Ho letto questo libro perché c’è un personaggio pansessuale aromantico (Zavier) e devo confessare che all’inizio ero molto scettica. Uno dei pregiudizi più duri a morire sull’aromanticismo riguarda l’idea che le persone aromantiche siano fredde e anaffettive: quindi, il fatto che Zavier sia un dominatore mi ha fatto tremare i polsi – non per il BDSM in sé, per carità, ma per il terrore che Zabo usasse l’aromanticismo come scusa per un personaggio senza cuore che lega e frusta la gente per sentirsi vivo e cazzate del genere.

E invece.

Mi sono trovata a leggere un romanzo molto intenso: sia perché è caratterizzato da una forte carica sensuale sia perché Zabo è prodigx di scene emozionanti descritte davvero bene. Inoltre, la violenza psicologica che Ray subisce da parte dell’agente del suo gruppo, i Twisted Wishes, è più spaventosa di gran parte delle scene di violenza che mi è capitato di leggere altrove.

L’aromanticismo è descritto così bene che mi sono ritrovata nella maggior parte dei pensieri di Zavier e viene messo in chiaro come il suo amore per Ray, sebbene non sia di natura romantica, non ha niente da invidiare a chi si scambia cuori&fiori.

Anche con il BDSM Zabo se la cava alla grande: le personalità di Zavier e Ray non si esauriscono nei loro ruoli di dominatore e sottomesso e, per quanto sia un aspetto importante per loro e la loro relazione, le loro vite sono più complesse. Per esempio, non conosco moltx autere di romance che costruirebbero un personaggio leader di una band che è anche sottomesso, per la diffusa idea che se sei sottomesso a letto, allora sei una specie di ameba senza una tua individualità. Sappiamo che è una stupidaggine, quindi è il momento di smettere di metterla nei libri.

Infine, di Syncopation ho amato l’intersezionalità. Ci sono molti momenti nel romanzo dove un personaggio si rende conto dei propri privilegi e si impegna a modificare il proprio comportamento per abbattere lo stereotipo che è alla base della discriminazione. L’ho apprezzato tantissimo, soprattutto in un romanzo d’intrattenimento: mi fa un piacere immenso vedere questi argomenti uscire dalla teoria per entrare nelle storie. Si spera sempre di più e con sempre più pubblico! ( )

Ordinarily I'd deduct half a star for the more-than-a-few typos in the Kindle edition, but in this case, I can't care, because I loved the characters too much. Ray is amazing. Way stronger than he gives himself credit for (you know this early on). Zavier, super-cautious after his last sex partner got possessive and demanding despite Zav's up-front warning that he's aromantic. Their attraction is cautious and slow, and rewarding. Mish! She is perfect. And Dom, in either personality, is adorable. I cannot wait for the sequel!

But then, there is Carl.

If you've read any reviews, you know readers cannot help reacting to him. I'm no exception. I don't think I have ever hated a bad guy this much. Credit to the author for making me care beyond all reason. Credit, too, for resolving realistically. Although I was hoping for a meteor-strike.

The last chapter is a balm. I admire the reasons. A lot of romances end in a cookie-cutter wedding scene as if that's everyone's dream. I loved Zav & Ray's practicality.

You should read it. Pause when you need to. But trust the author.
( )

2,4 stars

This was all around not very good for me. It handled interesting topics like aromanticism (I don't know weather Mx. Zabo is own voices for this, but based on an aro review, it seems to read true) and BDSM (I very much enjoyed how consent heavy the BDSM side was).

Other than that, I found the writing pretty mediocre, the characters unbelievable and overdone, the plot had promise but kind of fell flat (Carl ended up feeling like a villain for the sake of being a villain, without any believable motivation other than what the author came up with by the end, whichs felt forced).

I'll also admit to skimming parts of this books, which is not something I often do, but I just couldn't force myself to pay attention to text that didn't really seem to have any value either by its own merits or for the sake of the story.

Probably won't be reading anything else from this author anytime soon.

Also! That cover is awful. ( )

After reading the ARC of Reverb and meeting all the rockstars of Twisted Wishes again, I finally decided to pick up this first installment of the series. I really wanted to know the beginnings of Ray and Zav’s story despite already knowing about their HEA and this was such a wonderful book to read.

Ray is a very talented singer/songwriter and his passion for his art and love for his band really reflects off the page. But he is also a product of the class divide and seeing him question his talent and abilities and taking all the blame for any issues made me so sad. When Zav joins the band, it was a delight to watch him become a part of this family. He has such a cool head on his shoulders and the calm that he brings to the chaos of touring felt like a breath of fresh air. The immense trust and friendship that builds between them slowly is a joy to read about and I really loved every scene that they were in together.

The band itself is another major plus point for this book. They may all be popular rockstars but first and foremost, they are family and their dynamic is beautiful. Ray, Dom and Mish always have each other backs and I felt like I was getting to be a part of this wonderful group of friends along with Zav. Mish is always ready to fight for their group whereas Dom has a very shy personality. But their trust in each other is complete and I liked that there were no professional issues between them at all.

There is just something about the writing in this book that made me feel very good. As someone who loves the emphasis on friendships in books, the story and characters in this book felt like catnip to me. The author also treats Zav’s aromanticism in a way where he is just who he is and he doesn’t have to justify or explain his feelings. And Ray completely understands it. This was probably my first book with an aromantic character, so I can’t really comment on the authenticity of the rep but I think it was done respectfully. The book also has some bdsm elements, but the overall feel is very sweet and I guess I wasn’t expecting that. My only issue really was the slightly caricaturish villain who really had no proper reasons for being so awful (even downright evil at times).

I’m usually not someone who reads books out of order and I still don’t know why I did that with this series, but I would definitely recommend anyone to start from the beginning. If you like rockstar romances, but not on the darker side, then this is the series for you. This series is full of friendships and love, sweet and adorable with some kinky stuff mixed in and completely queer af. While I totally enjoyed Twisted Wishes on the whole and would love everyone to read these books, Counterpoint is still my favorite 😊😊 ( )

A great emotional romance. Wow. ( )