Blaze Shinozuka has two goals: get a job as a guitarist and lose his virginity. At an audition for a famous pop star, he draws the attention of celebrity manager Jason Stockton—and their instant attraction sends his world careening off its axis just as he is thrust into the gritty world of rock ‘n’ roll.
Straight-laced music manager Jason Stockton is always professional and never dips his pen in the company ink. But there is something about Blaze that leaves him wanting what he shouldn’t. The guitarist’s exotic beauty and compelling innocence is a temptation Jason can’t resist.
After one lie in the national media pushes them apart, Blaze must decide whether he will trust Jason, a man he shouldn’t touch, let alone love. The cutthroat, jealous world of rock ‘n’ roll, has chewed up and spit out the toughest musicians, and Blaze vows he will be the last man standing, even after the music stops.
Jason Stockton and Blaze Shinozuka are looking forward to escaping their hectic rock and roll lifestyle for a relaxing holiday. Their plan seems promising, and the passion between them burns hotter than ever as they keep each other warm despite the icy temperatures.
When a surprise Stockton family get-together threatens to reveal what Jason would rather keep hidden, their budding relationship is put to the test and an impromptu trip to Hawaii makes the differences between them more obvious than ever.
Thanks to two chaotic family holidays and a lot of painful secrets, Christmas could end up being more than their new found love can endure.
And *NEW* The Journey Onward…
Getting back from paradise and being alone is exactly what Jason and Blaze need to build their relationship and break down the barriers between them but nothing is ever that simple. Being in LA means back to work for Jason and Blaze gets a sample of what life will be like as Jason’s partner.
Can loving each other be enough to keep them together? Blaze is finding out how much work goes into keeping a relationship alive and in their darkest hour, they will have to stand united as partners to weather a storm that could devastate their future.
When Blaze got his dream job, he never imagined within a year he would be fired. After a botched performance with Cassie, he’s kicked off the tour — and so is his boyfriend Jason — but Blaze is determined to live his dream again and he may have found the perfect band to do it with.
He will stop at nothing to be back on stage, though the costs of stardom may bring an end to his romance with Jason. Can Blaze have it all? Or will Blaze have to leave his first love behind to follow his destiny?
Blaze Shinozuka is a bonafide rockstar with his band, Razor’s Edge. After his romance with music manager Jason Stockton crashed and burned, Blaze is free to live and love. It’s been a wild and heady year that’s been blissfully drama free until the one man he’s been avoiding comes careening back in to wreak havoc on his heart once again.
Jason Stockton has become the superstar he never wanted to be. When his music reality show becomes an overnight success, he’s thrust into the limelight against his will. He’s coping with intrusions into his private life but then a chance encounter sends him right into the arms of the man he loved…and lost.
Their time apart has changed them, except the passion between them burns brighter than ever. With the media hounding them in the midst of multiple scandals, they find they can only depend on one person — each other. Will they learn to trust that their love is enough to see them through it all? Or will this be their final dance before calling it quits, this time for good?
It’s been a year since Blaze and Jason have parted ways, ending a relationship that started out so well but crashed and burned due to insecurities, petty arguments, and outside forces. Since their break up, both Blaze and Jason’s professional lives have skyrocketed. They’re household names now, and they couldn’t ask for anything more than the success they have garnered, but, personally, there hasn’t been anyone significant since each other.
Even though Blaze and Jason are both in the music industry, they’ve done a pretty good job of staying away from one another during this time, but everything comes to a head when they unexpectedly come face to face at an event. It becomes obvious, pretty quickly, that Blaze and Jason still love each other and wish that things would have turned out differently. Their need and desire for one another never faded away, so when they act on that passion soon after reuniting, it seems like, this time around, they may just get it right. But lack of communication, dishonesty, and short fuses continue to dominant their relationship yet again, threatening to finally destroy any love that they still shared, and it leaves readers wondering if Blaze and Jason can final get it right this time around, or if their tumultuous relationship will be too great a risk.
I came in late to Blaze and Jason’s story, but it seems like it follows quite a destructive pattern. I’m not sure if it’s stubbornness or not really understanding the give and take that comes with being in a relationship, but boy do these two not know how to weather the storm, especially Jason. It seems like a lot of the time, they step away and leave each other without putting much of an effort into making things work. Readers can tell that they truly do love each other, but it doesn’t seem like that healthy of a relationship. In Encore, Jason really frustrates me. His cut and run/return act gave me whiplash. I know he’s struggling with who he is and what he truly wants, but if he would have just been honest with Blaze instead of breaking his heart of numerous occasions, things wouldn’t have gotten so out of control.
I really liked Encore, but I had a few issues with the number of subplots spread throughout the story. I didn’t feel like there was enough explanation to truly show the ins and outs of each situation, and due to that, I was left wondering about the deeper issues at play; I also didn’t feel like some of the problems were fully resolved and even sufficiently answered – health concerns and interfering people seemed a bit glossed over. This part may be on me because I didn’t know everything that the couple had already been through, but seeing as this is Blaze and Jason’s last book, I would have liked to have seen everything fully worked through.
Blaze and Jason’s story illustrates the difficulties couples’ face when outside forces and personal insecurities factor too much into the relationship. Lori Toland does a good job of tracing their growth as characters throughout the series and providing readers with both Blaze and Jason’s point of view allows us to get a clearer picture of what they are thinking and feeling as they try to figure out how to be together and get past all of the heartache they caused one another. Blaze and Jason are meant to be together; they just had to do a little more work to make that happen than most. But at the end of the day, if they’re both where they want to be, what they went through to get there, makes it that much sweeter to know they succeeded.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/4 poison apples
“Shouldn’t you be out with your band mates?” Jason asked as he unfolded his menu.
Blaze didn’t answer right away. Instead, he pressed his full lips together into a thin line as Jason remembered kissing him while tasting his sweet, hot tongue. He bit back a groan just as Blaze answered. “They weren’t going anywhere I liked.”
“So are you sitting over here sulking for not getting your way?” The barb flew out so naturally, Jason didn’t even have time to think about it and instantly regretted his words.
Blaze recoiled for a moment but then held up his beer. “Does it look like I’m sulking?”
“Actually, it does. I figured you’d be out fucking the first available hole by now.”
Blaze’s mouth dropped open. “Sounds like you’re bitter that you can’t get a piece of me.”
“No. Just reminiscing. I knew you when you were a one hit wonder,” Jason said.
“I knew you back when you were being truthful about your sexuality.” Blaze threw out a barb of his own just to see if Jason would lose his cool.
Jason narrowed his eyes. “Well, flaunting it in everyone’s face only works well for you.”
The bright red spots on Blaze’s cheeks reminded Jason of when they used to make love, though now they were dark crimson from anger. Jason’s cock didn’t recognize the difference as it lengthened and pressed against his zipper.
As their waiter came toward them, Jason adjusted himself discreetly and moved in his chair to hide his erection. He stopped to take Jason’s order, which blocked him from seeing Blaze for a moment but when he left, those unforgettable aqua eyes were full of fire again.
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