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A review by stephsbooktalk
For One Night Only by Jessica James
5.0
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to the author Jessica James for having me on her traveling arc tour!
This book will be out Jan 7th, 2025.
"If the media sees me as a thunderstorm, he was always the sunshine streaming through the clouds after the rain, light shining on everyone around him.
This book had everything I could ever want in a contemporary romance. I had heard this book months ago after fellow author Alicia Thompson raved about it. Even though I never had the "look" of a scene kid, I was very into emo/pop punk music of the mid 2000s. So this scratch that itch as I don't believe there has every been a book about an indie pop punk band.
The book is told from two point of views - one from Valerie our fearless lead singer and the other from Caleb our strong and quiet bass player. Valerie is our FMC who is going through a lot. Her tv show is on the brink of cancellation, her reputation isn't the best and she feels in order to get in the good graces of the media she wants to reunite her old band The Glitterbats (sound familiar Justin Timberlake *cough*).
The tension between the group members is felt through the book. Some have stayed in touch more than others. We do learn why the group disbanded seemingly out of nowhere 6 years prior.
Valerie. Oh Valerie. She meant so well but just went about things wrongly. She was under so much pressure being a female entertainer and having everything she does scrutinize by everyone. She needed this reunion to work. She felt like she was out of options to rehab her career. I really loved Valerie as a character. She was complex but also wasn't afraid to let loose. I thought the way Jessica wrote the relationship between the female characters was so well done.
I loved the other band members! Even though we did not get their point of view specifically, we got to know more about them in each of the views. Keely was such a firecracker and told it as it is. I would like to say she was the unofficial spokesperson for the band. She was not afraid of stand up to Valerie. Riker like Caleb was quiet but together they complimented one another. Lastly Jane who was the mediator of the group. She always was the voice of reason whenever disagreements would happen. She had a beautiful soul.
"Every time she smiles it hits me, how lucky I am to be in her orbit. But it's never just been an orbit. We collide, again and again, like two stars in an explosion of light and color.
Caleb and Valerie. These two lovebirds. Caleb and Valerie were childhood friends turn bandmates turn lovers into strangers and then lovers again. They had quite a ride throughout the book. But one thing that rang true is the love and respect they had for each other. They would absolutely do anything for one another. So when Valerie shows up at his door and asks him to be apart of the reunion, even if he had hesitation, he knew he could not say no to her. I love the two of them together and knowing their history it just makes you want them to work things out.
I just wanted to squeeze Caleb. He just came off as the sweetest man. He wanted to leave this world behind him and was content with teaching but being back in the scene brought all these complicated feelings back to him. I loved his relationship with the other band members and the glimpses we got to see of him with his family.
One minor trait that Jessica gave Caleb is that he is a short king! I absolutely love that! Most male characters/love interests are tall and muscular but he is short but his confidence makes him appear taller.
"I could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve Caleb Sloane."
There is some mixed media between the chapters. I normally am not a big fan of them but in this I didn't mind it. I would also have been okay if it wasn't in the book either. I do want to check out the audio of this to see how some of it translate as there are moments where the lyrics are shown.
I just ate this book up and didn't want to stop reading. The book gave me elements from Julie & the Phantoms (which i was so happy the author mentions them in the acknowledgements), Daisy Jones, Tessa Bailey's Wreck My Plans, Laura Hankin's The Daydreams and the style of the 80s Barbie and the Rockers. Other reviews also mentioned Jem (I did not watch this growing up). So if those are your jam - give this one a try! Plus who doesn't love a second chance romance!
Thank you so much to the author Jessica James for having me on her traveling arc tour!
This book will be out Jan 7th, 2025.
"If the media sees me as a thunderstorm, he was always the sunshine streaming through the clouds after the rain, light shining on everyone around him.
This book had everything I could ever want in a contemporary romance. I had heard this book months ago after fellow author Alicia Thompson raved about it. Even though I never had the "look" of a scene kid, I was very into emo/pop punk music of the mid 2000s. So this scratch that itch as I don't believe there has every been a book about an indie pop punk band.
The book is told from two point of views - one from Valerie our fearless lead singer and the other from Caleb our strong and quiet bass player. Valerie is our FMC who is going through a lot. Her tv show is on the brink of cancellation, her reputation isn't the best and she feels in order to get in the good graces of the media she wants to reunite her old band The Glitterbats (sound familiar Justin Timberlake *cough*).
The tension between the group members is felt through the book. Some have stayed in touch more than others. We do learn why the group disbanded seemingly out of nowhere 6 years prior.
Valerie. Oh Valerie. She meant so well but just went about things wrongly. She was under so much pressure being a female entertainer and having everything she does scrutinize by everyone. She needed this reunion to work. She felt like she was out of options to rehab her career. I really loved Valerie as a character. She was complex but also wasn't afraid to let loose. I thought the way Jessica wrote the relationship between the female characters was so well done.
I loved the other band members! Even though we did not get their point of view specifically, we got to know more about them in each of the views. Keely was such a firecracker and told it as it is. I would like to say she was the unofficial spokesperson for the band. She was not afraid of stand up to Valerie. Riker like Caleb was quiet but together they complimented one another. Lastly Jane who was the mediator of the group. She always was the voice of reason whenever disagreements would happen. She had a beautiful soul.
"Every time she smiles it hits me, how lucky I am to be in her orbit. But it's never just been an orbit. We collide, again and again, like two stars in an explosion of light and color.
Caleb and Valerie. These two lovebirds. Caleb and Valerie were childhood friends turn bandmates turn lovers into strangers and then lovers again. They had quite a ride throughout the book. But one thing that rang true is the love and respect they had for each other. They would absolutely do anything for one another. So when Valerie shows up at his door and asks him to be apart of the reunion, even if he had hesitation, he knew he could not say no to her. I love the two of them together and knowing their history it just makes you want them to work things out.
I just wanted to squeeze Caleb. He just came off as the sweetest man. He wanted to leave this world behind him and was content with teaching but being back in the scene brought all these complicated feelings back to him. I loved his relationship with the other band members and the glimpses we got to see of him with his family.
One minor trait that Jessica gave Caleb is that he is a short king! I absolutely love that! Most male characters/love interests are tall and muscular but he is short but his confidence makes him appear taller.
"I could live a hundred lifetimes and never deserve Caleb Sloane."
There is some mixed media between the chapters. I normally am not a big fan of them but in this I didn't mind it. I would also have been okay if it wasn't in the book either. I do want to check out the audio of this to see how some of it translate as there are moments where the lyrics are shown.
I just ate this book up and didn't want to stop reading. The book gave me elements from Julie & the Phantoms (which i was so happy the author mentions them in the acknowledgements), Daisy Jones, Tessa Bailey's Wreck My Plans, Laura Hankin's The Daydreams and the style of the 80s Barbie and the Rockers. Other reviews also mentioned Jem (I did not watch this growing up). So if those are your jam - give this one a try! Plus who doesn't love a second chance romance!