Thursday 12 March 2015

Review: Leaving Amarillo by Caisey Quinn

Nashville meets New Adult in Neon Dreams, a dramatic, sexy series from bestselling author Caisey Quinn, about a country band’s rocky road to fame—and the ambition, dreams, and love of the people who make the music.

Dixie Lark hasn’t had it easy. She lost her parents in an accident when she was young and grew up in a ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo with her ailing grandparents and overprotective older brother. Thanks to her grandfather, Dixie learned to play a mean fiddle, inspired by the sounds of the greats—Johnny and June, Waylon, and Hank. Her grandfather’s fiddle changed Dixie’s life forever, giving her an outlet for the turmoil of her broken heart and inspiring a daring dream.

Ten years later, Dixie and her brother, Dallas, are creating the music they love and chasing fame with their hot band, Leaving Amarillo. But Dixie isn’t enjoying the ride. All she can think about is Gavin, the band’s tattooed, tortured drummer who she’s loved since they were kids. She knows he feels the connection between them, but he refuses see her as more than his best friend’s little sister.

Convinced that one night with Gavin will get him out of her system, Dixie devises a plan. She doesn’t know that her brother has forbidden Gavin from making a move on her-a promise he swore he’d always keep . . . a promise that once broken will unexpectedly change the future for Dixie, Gavin and the band.


ebook, 352 pages
Expected publication: March 17th 2015 by William Morrow Paperbacks 
Series: Neon Dreams #1
Genre: New Adult

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from William Morrow via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I want to start off by saying that this book is new adult through and through. If you are not a fan of NA then you probably won't like this book but if you are a fan you are in for a treat.

This is the story of Dixie Lark and her band Leaving Amarillo. The band consists of Dixie, her brother Dallas and their childhood friend Gavin. The three of them have been the best of friends since the day of Dallas and Dixie's parents funeral. What sets them apart from other country bands is that Dixie plays the fiddle. With a lot of hard work the three are trying to get their big break in the music industry.

Of course there are always complications...

Dixie has loved Gavin since the day they met when they were just kids. As they get older her feelings continue to grow. She thinks he feels the connection too but won't do anything about it. There are promises made and feelings revealed, misunderstandings and miscommunications and a whole lot in between. Not to mention it wouldn't be an NA book without a lot of smoking hot pages to go with the angst.

So what did I think?

It started a little bit slow but once it wound up I was hooked. I'm not normally a country fan but I was for Leaving Amarillo. I really liked Dixie although she did seem young for her age at times and Gavin, Gavin, Gavin...what can I say about Gavin beside yummy?? Book boyfriend material for sure. The only character that I was unsure of was Dallas. I'm going to save my judgement on him for future instalments.

The romance followed the typical formula of the NA genre but the characters and plot were unique enough that it didn't feel like I was reading a cookie cutter book and it felt authentic and original. I wish I had highlighted while I was reading because Quinn had some beautiful moments in the story that are definitely quote worthy.

A word of warning for anyone who decides to pick this book up. It doesn't end all nice and neat at the end of this book and there will be future instalments in order to find out how their story ends. It left me a little frustrated because I am not a very patient person and I want the next book now! I need to know what happens next. Sigh...I guess I don't have a choice but to wait. The next instalment will be about Dallas and then it will come back to Dixie in the one after that.

Caisey Quinn is a new author for me and I am now adding her to my list of authors to watch out for. I really enjoyed this book and am anxious for what comes next!




About the Author
Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult and Contemporary Romance novels featuring Southern girls finding love in unexpected places.

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