18 Sep 2021

Why do we love rock stars? Rockstar romance novels of 2018

by | posted in: Various Musings | 1

What is that about rock stars that gets our blood pumping? Is it because looking and listening to a rock star gets our imaginative juices flowing? Trust me when I say I’ve tried to analyze it many times. And every time I think I put my finger on it, I know I’m missing the mark.

I’ve tried to explain it. For example, I’ve tried telling my husband why sometimes women find a bad boy appealing (I definitely do!). I suppose it happens on some visceral level—and it’s the same with rock stars. Lots of rock stars have that bad boy element to them. Is that part of it?

Perhaps.

I look back to my days in high school, when I started developing my first bad boy rock star crushes. Granted, that was back when I found most males appealing on some level because I was a walking hormone like every other teenager on the planet. I found athletes and actors attractive…but rock stars really did it for me. Why? Well, it began with their bad boy look, I’m sure (and many, like Mötley Crüe, had a reputation to go with it). They didn’t look like most guys. They had long hair and sometimes wore makeup. They often wore lots of jewelry and their clothes were different. Add to it, they cursed in public and came off as rebellious, thumbing their noses at society. Some of them were extra naughty and had a reputation for fighting or drunken parties, drugs, and scandals. All of those different things just contributed to their bad boy image.

But I still don’t know that that’s the entire explanation for why rock stars appeal to us. I think it’s also because of the music. And I don’t mean just the music itself. The music is what pulls me in. And once I love the music, that’s when I connect to the lyrics. And if you listen to the lyrics, then you know that a lot of these rock stars are baring their souls to us. They’re letting it all out, bleeding on the airwaves. Their heartache, their hopes, their dreams, their past, all of those things they reveal to us. They appeal to our empathy, our sense of nurturing.

We also realize that these rock stars are sometimes a lot like us, right? Sure, they’ve attained fame and possibly fortune. But a lot of them come from backgrounds where they struggled for whatever reason, whether it was emotional, physical, financial, coming from a broken home, whatever. Many of them struggled to get where they are. But when you look at, for example, a Hollywood star…a good chunk of them were blessed with better-than-average looks. Sure, they have talent, but often it’s their looks that get them noticed. That makes them harder to relate to for many of us.

Hollywood stars seem perfect; rock stars seem flawed. And maybe that’s part of why rock star romance is so appealing—because rock stars seem more attainable. And that’s actually true! Lots of my reader friends have shared with me time and again pictures of them, real people, with rock stars. Maybe they attended a show in an intimate venue or maybe they went to a meet-and-greet. But how often do you run into a Hollywood star? You can’t go to a movie and expect the star to walk out when you do. That’s not the way it works. But a concert, especially at a more intimate venue, you have a good chance of meeting a rocker or two. I’ve lost count of how many of my reader friends have pictures of them with rock bands. And they’re not always little bands you’ve never heard. I’m talking big bands, big stars who never got too full of themselves. So the possibility of a romance with a rock star seems a little bit more possible, right? That’s what I mean.

So, on that note, let’s take a look at the rock star romances of 2018. Whether these stories featured rock stars who were super famous or just starting out or somewhere in between, these were the books that filled our imaginations in 2018.

And CRAZY side note: 2018 and 2019 are the only years I never released a rock star romance novel. I couldn’t tell you why for certain, although I have my suspicions. Let’s just say life gets a little crazy…but I’m back on track.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get to the books!

January 2018

February 2018

March 2018

April 2018

May 2018

June 2018

July 2018

August 2018

September 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

Needless to say, this looks like this was a good year for me to skip publishing, because there were plenty of rocker books to fill any gaps. 😉

If you missed them, check out these posts with lists of rock star romance books:

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. More to come soon! You can move forward to 2019 if you want!

Or you can see ALL THE ROCKSTAR ROMANCE BOOKS FOR ALL TIME.

  1. Pingback: Tour with the band without leaving your couch: the ultimate list of new rocker romance in 2019 – Jade C. Jamison