4.5 Smooches
Synopsis
Rock star Kendrick Main is living the dream—or so it seems to the outside world.
In reality, he’s trapped in a lie that’s consuming his soul and destroying his family. For years, the owner of his record label has manipulated and blackmailed him, forcing him to deceive the world and hide the existence of those he loves the most: his wife and children.
Unable to see a way out that won’t destroy the lives of his bandmates and brothers, he loses himself in the bottle. His downward spiral ends when he wakes up in intensive care after a near-fatal drunken crash. With nothing left to lose, he buys out of his contract and announces the existence of his wife and kids to the waiting paparazzi.
Penniless and lost, he has nothing to show for his former success but a broken family and a mile-long list of people he’s let down. When the pain and suffering that surrounds him trickles down to his children, Kendrick vows to right his wrongs—hopefully taking down the man who ruined his life and winning his wife back in the process.
Review
Kendrick has hit rock bottom, being forced to leave the band he loves because of an awful contract that was forced upon him, the wife he loves to bits but he that he has had to hide from the world has enforced a separation and he’s in AA to try and stop his drinking after drunk driving and crashing. But once you hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up right? Kendrick is determined to right all the wrongs, get back his beautiful wife Eliza and expose the person who helped destroy his band, family life and happiness.
“Whatever she’s looking for, I hope she finds it soon, because I’m dying without her.”
I have been really hooked into band reads at the moment and Interlude was definitely up there with some of the best I have read over the last month or so. It was slightly different to the others as well because we focused a lot on one main guy and how he was struggling. Kendrick was an interesting character with a lot of depth and I really felt for him throughout the story.
“Then I lean in and kiss her tenderly on the cheek. Like an addict, I just can’t seem to help myself. The only thing I crave more than alcohol is touching her.”
Kendrick was really the main character throughout. He was a complicated guy, he was really having a hard time of it and wasn’t afraid to show it and ask for help which I really admired. I loved his dedication to his wife Eliza and although he shouldn’t have shouldered all of the guilt he did, it was another admirable trait that he wanted to fix so many wrongs of those people in his life.
“Just the sound of my love’s name is enough to make me soften. He has no idea just how much I get it. No matter what happens with my marriage, for me there will never be any moving on from Eliza—she’s it for me.”
Then we had Eliza and all the other band members and their friends. I liked that Eliza stuck to her guns with their separation because she knew they needed it and that Kendrick needed to get better and happier without her constant support. The fact she was still supported him and helped him in his darkest moments showed the depth of their love for each other. All the other guys in the band had well developed personalities and their relationships with each other were entertaining to read and I can’t wait to read each of their stories.
“I sing of how my post-FourMain life has been waiting for me, and though I have no idea what lies ahead, I won’t be alone—my family, friends, and fans will support me.”
This wasn’t your classic rock and roll novel and instead we were able to really delve into one specific person and be with them step by step as they struggled and fought to put their life back together again. Because of this, I was easily dragged into and hooked on the read because I felt so invested in finding out in Kendrick would finally get back to a happy life. There was no shortage of plot lines to keep you entertained; trying to determine if Eliza and Kendrick would get back together, if the other guys in FourMain were hiding secrets themselves and what was going to happen when THAT book was released. The story flowed really well and the characters were easy to connect to and I am genuinely looking forward to coming back to the FourMain group and reading more about the other members.
~Bethany
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