Release Day Review! Requiem by Lauren E. Rico

Requiem (Reverie #3) by Lauren E. Rico
Genre: New Adult (Dark Contemporary Romance/Psychological Thriller)
Date Published: February 13, 2017
Publisher: Harmony House Productions

Matthew and Julia Ayers are happy at last, settled in their new home with their son and flourishing musical careers. And with Jeremy Corrigan playing in an orchestra halfway across the country, they finally feel a sense of peace and security. 

That is exactly what Jeremy is counting on. 

Enraged when he is caught in a compromising situation, he refocuses his energies on the people he holds responsible for his languishing career. Believing that "There is an art to destroying a life," he sets out with cool determination to destroy those who have betrayed him. 

No one is safe from his wrath 

The eternal struggle between good and evil play out with horrifying consequences in REQUIEM. 

Requiem is the third and final book in the Reverie trilogy by Lauren E. Rico. If you haven't read the other books in this trilogy, please don't read this review. Go read those books instead! *wink* That was a crazy roller coaster of emotions, let me tell you. We knew life wouldn't just go on in peace. Not with Jeremy blaming the world for his problems as he further ruins his only job opportunity. Julia and Matthew must pay, and with a baby in the picture that's just all the more torture Jeremy can inflict on everyone.

That cover! I saw that image used in a teaser for one the previous books in this trilogy, and the second I saw it... it was Jeremy. The model captured him entirely. It's eerie and great.

We get perspectives from Maggie and Brett along with Jeremy, Matthew, and Julia, plus, we get a few peeks from a supportive character as well. Normally, I'm not a fan of so many perspectives, but this story pulls you in so much that you not only need those perspectives to get a full feel of the feelings and mindsets of the characters(even Jeremy), but you want them. You want to know what's going on in their heads. I was hoping the story wouldn't go a certain direction. It went there, but thankfully, we didn't get details. In every other aspect of the story, we're given the dark, tragic, and thoroughly horrifying details. Of course, most, but not all, of those happen because of or within the mind of Jeremy. The psych major in me is equally fascinated and repulsed by Jeremy's mind.

Like the previous books, the music helps tell the story, and it still amazes me how the author can make you feel the music, and all you're doing is reading about a sound. That's as much of a gift as her ability to effortlessly transport you into the minds and lives of her characters. This series is definitely not light reading. It's deep, and dark, and I'm sad to see it end, but I'm thrilled with how it all came together.

The ARC of Requiem by Lauren E. Rico was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

Check out my reviews of the previous two books!

Lauren Rico was going to be principal French horn of the New York Philharmonic. That was HER plan, anyway. The New York Philharmonic had no idea of her intentions, and that's probably a good thing, since she wasn't an especially good French horn player!

Lauren was, however, an exceptionally good classical music radio host. Calling herself a “Classical Music Reanimator,” she has made a career of bringing back long-dead composers from The Great Beyond and plopping them down smack in the middle of the 21st century. In other words, she does her best to demystify classical music for her audiences by taking it off a dusty old pedestal and putting it into a modern context.

It's only been over the last couple of years that Lauren has discovered a passion for writing, which she's managed to combine with her love and knowledge of the classical music world. That's when she had the realization that she had something special with this story of love and obsession and music.

These days, you can hear Lauren Rico on SiriusXM's Symphony Hall Channel 76, on WSHU-FM in the New York metro region, WSMR in Tampa/Sarasota, FL, WDAV in Charlotte, NC and KMFA in Austin, TX.

To learn more about Lauren E. Rico and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Book Review: Rhapsody by Lauren E. Rico

Rhapsody (Reverie #2) by Lauren E. Rico
Genre: New Adult (Dark Contemporary Romance/Psychological Thriller)
Date Published: April 30, 2016
Publisher: Harmony House Productions

Top cellist Julia James has begun a whole new life- happily married and expecting her first child. She is finally poised to have the life she's always dreamed of and she is finally able to put the past behind her. 

Unfortunately, the past isn't quite done with Julia yet.


Riding high on his gold medal win at the Kreisler International Music Competition, Jeremy Corrigan is stunned to find his reputation in tatters, along with his plans for fame and fortune. But Jeremy isn't one to tolerate failure.

Once he has determined that Julia and her husband are to blame for his troubles, there's nothing he won't do to regain control over his fate... and theirs.

Love, redemption and betrayal collide in the dark romance, RHAPSODY.

Rhapsody is the sequel to Reverie by Lauren E. Rico. If you haven't read the first book, please go read it before you read this review. I'm not responsible for any first book spoilers you may come across. I tried, but it'd be impossible to not slip up little bit about book one while reviewing book two.

