Book 1 in the Crimson Dukes Rockstar Romance Series
Reviewed by CJ | Rating: 4/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
📱 (ARC, releasing July 30, 2026)
⚠️ This is a full spoiler review. If you haven’t read Words Don’t Lie yet — go read it first. We’ll be here when you’re done.
note: I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from the author in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions in this review are mine alone.
OPENING HOOK
Okay, if you want a rockstar romance that actually makes you feel something instead of just vibing off the rockstar lifestyle, this is it. Wolf and Reba broke my heart a little, but in the very best way. There’s trauma, a songwriting dance of a slow burn, and a villain who gets exactly what’s coming to her. This book delivered all of it.
THE FULL STORY — SPOILERS INCLUDED
So Wolf is the drummer for the Crimson Dukes, and in secret, he’s an incredible songwriter (like, genuinely gifted) but he’s terrified to write with or for anyone because of his ex, Talon. She’s a famous musician now who straight-up stole his songs (along with all his electronic devices and notebooks) years ago and threatened to sue him when he tried to get credit for his own work. And at the time she had the bigger name and the bigger lawyers, so he just… let it go. On top of that, he was abused as a kid, so this guy has layers of reasons to keep people at arm’s length.
Then there’s Reba. Former massive pop star who disappeared seven years ago after her ex-manager/ex-boyfriend beat her nearly to death — and then had the audacity to spin it publicly as her being “crazy” and doing it to herself for attention. She’s been in hiding ever since, working through therapy and trying to write a comeback album. The big problem now is that writing isn’t something that comes naturally to her, so her friend Gemma (if you love Tania Joyce’s work as much as I do, you’ll be happy to see Gem) puts her in touch with a talented songwriter named Rowsong (Wolf’s anonymous pen name).
So unsurprisingly these two wounded people together writing songs does not easily mean the process is smooth sailing. He’s completely in touch with his emotions, she’s totally repressed, and at her request they keep delaying the darkest and hardest songs for as long as they possibly can. But when they finally can’t avoid it anymore (right before the halfway mark) they break down together, sleep together, and spend this gorgeous weekend just completely in each other’s orbit. It’s an undeniable connection they couldn’t fight any longer. Baring her soul for the music with him becomes a little easier after that and they get a good chunk of the album ready to go, with two singles ready for release.
That brings us to the plot twist knife: Reba runs into Talon at an industry award ceremony, has no idea this is the demon ex, and plays her a sample of the upcoming single which Wolf actually wrote. Wolf shows up mid-conversation and absolutely spirals, because his worst fear just walked right up and introduced itself. Talon immediately sees that they’re together and knows Wolf wrote that song. Reba gets scared by the intensity of his reaction (understandably, given her own history), they take space, and Chloe (Duke, the lead singer’s wife) takes her home for the night.
Morning after chaos: Naturally, a cease and desist letter from Talon is sent to their lawyers, claiming copyright infringement. Reba is horrified that she basically handed Wolf’s worst nightmare to him on a silver platter, and furious on his behalf once he breaks the NDA in confidence to give her a clear picture of his and Talon’s history.
Here’s the interesting part: the song doesn’t really sound anything like Talon’s music. It was a bluff and she is banking on scaring them into rolling over and walking away. The real fear was just that if things got dragged into legal scrutiny, something might get flagged, since Wolf was the one who wrote her old material too. There’s a risk of him being ruled the thief if everything is put under a microscope.
So they fight it, and fuck yes – they win! The scene where they’re all sitting across the table from Talon and her lawyers, watching her realize her entire evil scheme is collapsing? Beautiful. My favourite scene in the book. Watching someone that horrible get to watch their own world crumble is deeply satisfying when they built that world on theft and cruelty.
And when Wolf points out that it isn’t even about the fact that she sang those songs, because he would’ve happily wrote songs for her to sing even if they broke up, it was the fact that she stole them and went on to purposefully try to ruin his life. That’s such a great look into who this guy is. He’s broken by that betrayal and still letting her know that he would have worked with her if she’d just been a decent human being about the whole thing.
End result: the studio has to comb through Talon’s financials to figure out exactly how much she profited off of Wolf’s stolen songs so they can pay him proper royalties.I loved it. And there’s a tease for book two with Ezra and Mavis that has me excited to see what comes next for the Crimson Dukes.
BEST PART OF THIS BOOK
The lawyer sit-down scene, for sure. Watching Talon’s whole scheme fall apart in front of the people she thought she could bully. I loved it. She earned every second of that unraveling.
WORST PART OF THIS BOOK
Honestly nothing glaring at all. The pacing dragged very slightly with both their schedules pushing things back as far as the songwriting went mid-book, but it didn’t take away from the emotional payoff because things were still moving along between them.
THE STEAM RATING BREAKDOWN
🔥🔥🔥🔥 — Spicy. Yes, there’s sex, and it’s not fade to black. The romance is deeply tied to the emotional core of the book, this isn’t just spice for spice’s sake, it’s two people finally letting their guard down with each other after years of self-protection. Althought the spice is hot, don’t worry.
Content warning-wise: past domestic abuse (Reba), childhood abuse (Wolf), and workplace/industry manipulation are all present and central to their backstories.
THE ENDING — SATISFIED OR DISAPPOINTED?
Satisfied! Very satisfied, actually. The only complaint (this is so not a complaint) is that the Ezra and Mavis sneak peek for book two now has me waiting impatiently, which admittedly, is a good problem to have.
THE CHARACTER WE LOVED TO HATE
Ooooh Dante. Reba’s ex and Douche-Canoe extraordinaire. He shows up right after the face-off with Talon at the awards show to complete the night with one final assault by grabbing Reba. I could not hate that piece of garbage more.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE BOOK
It’s still the meeting with Talon and all the lawyers. An absolute fuck you moment served ice cold, and it landed perfectly.
WOULD WE REREAD IT?
Yes, on a future series reread, once the whole Crimson Dukes world is fleshed out, I know I will. You don’t want to know how many times I’ve read the Flintlock’s series so far.
WHO IS THIS FOR
Readers who love rockstar romance and want deep, emotional devastation to go with it. This one’s heavy and beautiful; bring tissues for yourself and maybe a little rage for Talon.
WHERE TO GET THIS BOOK
📱 Ebook
📚 More from the Crimson Dukes Rockstar Romance series
- Book 1 — Words Don’t Lie | Reviewed by CJ | ⭐ 4/5 | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 — [Read the Review]
- Book 2 — Melodies Don’t Mix | Coming Soon (July 2027)
MORE FROM THIS REVIEWER
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Plot Twisted. 🔥
📱 | Series: Crimson Dukes Rockstar Romance Series Book 1 | Genre: Rockstar Romance | Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