Official Review: Snowdrops and Stardust by Sue Lilley
Posted: 02 Aug 2017, 17:57
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Snowdrops and Stardust" by Sue Lilley.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Aiden Delaney is a rock legend with a huge, sold out show in a few days. Instead of being pumped and excited to go, Aiden has grown sick of the rock star life. The life has lost its enjoyment and feels empty and fake, and he even has nightmares about being trapped beneath the stage in a crate while the show goes on with no one missing him. Rather than head to the city to live it up, he sneaks away from his manager and gets in a taxi, telling the driver to let him off in a random little country area just outside the city. Despite it being dreadfully early in the morning and deep in the winter he catches sight of smoke and follows it to a small bed and breakfast. Here a woman named Marianne is burning loads of items that belong to her ex. Aiden offers to help in exchange for breakfast, and once a scrumptious breakfast has been eaten Aiden finds himself snowed in and rents a room.
Snowdrops and Stardust by Sue Lilley is a short and sweet romance story (less than 50 pages) that still manages to cover a lot of ground. The story is told from Aiden's point of view, and he has a very poetic way with words thanks to his lyric-writing past. Often when a type of character is used (like a rock star or a doctor or whatever) the theme is used very loosely, but Sue weaves his history in expertly. In addition to his lyrical nature, Aiden mentions once as he's carrying items to be burned that he half expected a roadie to grab it out of his hands and carry it for him. When he finds out that Marianne makes high quality preservatives and desserts he mentions Alex James, the former bassist of Blur, who left the rock life to make cheese and do all sorts of other things. That little added depth to his character made him feel real, not like some flat cliché.
Marianne is an excellent character as well. She's clearly heartbroken at both her ex leaving her and her failing business, but she still has a fire within her. Beneath that fire and biting sarcasm (the best kind of humor!) is a sweet, kind woman. It was nice to see, even in such a short story, that the lead character's love interest had some depth and felt like a real human being too. She wasn't some unintelligent girl to be saved or some love-starved, attention-craving girl, just like Aiden wasn't some cold, sex-obsessed man.
The book covers three days that can only be described as magical. Aiden falls in love with the possibility of a "real" life, one that isn't just being paraded around like a monkey and being forced to come up with lyrics when he feels like he's losing his touch. It's incredibly relatable - who hasn't wondered about changing their life drastically, or felt some huge pull toward a different lifestyle when given a taste of it. He can't tell if Marianne doesn't recognize him or just toys with him when she says things like she wonders if he can afford breakfast, and yet his charm still manages to break her down and the two end up in a relationship. The book handles all of this excellently, and the ending was a huge surprise! Without spoiling anything, the ending wrapped things up perfectly and couldn't have been better.
I typically don't read romance novels without a sci-fi or fantasy plot, and I'm not a fan of naughty scenes, but I gave Snowdrops and Stardust a shot because I'm a metalhead with an appreciation for actual romance. I loved the way the book handled Aiden's rock history, the romance and teasing, Aiden's huge change of lifestyle and the ending of the book. While there is some sex in the book, it's actually less detailed than the (mildly raunchy) teasing and moments leading up to it, and I really enjoyed the way Sue handled that as well. My official rating of the book is 4 out of 4 stars, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has had a taste of country life, or who loves romance with a twist.
******
Snowdrops and Stardust
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Aiden Delaney is a rock legend with a huge, sold out show in a few days. Instead of being pumped and excited to go, Aiden has grown sick of the rock star life. The life has lost its enjoyment and feels empty and fake, and he even has nightmares about being trapped beneath the stage in a crate while the show goes on with no one missing him. Rather than head to the city to live it up, he sneaks away from his manager and gets in a taxi, telling the driver to let him off in a random little country area just outside the city. Despite it being dreadfully early in the morning and deep in the winter he catches sight of smoke and follows it to a small bed and breakfast. Here a woman named Marianne is burning loads of items that belong to her ex. Aiden offers to help in exchange for breakfast, and once a scrumptious breakfast has been eaten Aiden finds himself snowed in and rents a room.
Snowdrops and Stardust by Sue Lilley is a short and sweet romance story (less than 50 pages) that still manages to cover a lot of ground. The story is told from Aiden's point of view, and he has a very poetic way with words thanks to his lyric-writing past. Often when a type of character is used (like a rock star or a doctor or whatever) the theme is used very loosely, but Sue weaves his history in expertly. In addition to his lyrical nature, Aiden mentions once as he's carrying items to be burned that he half expected a roadie to grab it out of his hands and carry it for him. When he finds out that Marianne makes high quality preservatives and desserts he mentions Alex James, the former bassist of Blur, who left the rock life to make cheese and do all sorts of other things. That little added depth to his character made him feel real, not like some flat cliché.
Marianne is an excellent character as well. She's clearly heartbroken at both her ex leaving her and her failing business, but she still has a fire within her. Beneath that fire and biting sarcasm (the best kind of humor!) is a sweet, kind woman. It was nice to see, even in such a short story, that the lead character's love interest had some depth and felt like a real human being too. She wasn't some unintelligent girl to be saved or some love-starved, attention-craving girl, just like Aiden wasn't some cold, sex-obsessed man.
The book covers three days that can only be described as magical. Aiden falls in love with the possibility of a "real" life, one that isn't just being paraded around like a monkey and being forced to come up with lyrics when he feels like he's losing his touch. It's incredibly relatable - who hasn't wondered about changing their life drastically, or felt some huge pull toward a different lifestyle when given a taste of it. He can't tell if Marianne doesn't recognize him or just toys with him when she says things like she wonders if he can afford breakfast, and yet his charm still manages to break her down and the two end up in a relationship. The book handles all of this excellently, and the ending was a huge surprise! Without spoiling anything, the ending wrapped things up perfectly and couldn't have been better.
I typically don't read romance novels without a sci-fi or fantasy plot, and I'm not a fan of naughty scenes, but I gave Snowdrops and Stardust a shot because I'm a metalhead with an appreciation for actual romance. I loved the way the book handled Aiden's rock history, the romance and teasing, Aiden's huge change of lifestyle and the ending of the book. While there is some sex in the book, it's actually less detailed than the (mildly raunchy) teasing and moments leading up to it, and I really enjoyed the way Sue handled that as well. My official rating of the book is 4 out of 4 stars, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has had a taste of country life, or who loves romance with a twist.
******
Snowdrops and Stardust
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!