I absolutely lost myself while reading Reverie. My enchantment broke a little during Rhapsody when it started getting a touch politicy with all the talk of liberal vs conservative. It felt like a mild political agenda push, and it took me out of my trance. With the election tomorrow,  it's been impossible to get away from politics for a while now, and the last thing I wanted was to find it in my fictional worlds too. Maggie & Brett could have had the same realizations and experiences at the soup kitchen and what not without bringing politics into it. Thankfully, once past about first quarter of the book or maybe less, that talk ended, and I was able to re-engage.

We get to know Brett much better this time around. In the first book, I thought he was playing the role of enabler as a survival mechanism, but there was one particular action and then that glimpse into his mind at the end of Reverie made me think he was more like his brother than I thought. It surprised me. Is he like his brother? Or was my first impression closer to the truth? I'm not telling, but he's one complicated dude. Maggie was a hoot. I liked her a lot actually. She's pretty straight forward and doesn't take crap. Brett needs some of that in his life. Actually, all the characters do.

We also get Julia and Jeremy's perspectives again, but this time we get Matthew's point of view too. I knew pretty much where he stood from his actions through out the series so far, but I enjoyed getting his actual perspective. The different perspectives this time around were very beneficial. They allowed me to really get to know the people around Julia and Jeremy. I'm convinced Julia lacks any kind of self preservation skills at this point. She needs these guys to protect her it seems. Jeremy is getting desperate and even more angry. The more this happens the scarier he gets, but I think that's going to be his downfall. I think he's going to start getting too confident. Yes, even more than he already is, and I think he's going to get sloppy. I think he already has a bit. I have a lot of "thinks" in there, but they're just my predictions. We'll see in the next book. There is so much depth to this series both in the story and the music surrounding it. I don't even know classical music well, but I can feel the emotions of it through the author's writing. That's a pretty amazing thing. This is a highly addictive series, and a new favorite for me. Be prepared. When you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down until you're done.

Rhapsody by Lauren E. Rico was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

Check out my review of the other books in this trilogy!

Lauren Rico was going to be principal French horn of the New York Philharmonic. That was HER plan, anyway. The New York Philharmonic had no idea of her intentions, and that's probably a good thing, since she wasn't an especially good French horn player!

Lauren was, however, an exceptionally good classical music radio host. Calling herself a “Classical Music Reanimator,” she has made a career of bringing back long-dead composers from The Great Beyond and plopping them down smack in the middle of the 21st century. In other words, she does her best to demystify classical music for her audiences by taking it off a dusty old pedestal and putting it into a modern context.

It's only been over the last couple of years that Lauren has discovered a passion for writing, which she's managed to combine with her love and knowledge of the classical music world. That's when she had the realization that she had something special with this story of love and obsession and music.

These days, you can hear Lauren Rico on SiriusXM's Symphony Hall Channel 76, on WSHU-FM in the New York metro region, WSMR in Tampa/Sarasota, FL, WDAV in Charlotte, NC and KMFA in Austin, TX.

To learn more about Lauren E. Rico and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Book Review: Reverie by Lauren E. Rico

Reverie (Reverie #1) by Lauren E. Rico
Genre: New Adult (Dark Contemporary Romance/Psychological Thriller)
Date Published: April 30, 2016
Publisher: Harmony House Productions

Julia James has spent most of her life hiding in plain sight. For her, the cello was a way to get past a hellish childhood. Even now that she is one of the top cellists in the country, and a contender in the most prestigious, high-stakes music competition in the world, she hopes no one will notice her.

But then someone does.

A chance (or is it?) encounter brings her to the attention of the distractingly sexy, charismatic French horn player, Jeremy Corrigan. As he helps her to embrace her talent, her sexuality and her past, Julia thinks she might finally be headed toward her ‘happily-ever-after.'

Unfortunately, happily isn’t so much ‘ever-after’ for Julia.

The lines between love and obsession are blurred in REVERIE.

Oh my goodness! What a ride this book was! If I could have, I would have read it in one sitting. I almost did. I read a little one day. A little the next. Then, when I didn't have to be up for work the next day, I stayed up most of the night reading the rest of it until I was finished. I just couldn't put it down. The story is told from Julia and Jeremy's point of view. These are some pretty complex characters. I saw the signs and the pattern forming, and I had a strong feeling about the direction the book was going to go, but I had no idea just how dark and twisted it was going to get. It was down right painful to read at times. I know I'm being awfully vague, but I'm trying so hard not to give spoilers.

