Blog Tour ~ Review ~ Made in Nashville by Mandy Baggot

 

Publisher Harper Impulse

 

Book Description:

An on-stage attack left Honor Blackwood with more scars than just the one on her face. It’s been ten years since she left her spot as Nashville’s brightest country music star. Is now the time to return? And is she brave enough to do it?

Country rebel and rock star, Jared ‘Jed’ Marshall is hot property on the Tennessee music scene in more ways than one. He’s wild, he’s sexy and everybody wants a piece of him. But when he sets his sights on Honor, is it pure attraction or just distraction on his mind?

Honor’s record label sign the ex-boyfriend that dumped her and suddenly going back to her old life is harder than she thought. Can she get a new contract? Will she get to perform at the Marlon Festival? Or will Dan Steele destroy everything?

When a secret from the past becomes public knowledge it’s no longer just about the music. Are all the people in her life lying to her to get what they want? And who is really behind the anonymous gifts she keeps getting sent?

Join the country scene to find out!

Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20564887-made-in-Nashville

Our Review:

**ARC Received for honest review**

Reviewed by Donna ~ 3.5Stars

This is a bit of a tough one, because up until the very last bit of this book I was going to rate this 4 stars, personally I felt that the ending did not sit right with the characters that were developed throughout the book. I felt that the heroine acted totally out of character and for me it gave me a sickly feeling, I was shouting at my kindle “she wouldn’t have done that!” Up until that point, I loved it, I loved the slow build, no insta-love, the characters had some great chemistry and I fell for them both. There was a lot going on with the plot and this did make for interesting reading and kept the pages turning. I just felt a bit aggrieved with the ending, this is just my opinion though and you may think differently, that is the beauty of books, we all look and feel differently.

Honor Blackwood was a child star back in her late teens, she had taken the country music scene by storm and was top of her field. She had a voice like no other and was hot property. All that ended one night when she was attacked on stage and she was left horrifically scarred, both emotionally and physically. Her life would never be the same again. Now a shell of the person she once was, she spends the days in her friends music shop, her one connection left to music, where she can help others connect and when things are quiet she can play and sing in privacy. She style has the trappings of her once famous lifestyle, she still has the big house, the label and the manager. Try as they might to get her “back on the horse” she won’t have it and for her, her life is over.

Jared Marshall a.k.a Jed is the latest singing sensation on the country music scene, he is a sure fire hit with the ladies and we are introduced to him as he is trying to find an opening act for his next sell out tour. Lots of stars had been mentioned but he had yet to find one that he wanted…that is until he hears a song being played in a bar…

“Man, who was that?”

“You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t know. If I knew I wouldn’t be askin.”

“Her name was Honor Blackwood.”

After hearing Honor’s soulful and sensual voice he knew who he wanted to be his opening act and he wasn’t going to stop at anything to get what he wanted, after all, he was Jed Marshall.

I loved the way that Jed and Honor interacted, as I said above, there was no insta-love, yes there was an instant attraction but they became friends before getting romantically involved. It was this slow build that had me gripped. They both have trust issues and these walls had to be broken down slowly. Jed gave Honor a new found confidence, he was there supporting her all the way. This was not just because he had his own agenda, but her story really affected him and he loved her as a person. He wanted her to do what she was best at, he didn’t want her talent hidden away, she was too good to be singing to herself in the shop and at her home, hers was a voice that needed to be heard. He was so supportive, these feelings he had were totally alien to him, he was scared himself but he couldn’t help but act on his feelings and this made for a really heart warming story.

Once it becomes apparent that there is more between them, Jed shares a secret, Honor doesn’t want to know the details and is just glad that he trusted her enough to tell her, Jed is just shocked that she hasn’t left him, like the others. The trouble is with secrets they always come back to bite you on the bum and this is where this story is no different and this is where I felt the story went a bit off the rails.

“The last person I told…she broke my heart.”

“I’m glad.” She touched his face, holding her hand to his cheek. “Because she sent you to me.”

 

Overall, a good read that I really enjoyed. Apart from the last bit…but as I said, that is just me…you may be different!

“What she felt for this man and what she could tell he felt for her was stronger than anything she’d known. It was all encompassing.”

 

About the Author

 

Mandy Baggot is a romantic fiction author. In 2012 she won the Innovation in Romantic Fiction award at the UK’s Festival of Romance. Her self-published title, Strings Attached was also short-listed for the Best Author Published Read award.

Also in 2012 she signed with American publishing house, Sapphire Star Publishing, who produced her novels, Taking Charge and romantic suspense, Security.

In June 2013 she signed a two book deal with Harper Collins' digital first romance imprint, Harper Impulse.

She is a regular contributor to writing blogs and on-line magazine, Loveahappyending Lifestyle http://www.loveahappyending.com/.

Mandy loves mashed potato, white wine, country music, World’s Strongest Man, travel and handbags. She has appeared on ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and auditioned for The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

She is an advocate for women in business and belongs to the networking group Women on Wednesdays.

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