📘Not Another Rockstar-a standalone

✍🏾By ~ Kate Callaghan-I read Potions and Proposals & gave it 5⭐

Rating ~ 5/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre ~ romantic suspense, mystery, romance

🌍Setting ~ Munich to Dublin

📅 Publication date ~ February 21, 2025 | Read ~ February 12, 2025

Est Page Count ~ 344

POV ~ dual, 3rd person

⚠️TW ~ cheating-h cheated on, car accident, death, stalking

Featuring ~ex's BFF/brother's best friend, he falls first, living w/ the band, forbidden romance

Summary ~Phoebe catches her rockstar boyfriend Cillian cheating. When they try to talk about it they get into an accident. The aftermath threatens to ruin Phoebe's career, the rest of the band, and her 2nd chance at love.

🎭Characters
👩🏾Phoebe Fletcher~26, an artist dates Cillian since she was 14
👨🏾Cillian Hunt- front man of The Brothers of Anarchy/BOA, Phoebe's boyfriend
👨🏾Axel Adler~the drummer of BOA
Nick Fletcher~ 29, Phoebe's older brother and Cillian's BFF
August~ the guitarist
Lena~Phoebe's BFF and agent
Anita~BOA's agent


🤔My Thoughts ~I had a problem with Nick's attitude towards Phoebe in the beginning. Her brother and the rest of the band didn't tell her about Cillian(brother/sister agreed to stay out of each other's love lives) and forbade her from dating another rockstar. I'm glad Phoebe found a protector in Axel. He helped her heal from betrayal and gave her a comfortable place to land after all the trauma. I hope Nick and August get their own stories.

🙏🏽Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Kate Callaghan for this ARC🎸! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I love this author and rockstar romance so this was a win win. The characters are either love, or, love to hate. There's A LOT of angst. Things played out in an interesting pace. I kept reading, even when I wanted to throw my kindle.

2.75 🌟
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rockstar, brother’s bandmate, grumpy sunshine romance.

👍🏻: I loved seeing characters from the author’s previous book. The romance was cute. MMC was super sweet. Acts of service was definitely one of his love languages.

❌: This whole story felt very chaotic and choppy. Lots of telling us what happened instead of the scene playing out. The FMCs actions didn’t match the personality we were told she had. So it was very confusing when she would suddenly go off the rails.

Phoebe appears to have the perfect life—a rising art career and a famous rockstar fiancé. But everything changes when she tries to surprise him with a visit, only to be met with a shocking twist. Before she can even process the situation, tragedy strikes as he dies in a car accident, leaving Phoebe badly injured and possibly unable to paint again. Amid the chaos, Axel, the band's drummer, steps in to protect and care for her, and soon, they both realize their bond may be deeper than just friendship.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, though I found some parts to be fairly predictable. I was hoping for more mystery in the plot outside of the romance because, let’s be honest, Phoebe and Axel were always going to end up together. The romance itself felt a bit rushed at times compared to similar novels, but it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment. It’s a quick read that will satisfy any romance fan.

A special thank you to NetGalley and author Kate Callaghan for the advanced reader copy in exchange for honest feedback.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️
Phoebe and Axel’s story is heartbreaking yet inspiring.
One delayed flight and everything is Phoebe’s life changes forever.
After arriving late to her Rockstar boyfriends concert, Phoebe learns of secrets that have been hidden from her. Within 24 hours everything she knows is different.
The story takes you on her journey to heal, defend herself from internet trolls.
Once those “trolls” start showing up and destroying things in her life, Axel and Phoebe are racing against time and fans to find out who is after Phoebe.

I really enjoyed this book. The timelines get fuzzy sometimes but nothing too dramatic that it takes away from the story. The relationship between Phoebe and the other band members is easy even when she has every right to be furious with them for keeping secrets.