The book had the atmosphere of Gone Girl only more sinister in some ways, and the story itself was completely different. Does that make sense? It just had that ominous feel. There was a time or two when I thought it was going to go 50 Shades on me. Thankfully it didn't. This story was told and written so much better than either of those books, with a much more compelling story line.

The writing in Reverie was beautiful. The author perfectly captured and brought me right in to the mindset of her characters. That added a whole new level to the reading experience. I felt like I was right there with them, in their darkness. Freddy Krueger isn't scary. Jason isn't scary. It's people like this that are scary, because you know they are really out there.

Reverie by Lauren E. Rico was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

When he has the piece setup in front of me, he moves around to the back of my chair so he can watch over my shoulder. It would seem, once again, that I don’t have a choice. Oh, what the hell, it can’t get much worse than this.
I pick up the bow and it’s all I can do to keep my hands from shaking as I play.
I only get through the first few notes before I stop in frustration.
“Still not right,” I say, dejectedly.
And then, there is his breath, warm and sweet against my cheek. He’s so close that our faces are almost touching.
“Sex,” he whispers in my ear.
“Excuse me?” I croak.
“This piece is all about sex. When you play, think of the piano as trying to seduce the cello.”
“I don’t… I’m not sure how to convey that…”
Out of nowhere I feel his large hand resting on my shoulder.
“No, wait. I’m sorry to cut you off Julia, but what I just said isn’t quite right. It’s not sex. It’s more than just the physicality of it. It’s making love.”
Oh. My. God.
“Look, I’ll show you.”
He reaches around me to pluck the accompanying piano part off the music stand. Before I can ask him what he’s going to do with it, he has left my side and is pulling the bench out from under the piano. But he doesn’t play piano. Does he?
“Third movement!” he says, getting himself situated quickly. “In three… two…”
“Wait!” I protest but it’s too late.
“One!” Jeremy starts to play the solo piano opening.
I’ll be damned, he does play the piano. And well, too.
Under his fingers, the opening is a nostalgic reverie. I’m hearing things that I missed before. Romance with just a hint of something darker. Not sinister so much as… broken. No, fragile. Bereft? That’s it. Bereft. The mood he creates is so hypnotic that I nearly miss my entrance.
“You’re coming up here…” he calls out over his shoulder.
There’s no time to think, so I just play. This time, as I pull the bow across the strings and allow my fingers to stretch across the fingerboard, I imagine the sound of the cello as a voice, professing its love– a sentiment echoed lovingly by the piano. It goes back and forth, this romantic dialogue. They are separate. They are together. And suddenly the two voices are so intertwined that it’s hard to tell where one starts and the other ends.
In an instant, it’s clear to me what I’ve been missing all this time. Jeremy is absolutely right. This is the sound of lovers, clinging to one another. I’m so drawn-in that I can feel my own pulse quicken as the intensity mounts. It crests and slowly dissolves into the quietest, most intimate of utterances. When the last note is played I can only sit there, staring at the music, bow hanging from my hand.  He has turned around and I can feel his eyes fixed on me, gauging my reaction to what has just happened.
“Wow,” I say when I can finally meet his gaze. It comes out as barely a whisper. “That was… amazing.”
He smiles at me and, in an instant, he is on his feet. Still reeling from the emotional performance, I watch in stunned silence as he takes the cello from me and lays it gently on its side. He squats down so that we are at eye level, and presses his lips to mine. It is delicate and firm, confident and tentative all at once. After a long moment, he extricates himself from me and walks over to the door.
“Now do you understand?” he asks softly.
I can only nod dumbly.
Jeremy smiles, nods and slips back out into the hallway, letting the soundproof door shut tight between us.

Check out my review of the other books in this trilogy!

Lauren Rico was going to be principal French horn of the New York Philharmonic. That was HER plan, anyway. The New York Philharmonic had no idea of her intentions, and that's probably a good thing, since she wasn't an especially good French horn player!

Lauren was, however, an exceptionally good classical music radio host. Calling herself a “Classical Music Reanimator,” she has made a career of bringing back long-dead composers from The Great Beyond and plopping them down smack in the middle of the 21st century. In other words, she does her best to demystify classical music for her audiences by taking it off a dusty old pedestal and putting it into a modern context.

It's only been over the last couple of years that Lauren has discovered a passion for writing, which she's managed to combine with her love and knowledge of the classical music world. That's when she had the realization that she had something special with this story of love and obsession and music.

These days, you can hear Lauren Rico on SiriusXM's Symphony Hall Channel 76, on WSHU-FM in the New York metro region, WSMR in Tampa/Sarasota, FL, WDAV in Charlotte, NC and KMFA in Austin, TX.

To learn more about Lauren E. Rico and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.