her life is crumbling around her.
Forgetting what he did is impossible.
Ignoring the way he still makes her feel is a losing battle.
Saying yes when he throws her a lifeline that will mean living and working closer to him? That would be crazy…
Noah Taylor has spent the last decade living life to the fullest. As drummer for Fractured, he’s got everything he could ever want. But seeing Summer again reminds him of a time when she had been everything he wanted. That was until she’d made a decision that had torn his heart to shreds.
He shouldn’t care that her life has imploded.
He shouldn’t try to help her.
And he definitely shouldn’t start remembering how good they used to be together…
Their chemistry might be undeniable, but second chances don’t come easy. After all, shattered hearts can be mended, but trust, once broken, might just stay broken forever.
Forgetting what he did is impossible.
Ignoring the way he still makes her feel is a losing battle.
Saying yes when he throws her a lifeline that will mean living and working closer to him? That would be crazy…
Noah Taylor has spent the last decade living life to the fullest. As drummer for Fractured, he’s got everything he could ever want. But seeing Summer again reminds him of a time when she had been everything he wanted. That was until she’d made a decision that had torn his heart to shreds.
He shouldn’t care that her life has imploded.
He shouldn’t try to help her.
And he definitely shouldn’t start remembering how good they used to be together…
Their chemistry might be undeniable, but second chances don’t come easy. After all, shattered hearts can be mended, but trust, once broken, might just stay broken forever.
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Free in Kindle Unlimited
EXCERPT
As the last notes of the song faded, Noah held his sticks up high, a broad smile stretching across his face as the air filled with screams and catcalls. This feeling. He loved this feeling. The energy from the crowd beat against his skin the way he’d been beating his drums a few seconds ago, and he let himself sit and soak it in for a moment. Then he stood and maneuvered out from behind his kit, jumping down from the riser and striding to the front of the stage to join the other three men in thanking the fans.
The concert was over, but he could have played for another hour on the adrenaline pumping through his veins alone. While there’d be no more drumming tonight, there were other ways he could ride out the high. A few drinks at a club and a few hours with a woman would probably do the trick.
A flash of strawberry blonde jerked his head around. His pulse jumped as he scanned the area to the side of the stage to find whatever it was that had caught his eye. A couple of the female sound techs, one whose long hair underneath a black Fractured crew cap had captured his attention, were deep in conversation out of sight from the crowd as they frowned and gestured at an amp.
Noah turned back to the fans. He kept the smile on his face, but the buzz that had filled him before slowly bled away, leaving him drained. He hated those first few seconds. That moment of realization that it wasn’t her he’d seen. Hated the anger and disappointment that always warred inside him afterward.
Ever since he’d run into his high-school sweetheart, Summer, eight months ago in Chicago, his mind kept trying to convince him he’d heard her voice, seen a flash of her hair, glimpsed her face in the crowd.
The whole thing was fucking with his head.
With his smile still fixed in place, Noah joined his bandmates in giving one final farewell salute to the audience before they left the stage. As they made their way toward the dressing room, the roar from the fans still ringing in their ears, Tex caught up to him and clapped him on the back.
“You nailed it,” the guitarist said, in his whiskey-smooth Southern drawl. “Speeding up the last verse was genius. I had to hustle to keep up with you, but it added a fan-fuckin’-tastic punch to the end of the set.”
Noah pushed aside his thoughts of Summer and gave Tex a fake ‘aw-shucks’ grin. “Stop, you’re making me blush.”
Tex just laughed as he used his tattooed forearm to wipe the sweat off his forehead, but Connor turned and spoke over his shoulder as he walked next to Zac in front of them. “I have to admit, man, you surprised me. Sitting in your pocket most of the song, keeping the beat rock solid like a fucking machine. I kept expecting you to explode with one of your ridiculously complicated licks. But you hit us with that subtle increase in tempo instead. It was perfect.”
Their words of praise flowed through Noah, easing some of the tension that had knotted his shoulders since he’d seen that flash of strawberry blonde. Though if he were being honest with himself, he’d been tense for about the last eight months—since Chicago.