Tropes:
- drummer & artist
- ex’s frienemy
- brother’s bandmate
- slow burn
- he falls first
- stalking
- disabled artist

ARC Review: Not Another Rock Star by Kate Callaghan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 The book follows Phoebe who is an artist and her fiancé Cillian who is a rockstar in the band Brothers of Anarchy. Tragedy strikes and Phoebe’s world is turned upside down. Then there’s Axel, the drummer of Brothers of Anarchy. He has been in love with Phoebe since he first laid eyes on her. But, he knows she is off limits. She is his best friend’s sister. But, someone is out to hurt her and he must protect her at all costs. This book included found family, loss, grief, slow burn, suspense and secret obsession. I really enjoyed it! Thank you @netgalley and @katecallaghanwriter for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Initially, I was really into this story—I appreciated how it tackled heavy and important topics, and I thought it had great potential. However, as I kept reading, the story started to feel more like fanfiction, and that’s where it began to lose me.

One of my biggest issues was how quickly Phoebe moved on from Cillian. There was no real grieving process, which felt completely unrealistic given the situation. The more the book leaned into this direction, the more disappointed I became, and ultimately, I DNF’d at 36%.

At first, the story captivated me, but the lack of emotional depth in handling grief made it hard to stay engaged. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

This book was alright but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would from reading the blurb. I liked Axel from the start he seems like the ultimate good guy and perfect boyfriend but I could't really relate to Phoebe very much. I also felt like the romance between Phoebe and Axel starts a bit too soon after Cillian's death to be believable. I liked the suspense at first but i felt that it dragged on too long and it was rather obvious who was the culprit. All in all the book was okay but not a must-read for me.

I am a huge Kate Callaghan fan! I enjoyed how fleshed out the characters were and how the relationship with Phoebe and Axel built up and boiled over.

My only criticism is that the dialogue is very “therapized”. Real people don’t talk that way, not everyone speaks like they are therapists and have insane empathy.

I always love Kate Callaghan books and " Not Another Rockstar" did not disappoint. When Phoebe decides to surprise her fiancé, Cillian at his concert in Dublin, she finds him with another women.
The next morning Cillian wants to apologize and talks her into getting in his car. He is still drunk and there is an accident. and Cillian gets killed and Phoebe is injured. The media targets Phoebe and says it’s her fault. But what really happened to cause the accident. An ending I didn’t see coming.

Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, ad Kate Callaghan for the ARC for my review.

This was a very well written book and I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. The storyline kept me interested and at no point was the ending of the story given away by previous events in the book. The character development was perfect and at no point did the story feel rushed. Great book that I'll be recommending to some of my students and to my coworkers and friends!

3.5 stars

I'm so glad I got the chance to read an early copy of this book. It was fun, lighthearted, and even sad at times.
I'm definitely going to read more of this author's books

Tropes that are included in this book:
- Drummer x Artist
- Ex's Best Friend
- Living with the Band (Like New Girl, but make it musical)
- Chronic pain rep (I need more of those)
- ''We shouldn't'' but they do it anyway

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.
Not Another Rockstar by Kate Callaghan offers a captivating blend of romance and suspense, though it’s not without its flaws. The story follows Phoebe, a talented painter, who is on the brink of starting a new chapter in life with her fiancé, a former rock star. But when tragedy strikes, Phoebe is left picking up the pieces of her life, with a little help from the band her fiancé once belonged to. As Phoebe tries to rebuild, things take a darker turn when someone begins threatening her and destroying her artwork.
There’s a constant sense of tension, especially as Phoebe's world unravels and the danger surrounding her intensifies. However, the stalker subplot felt overly predictable—I spotted the identity of the culprit early on, which took away some of the suspense.
Additionally, there were moments in the story that felt drawn-out or unnecessarily dramatic, causing the pacing to drag at times. I couldn’t help but feel that some of the tension was diluted by the excess drama.
Despite these issues, I still found myself enjoying the book overall. Phoebe’s emotional journey, combined with the mystery and the evolving relationships, made for a compelling read.

