First Verse: A Rockstar Romance (A Perfect Song Duet)

I think the end of this book truly broke me emotionally. I truly felt for the characters and the build up of tension over the secrets and trust made it a rollercoaster ride of emotion throughout.

As the first part of the A Perfect Song Duet, First Verse is a deep introduction into the lives of the main characters Wilder and Evangeline. They have know each other since childhood and their interconnected families and lives have been a whirlwind.

The way their romantic relationship develops is a unique take on friends to lovers, there is darkness and trust issues and a little bit of hate thrown in to get us started but ultimately, they are destined to be more, if they can get through the dark first.


This is both tragic and beautiful. The rockstar trope gives a really angsty vibe to the book and the music and lyrics described really enhance the read.

The characters are instantly likeable but also there's some uncertainty about whether or not they'll stay liked throughout.

Wilder is the epitome of rock band front man you'd wanna fuck but his darkness, secrets and lies make you wanna smack the shit out of him in the same breath.

Eva is a strong but delicate woman, she has her own demons to battle and how she feels about the dark both physically and emotionally is a beautiful exploration of how a phobia can take hold of your whole being.

Eva's fear of the dark is interesting too, as it isn't just a physical fear of being in the dark but an emotional one too, of people she cares about being dark or struggling with their own darkness. I think this opens up a lot of thinking point, it definitely did for me at least.

Realising that even though you love someone deeply, demons still lurk and you have to navigate those as well as building a relationship? LM Halloran did not make life easy for these characters at all.
I appreciate that she has drawn on real life experience to create Wilder and the path he chooses to follow in the book, reading this after reading the final scenes of the story made me truly feel the words in my soul.

The final scenes of this story are heart-breaking and I feel that you truly need to prepare yourself, I cried quite a bit.
With this being the first part of the duet there is no HE and I do hope that things progress in the positive in the second half (which I am really looking forward to reading as an ARC read in June)

The side characters in this all play very integral parts to the unfolding story and I would like to learn a bit more about all of them and where they came from and how their stories might unfold further too.

This book contains themes that some people may find triggering such as drug use/addiction, so as always, I strongly advise you read the content warnings first.

There are spicy scenes in this book and they are definitely not your everyday, mundane sexual relationship between MC's, there is a level of dominance and submission but I wouldn't say it is an explicitly D/s relationship, so please bare that in mind when reading. I, personally, loved the level of spice and level to which it is described and do not feel it takes away from the plot of the book as a whole.

LM Halloran has done an excellent job exploring the complex lives of characters in the spotlight and how people deal with mental health issues such as phobias and anxiety. The way the book is written is a good pace through the story and I feel she has included enough backstory to keep it flowing and engaging without being too much information to take in.

Overall, I have given this 4 stars, purely leaving off that 5th star because I want to read the second half and rate the duet as a whole.
I give this a 3 Chilli rating as the spice is explicit and on page with some elements of kink included.