Backstage Pass by O. Cunning

OCunning-Backstage PassI originally only downloaded a sample of Olivia Cunning’s Backstage Pass (book 1 in her Sinners on Tour series) to see if I would enjoy it. You see, I’m not all that into contemporary romances, but will occasionally read some.  I didn’t foresee how quickly this would hook me and before I knew it, I was clicking the “buy book” button on my Nook *G*.

It’s been months since Brian Sinclair, lead guitarist for the famous rock band, Sinners, composed anything. Unable to write the music that once flowed so naturally, Brian is lost without his musical mojo. But when sexy psychology professor Myrna Evans comes on tour to study groupie mentality, Brian may have found the spark he needs to reignite his musical genius. When lust turns to love, will Brian be able to convince Myrna that what they have is more than just a fling, and that now that he’s found his heart’s muse, he doesn’t want to live without her?

Backstage Pass isn’t what I would now classify as a contemporary but more of an erotic romance. It is definitely high on the heat factor, with lots of yummy smut scenes.  Though, I felt at some points in the story, the amount of detail and amount of sex in the book could have been toned down some.  Don’t get me wrong, every now and again a good, smutty erotic romance is exactly what I’m looking for, and this book did not disappoint.  However, sometimes too much sex is just that…too much and it doesn’t add to the story and can seem gratuitous; which is how I felt a couple times while reading.

As the blurb said, our heroine, Myrna is an expert in sex, so she isn’t all that inhibited…in or out of the bedroom.  She is not afraid to show her sexual side. But more than that, she’s outspoken and not afraid to speak her mind, whether it is what she wants during sex or outside the bedroom.  One thing I didn’t find all that believable was how quickly she had sex with Brian.  Myrna isn’t a groupie and meets the band in the hotel bar where she is staying for a conference and where the band decided to stay for an evening to take a break from their trashed-out tour bus.  Myrna is a long time fan of the band and when she sees them, goes to say hi, as any fangirl would want to do.  However, it’s not an hour later and she’s up in the band’s hotel room having sex with Brian. While I expect such things from a groupie, it didn’t seem like something Myrna would have done.  Myrna annoyed me at times because she is still dealing with effects from an abusive ex-husband, which while understandable, as a psychologist she would know that (and at times her logic does come through) one bad apple shouldn’t prevent her from loving someone again.  Basically Myrna attempts to keep Brian and his feelings at bay because of her own troubled past. Again, something I understand, but she never really told Brian any of it until things got to a point where she had to tell him

Brian is a sensitive soul who admits he falls in and out of love easy.  So, his band mates are all wary when Myrna hits the scene and Brian falls for her almost immediately.  While I get love at first sight, it seemed a little hokey the way it was written, but I still enjoyed how hard Brian fell and felt bad for him trying to hide his feelings so as not to upset Myrna.  Brian genuinely loves Myrna and treats her in a way that all women would fall over themselves to have a guy treat them…he’d do anything for her and you can tell that everything he does he does to make her happy.  Her feelings are first and foremost.

So, if you’re in the mood for a good erotic romance, Backstage Pass should make your list.  The writing is very good and easy to follow but just a few things about the characters seemed just a tad unbelievable.

Read Order:
Backstage Pass
Rock Hard

Other reviews:
Wicked Little Pixie
Books for Company
Maldivian Book Reviewer
Books, Books and More Books
Smitten With Reading

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.