Thank you Netgalley for access to the arc.
This novel opens with a tragedy but ends on a sweet note.
You meet a painter named Phoebe who is ready to start another chapter with her rocker fiance. But when events don't go as planned, Phoebe is left trying to pick up the pieces all with a little help from the band her fiance was a part of. Part romance (with some descriptive spicy scenes ~) part intrigue and mystery - I was hoping this would be a tad bit longer. But if you like characters who take no shit from others and slowly move on from their unfortunate circumstance, this book might be what you are looking for.

This book had everything I love in a rock star romance—drama, passion, and a bit of mystery to keep things interesting. At first, I wasn’t sure about the third-person POV, but it ended up working for this story. I loved the chemistry between Phoebe and Axel, and how protective he was of her. The mystery surrounding her stalker added an extra layer of suspense, and the twist at the end actually surprised me! Overall, a very entertaining read that kept me hooked until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really good story. Kate callaghan has found a way to make a romance/thriller mix again, as she did in ms. perfectly fine (whose characters showed up by the way and i loved it). I really got into this story and was on the edge of my seat throughout. Around the middle, some parts felt a bit dragged out too long, but then the ending was so good, so honestly all is well.

Thank you to the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

ARC review - 3,5 ⭐️

“Not Another Rockstar” by Kate Callaghan is a romance with suspense.
I received an ARC from the author and Netgalley. The opinions from this review are completely my own.

Pheobe is a painter and Axel a drummer. He had feelings for her for a few years, but she is engaged to the lead singer of the band. Also, Pheobe’s brother is one of the other band members. After finding her fiance cheating on her, she breaks up with him. The next day they get in a car accident and he doesn’t survive.

Axel is there for her and helps her grieve while also recovering from the trauma caused by the accident. The story gets more complicated as there is someone threatening Pheobe and destroying her art.

The romance develops slowly, but there is a lot of chemistry between them. Axel is kind and protective and does his best to be there for her with whatever she needs. I did not like Pheobe’s brother because he knew her boyfriend was cheating on her and also did not protect her.

The suspense part of the book was a bit underwhelming, especially the revelation from the end. But I enjoyed reading the book.

First, thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC.

At first, I was super into this book and fell in love with Axel. However, things took a triggering turn and I couldn't finish it. I would love to re-visit it again someday because I enjoyed what I did read, 7 chapters in.

I will say, from the get go, story factors like the band mates questionable loyalty to Phoebe irked me. I think it will prove to be thrilling and full of drama.

I can’t say that I have read many rockstar romances, but this one was wonderful. The author is one that I really enjoy, so I knew I had to take a chance on this one. A huge thank you to the author, Kate Callaghan’s, and the publisher, BooksGoSocial, for a chance to read and review this book early.

Although Callaghan’s is a hit or miss author for me, when they hit, it is amazing and captivating. I loved the Story of Phoebe and Axel. And the suspense throughout was really good. There were a few areas that dragged a little, but overall I really enjoyed the book. I truly hope that we will see more books with the characters from this one as I think I seen sparks for things to come woven throughout.

I had high hopes for this one because I love a rockstar romance. But this got really soapy and predictable with all the plot developments and slow pace I ended up skipping from chapter 6 to the end. Honestly I didn't miss much.

This book needed to cut out the unneccessary drama (like the mistress) and start from the funeral just afterwards because those first few chapters were slow waiting to see what we already knew would happen since the blurb says so. I didn't like Axel (I thought he sounded like a stalker more than in love with her) or the bandmates for hiding super important information from her (and come on did we really need that reveal from the mistress?). The villain was also obvious from the get-go. To top it off I didn't understand and found it infuriating that Phoebe would hide her talent and role in the band's success. Maybe if the book ended with Phoebe ditching all of them to be a sucessful musician herself I'd have liked it.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC.