Review: Wild Licks (Secrets of a Rock Star #2) by Cecilia Tan

Wild Licks (Secrets of a Rock Star #2) by Cecilia Tan

Gwen Hamilton wants to succeed at acting without using her family name: she wants to be judged on her own terms. But when an exercise in Method Acting leads her accidentally into the arms of Mal Kenneally, the rock star with a reputation for unusual sexual appetites, Gwen thinks maybe she’s found the ultimate test of her acting abilities. Or maybe she’s finally met the man who can see the real Gwen underneath the act.

Mal Kenneally has done his best to leave his aristocratic British family behind. The Rough, the rock band he started with his childhood friend Axel, is his family now. But will he be forced to choose between the brotherhood of the band and his growing obsession with Gwen Hamilton?

Mal and Gwen push each other’s limits, each convinced that one day they’ll go too far. But the farther they go, the more they discover that two can delve far deeper than one.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I really, really liked this. The first half was awesome! It started great, I was totally intrigued. I thought the characters where interesting and I was excited about what was to come. I found Mal and Gwen's relationship fascinating as well as their kink preference. Loved the draw they had towards one another. I really liked the battle Gwen was having in the beginning about who she was when she was with Mal. I liked her a lot and found her perspective really interesting. It was super erotic, way hot, and I was loving all the details being learned. I thought there was a great build and I was all in.

And then... The second half wasn't as great for me. More in the just good category. I was having some issues with Mal and his man drama. His issues, even though stated, aren't very in depth and it made it hard for me to fully grasp the problem. It did create some nice conflict between him and Gwen however. I loved all the steps they took to move forward. I found their brand of rougher kink fascinating. That being said, after so many scenes I felt almost desensitized to it. There is a lot of them, I liked them all, they're good, well written and descriptive, BDSM hot for sure, and in the context of what they're doing, it made total sense but the frequency of them made the story feel a bit drawn out to me.

It picked back up at the end. Loose ends were tied up and there was a nice bit of drama and a bit of sweet when Mal finally pulled it together and worked out his issues. It was a really, really good story overall, super hot, and loved the BDSM perspective.

Complimentary copy received for honest review.