PrairieView Publishing, $8.95, ISBN 978-1438244259
Contemporary Romance, 2008
Married to a Rock Star sees – what else? – a rock star moving into the house across from 40-year-old widow and single mother Karen Meade’s farm. Of course, early on she has no clue that Isaiah Highland is famous. She assumes that he’s some rich fellow from the city who is remodeling his new home into something like an impregnable fortress. A very handsome and charming man, she has to admit to herself. When she learns from her son Bobby that Isaiah is the famous rock star “Izzy High”, any reservation she may have is swept aside as Izzy embarks on a courtship as romantic as you can imagine a famous and successful rock star can afford to throw. But when she soon has to place both her feet back onto the ground – and you know that will have to happen eventually, I’m sure – she will have to decide whether Izzy’s world is one that she is happy to live in.
This one is an interesting contemporary romance in that the heroine for once behaves like a sensible woman instead of a typical romance heroine cliché in “celebrity hunk meets ordinary gal” stories of this kind. Which is to say, Karen isn’t some weird woman who will behave as if dating a cute guy, even a hot and famous one, will turn her into the harlot of the century. Karen tries her best to keep herself afloat in Izzy’s world and I like that Ms Parrington manages to portray Karen as a smart and sensible woman. Of course, Karen is somewhat out of her depths in Izzy’s world, hence when the usually predictable conflicts arise, these conflicts seem like a natural progression of the storyline rather than the result of the author faithfully following the script. As for Izzy, he’s a pretty realistic fellow in that he has his strengths and weaknesses and… well, he is a rock star. I have to say that I think Karen deals with him just fine.
There are some suspenseful elements that show up in the second half or so of the story. While this aspect is still well done to my satisfaction, I am somewhat disappointed that it takes away opportunities for Karen and Izzy to interact. I personally feel that the dramatic elements of the story are more interesting than the suspenseful elements. I am also not too fond of how the author uses the rebellious teenage daughter as a plot device to create some problems for Izzy and Karen – that one is way too obvious indeed.
While this may be a self-published effort, I have to say that it is pretty professionally written and therefore very easy to read. I have a great time reading this story, especially when it doesn’t follow the same old route for stories of its kind, and it also features some pretty intelligent drama taking place within its pages.
