The Rocker That Needs Me (#3) – Terri-Anne Browning

Synopsis

The Demon…

I’ve been fighting my own demons for most of my life. The alcohol seems to numb the pain, but it never makes the nightmares go away. All I want in life is a little peace. When I met my angel it felt like I found it, but there is so much standing between us. Why does she have to be so young…?

The Demon’s Angel…

Meeting Drake was the best thing to ever happen to me. I found my friend, my soul mate. But he lets my age stand between us. There is something that haunts him, and I selfishly want to be the one that helps him conquer his ghosts. If he would just let me in, let me closer, I think I could help him…

4.5 / 5 stars

My review of The Rocker That Holds Me HERE
My review of The Rocker That Savors Me HERE

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My Review

Since I had found the first book in The Rocker series by Terri Anne Browning, you could say I have fallen in love. In love with her and with the band. Since The Rocker That Holds Me, I have become obsessed with the stories. Of wanting to know the past of each character, to wanting ALL the books out now so I can gobble up each of the guys and the girls and watch their happy endings after all the shit they have been through.

If you have read my review of book two – The Rocker That Savors Me, you will see that I have such a massive soft spot for Drake. Okay, not a soft spot, I am basically in love with this guy. There is just something about him that drew me in. His dark past, his vulnerability, and the fact I want to mollycoddle him and be the one to help him through his past, through his drinking and just be the one for him. I know, I know, hes fictional, but I don’t care. In my head, he can be as real as I want him to be! Hahah.

You could say that my excitement for this book is an understatement. I was PISSING myself over getting my hands on this book so when Terri-Anne emailed me about an ARC, well who the hell was I to pass up reading The Rocker That Needs Me and my book boyfriend? OF COURSE I wanted an arc. I needed to learn all about Drake and his past and his relationship with Lana.

Myself and Holly (@Hollyshotreads) are completely besotted by this series and by Drake that we waited until each other had finished our respected books and read it together. We have been sooo anxious for the past few weeks and were completely excited to finally read Drake’s story. The texts she was sending me were making me chuckle!!

My darling Drake. My darling, darling drake. His prologue killed me. It killed me. And I cried. Yes, I cried at the start of this book. I knew it was going to be a bumpy and emotional ride, I knew it would be a hard and long journey and I knew we would find out about his awful past and the reason why he drink excessively until he blacks out. I was hoping that this wasn’t going to be his past, but I just cried so much when it turned out just what his past was.

It was heartbreaking and it really made you understand part of the reason he drank. I completely understood though, it just broke my heart that he needed the alcohol to numb him, to make the pain and the past go away. To stop him feeling guilty too.

But then he spots his angel when moving Layla and her sisters back to their guest house. But his angel is 17 years old and hes 31. He feels like hes found his soul mate but shes too young. He wants to stay away but he can’t. It’s like he needs Lana to breathe. To fill his life with some kind of hope, hope that he can get over his demons in time and hope that he can turn his life around and stop the drinking once and for all.

You really do see Drake change over the course of the book. Because of the dual POV, we got inside Drake’s head, which I absolutely loved. You got to see his fears, his insecurities, how he thought of himself and his band brothers and Emmie, and especially how he thought of Lana – his angel.

Of course there are parts where you just want to smack Drake but I loved how he needed and wanted to get help. Help for his drinking and for his past, no matter how hard it was for him to dredge it all back up. I felt like a proud momma for Drake sorting his shit out. He did it for Lana, for Shane, for himself.

Drake really does come a long way. He is a strong character, despite the addiction to alcohol. He is vulnerable too and completely besotted with Lana, which I found so heart clenchingly adorable.  You could really see the fear of losing her when something big happens, and that is what kicks him ass into gear to try and win her back, to be a better man for her. He never wants to be without her, ever.

Angel, or Lana, as her real name goes is so mature and grown up for her 17 years. So doesn’t get involved in petty situations in school, she works hard, and focuses on her future and getting through school. She and Drake instantly click. Despite the age gap, there is something there between them that although they try to ignore, it’s blatantly there. They spend all their time together and it’s obvious that feelings are changing between them both for each other even though they are petrified and would rather hide them.

I loved the fear Drake had in losing her (which you will read in The Rocker That Savors Me). It was pure and you see just how much he and Lana balance each other out. But when one situation changes everything, Lana needs to do what is best for her. She is such a strong, caring girl and you really do feel for her. She loves Drake so much, but this something, she just needs to get away. To try and forget what happened. To focus on herself now even though she cares so much for Drake, it’s down to him to make the change.

Being miles away from Drake, I think it made Lana grow up and grow into herself. She just needed that time away to be herself – to focus on school but also focus on what she wants. I was so proud of her for standing up for herself, for not taking crap off Emmie, whom, despite my love for her, seemed to have some sort of vendetta against her. (I’m hoping this works itself out) but as I’ve said, Lana is amazing, shes brilliant and she didn’t deserve the hate towards her because it wasn’t her fault at all. (You’ll see what I mean). But I am glad she got her happy ending and both her and Drake, well I love them together and I’m glad they got over the issues standing in the way.

Drake does get his happily ever after. My heart was clenching in sweetness and an overpowering feeling to cwtched the shit out of him and Lana. My darling Drake finally got there in the end. Got to a point in his life where he was completely and utterly happy, in love so deeply with the one girl who stole his heart from the first sight. His journey wasn’t an easy one in any means. Lots of hurdles and bumps along the way, but they made him stronger. He broke his own barrier down, he stopped drinking, he put his guilt behind him, knowing and learning it wasn’t his fault and he got the girl who he knew he wanted to change for and be a better man for. You really cannot get any better than Drake. No way.

If you have yet to read about my book boyfriends in The Rocker series by the fabulous Terri Anne, then you are completely missing out. Seriously, you are because from the first book I knew this would become a favourite series of mine and it has. You have a band of ‘brothers’ all who have different secrets from their childhood and have grown up together and they have Emmie, the glue to their family. The girl who they all protected when they were younger and still are in a way. You watch the separate band members find their own way in life now; finding the one girl they want to spend their life with, and watching them grow.

The Rocker series isn’t one I’ve read before. The Rocker aren’t party animals, they aren’t the drink and drugs types. They are tame and it’s now time for them all to find the love of their life.

So join me in loving this series so hard and find new book boyfriends in each one of them.