REVIEW: Sweet Ache by K. Bromberg

Sweet Ache by K. Bromberg: Rockstar Hawken is taking the fall for his brother, Hunter, once again out of guilt for a childhood trauma. However, this time it leads him into the arms of TA Quinlan as he teaches a seminar at her university.
Beginning with a bet between Hawke and his bandmate Vince after seeing Quin’s utter disregard towards Hawke, he begins a steady chase for the woman who’s utterly captivated him through their flirtatious sparring.

“‘Who says there’s a problem? Just because you’re intimidated by a strong woman doesn’t mean there’s a problem,’ I snip, trying to push this off on him when I know damn well that I’m carrying the chip handily on my shoulder.
‘Sweetness, only boys are intimidated by strong women. Men find it attractive, a challenge, so why don’t you pull another excuse out of thin air and see if it sticks.’”

Through a lot of uncertainty, Quinlan and Hawke find their confidence in one another, and with the help of the other find a way to make it through Hawke’s family in crisis and Quin’s trust issues.
I do believe Bromberg worked hard to flesh out her characters and their conflicts, which I highly appreciated. However, at times I felt a bit browbeat over the head with their issues and the repetition of conflict, especially in regards to Hawke’s familial issues and guilt over what happened to his dad. At times, the story lagged, too, as Bromberg focused on the angst and in setting up certain points, such as a date between Quinlan and another man.
While good chemistry existed between the two, the majority of dialogue was quips, sparring back and forth, which can be very fun to read, but was overused in Sweet Ache. The humor of the dialogue was definitely needed given the heaviness of the issues Hawke faced, but it got repetitive.
Sweet Ache definitely has a good amount of the rock star touch if that’s what you like, but the focus and conflict doesn’t center on the lifestyle, which I liked. Rather, it centers on some pretty deep issues, helped by the more lighthearted relationships in the story.

Book Info:

 June 2nd, 2015 | Signet: Select | A Driven Novel #6

Hawkin Play, the bad boy rock star with a good guy heart, has lived a lifetime of cleaning up after his twin brother’s mistakes. Hunter’s most recent screw-up could land Hawke in jail and risk the band’s future. Hawke agrees to guest lecture at a local college to stay in the judge’s good graces—and a bet with his bandmate to seduce his sexy teaching assistant is icing on the cake.

Quinlan Westin is harder to bed than Hawke imagined. She knows his type and is determined to avoid the rocker at all costs—even if their attraction runs deeper than simple lust.

Just as Hawke might finally be winning over the girl, his brother has other plans. When Hunter realizes his twin finally has a weakness, he’ll stop at nothing to take advantage…