It needed to stop. He needed to get past whatever the hell seeing Summer again had done to him. He should be over the fucking moon right now. He was drummer for not one but two successful bands, raking in money, and surrounded by adoring fans. Instead, he was obsessing over what had happened eleven years ago when the girl he’d thought he’d end up marrying walked straight into the arms of another man.
The concert was over, but he could have played for another hour on the adrenaline pumping through his veins alone. While there’d be no more drumming tonight, there were other ways he could ride out the high. A few drinks at a club and a few hours with a woman would probably do the trick.
A flash of strawberry blonde jerked his head around. His pulse jumped as he scanned the area to the side of the stage to find whatever it was that had caught his eye. A couple of the female sound techs, one whose long hair underneath a black Fractured crew cap had captured his attention, were deep in conversation out of sight from the crowd as they frowned and gestured at an amp.
Noah turned back to the fans. He kept the smile on his face, but the buzz that had filled him before slowly bled away, leaving him drained. He hated those first few seconds. That moment of realization that it wasn’t her he’d seen. Hated the anger and disappointment that always warred inside him afterward.
Ever since he’d run into his high-school sweetheart, Summer, eight months ago in Chicago, his mind kept trying to convince him he’d heard her voice, seen a flash of her hair, glimpsed her face in the crowd.
The whole thing was fucking with his head.
With his smile still fixed in place, Noah joined his bandmates in giving one final farewell salute to the audience before they left the stage. As they made their way toward the dressing room, the roar from the fans still ringing in their ears, Tex caught up to him and clapped him on the back.
“You nailed it,” the guitarist said, in his whiskey-smooth Southern drawl. “Speeding up the last verse was genius. I had to hustle to keep up with you, but it added a fan-fuckin’-tastic punch to the end of the set.”
Noah pushed aside his thoughts of Summer and gave Tex a fake ‘aw-shucks’ grin. “Stop, you’re making me blush.”
Tex just laughed as he used his tattooed forearm to wipe the sweat off his forehead, but Connor turned and spoke over his shoulder as he walked next to Zac in front of them. “I have to admit, man, you surprised me. Sitting in your pocket most of the song, keeping the beat rock solid like a fucking machine. I kept expecting you to explode with one of your ridiculously complicated licks. But you hit us with that subtle increase in tempo instead. It was perfect.”
Their words of praise flowed through Noah, easing some of the tension that had knotted his shoulders since he’d seen that flash of strawberry blonde. Though if he were being honest with himself, he’d been tense for about the last eight months—since Chicago.
It needed to stop. He needed to get past whatever the hell seeing Summer again had done to him. He should be over the fucking moon right now. He was drummer for not one but two successful bands, raking in money, and surrounded by adoring fans. Instead, he was obsessing over what had happened eleven years ago when the girl he’d thought he’d end up marrying walked straight into the arms of another man.
MY REVIEW
Summer's got baggage for days. It's that very baggage that ruined her relationship with her first love. Is she going to let that baggage ruin their relationship, AGAIN?!
Fractured Trust is angsty, steamy and entertaining. I found Noah to be really likable, but I have to admit Summer got on my nerves with her insecurities and the way she just could not get out of her head. Her past had done a huge number on her and she couldn't get her shit together until the very end. I wish she had gotten herself straight much sooner so I could have enjoyed them as a stable couple for a lot longer. But I liked Noah and the rest of the Fractured guys enough that they made up for my dislike of Summer's nonsense.
ALSO AVAILABLE
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Free in Kindle Unlimited
AUTHOR BIO
L. M. Dalgleish is a life-long book lover whose passion for romance novels began in the long sleepless nights following the birth of her first baby. Two more babies later and she’s still in love with strong, sassy heroines and sexy, but emotionally unavailable (at least to begin with) heroes.
She lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband, three kids, and a very large, very fluffy dog. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging with her family, reading, eating too much pasta, and watching horror movies.
She lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband, three kids, and a very large, very fluffy dog. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging with her family, reading, eating too much pasta, and watching horror movies.
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