Rock My Bed (Black Falcon Series) Paperback – April 22, 2013

3.5-4 starsThis was a pretty good story. I liked Riff and Aubrey and liked their story. The description is a little mis-leading as the story actually takes place during most of books # 1 & 1.5 and everything culminates at the wedding.Aubrey has a degree in marketing and landed a job in a big marketing firm in New York. She loves her job although things aren't perfect, especially concerning the business deal between her BFF, Lane (heroine from book #1) and the company they both work for. Aubrey has a tendency to fall for bad boys and her mother (who is very straight-laced and proper) keeps getting on her case about finding a good, steady man to marry and have kids with. Aubrey’s not too happy with this future but has decided she needs one last fling with Riff before she “settles down”.Riff is a good guy with a very troubled past. He made a bad choice when he was 16 years old and it caused an accident which made his family implode. Riff just made a mistake but he was made to feel it was entirely his fault and has lived with horrible guilt for years. Because of this, Riff doesn't feel like he deserves anything good in his life and certainly doesn't deserve to have someone special. Riff was lost but found solace in music and eventually found a new family in his band. Unfortunately, an incident where Noel slept with a woman Riff was hanging with (according to her, Noel was drunk and doesn't remember it) has caused Riff much angst. He’s having trouble letting go of the anger and now it’s starting to tear the band apart.Riff and Aubrey get started during the timeframe of book #1, Rock the Heart but we don't see their initial interaction in that book. They first meet during the concert that brought the first meeting in 4 years of Noel and Lane (the couple from book #1). Aubrey is waiting for Lane to talk to Noel and Riff comes across her in the hall. There’s a very strong mutual attraction and they flirt a bit. Riff is all for trying to get Aubrey in his bed but when the meeting between Noel and Lane ends explosively, their flirting is ended abruptly. Aubrey can't forget about Riff and decides to reach out to him through a fan connection and gets an IM friendship going with him. Riff is very happy to get a message from Aubrey and they flirt online for a bit, Riff trying to get Aubrey to come visit so they can hook up. In the meantime, Aubrey is confronted with her boss at work asking her to keep secrets from Lane about some things going on behind the scenes and Aubrey feels she has no choice or risk Lane quitting her job in anger without thinking things through. Aubrey also has some confusion in relation to her boring and slightly OCD boss when he starts acting like he’s trying to get too close considering their boss/employee relationship. Lane gets sent on the tour for their job and Aubrey makes arrangements to meet her on one of their stops. She also decides that she'll have a fling with Riff…one last hurrah before she finds a “nice guy” to settle down with.Aubrey doesn't tell Riff when she’s showing up and so he’s happily surprised when she appears at the bus. They've been messaging each other for a bit and things were hot over the messages. As soon as they see each other, their mutual attraction explodes and they have trouble keeping their hands off each other. Aubrey hasn't told Lane about her being in contact with Riff (and he hasn't mentioned it either) so everyone just thinks they have an instant connection. Aubrey feels a bit bad to be ignoring Lane but can’t resist Riff’s pull. Riff and Aubrey spend some time together and Riff is surprised by how much he wants Aubrey to be his but he knows that can't be so he decides he needs to indulge in hot sex with her to in order to get her out of his system. After the first night neither of them have the other out of their system so they decide to spend the rest of the weekend together. Riff gets some encouragement from Trip (who sees that Riff has deeper feelings for Aubrey) to try to take things deeper but Riff is convinced he’s poison and can only hurt Aubrey if he spends too much time with her and a woman as fine as her would never want him for more than a fling. Aubrey on the other hand, is finding that she’s jealous when groupies hang on Riff when she’s around and she starts to fear her feelings are getting too deep and she'll get hurt. After their weekend they both try to move on but that’s difficult. Their relationship becomes rather up and down…sometimes together (when Riff is unable to resist Aubrey and gets her to give him a chance) and then apart (when Riff gets to feeling he’s bad for Aubrey and removes himself in order to protect her). Riff seems intent on protecting Aubrey from him hurting her but in his actions to protect her he actually hurts her and he can't seem to keep himself from wanting to be with her. Aubrey actually does pretty well at dealing with Riff running hot and cold but when he has a huge bout of relationship dumbassedness, I really wish she wouldn't have jumped in to dating Isaac so soon afterwards (but then Isaac did kind of push the matter). There is drama and angst and things don't look good for a while but Riff realizes he’s being an idiot and makes things right with Aubrey. This causes a bit of drama in itself (Isaac) but it does leave Aubrey and Riff free to start their HEA together.This was a pretty enjoyable story. I liked Aubrey and Riff together and was rooting for them to realize they're perfect for each other. Unfortunately, because this is a NA book there was plenty of angst to deal with before it happened but it wasn't over the top so I could deal with it alright. Overall, it was a pretty good story with a feel good ending. I'd recommend it (but you'll probably want to read book #1 first). :D* note - I listened to the audio version of this book. The book was from both Aubrey and Riff's PoVs and there were 2 narrators, a female for Aubrey's PoV and a male for Riff's PoV. Both narrators did a good job in the narration but I didn't really feel like the male narrator's voice is what I'd expect Riff to sound like. It didn't ruin the book though and I liked the narration overall.

It's taken me a bit of time to come up with the right words for this review. This book is in a word "AWESOME"!!!! It will forever hold a special place in my heart. I loved Rock The Heart and was very smitten with Noel. I knew that I would enjoy this book because I love Michelle's writing, what I didn't know before reading this book is that.... I LOVE RIFF!!!!!! I fell hard and fast for the bad boy of Black Falcon.Aburey Jenson is determined to leave the bad boys behind after several broken hearts, and failed relationships. Because of her friendship with Lanie Vance, she knew all about the band and always found Riff attractive. When she meets Riff backstage after a concert, the sparks fly instantly and she's becomes caught up in his web of seduction. Their chemistry is palpable, and she fights like crazy to stay away from him knowing that guys like him don't do the relationship thing. Aburey eventually gives into temptation and allows herself a few nights with Riff. What can it hurt since she is determined to settle down with the "right" type of guy.Riff is the bad boy of Black Falcon, his "golden ticket" leading the ladies to the tour bus night after night, is just the way of life for him. Riff doesn't do relationships or "LOVE". Riff is broken, his past has made him who he is today and it defines what he believes about himself and relationships.So what are my thoughts besides the fact that I love Riff....I loved that Michelle started out the book from the same spot where Rock the Heart started. This book can be read as a standalone book. But you should read the other two they are just as awesome!!! The one thing that I really loved seeing was the other side of the conflict between Noel and Riff in this book. It was interesting hearing it from Riff's side vs what we saw in the first book.When Riff and Aubrey first meet in the book it was like a fireworks display on the 4th of July. I got really giddy because Aubrey is so sassy and Riff is so sexy and confident the first meeting was an explosion of passion and lust! I have to say that Aubrey is my favorite female from this series. She is whitty and quick with her banter and she doesn't let Riff run over her which makes her perfect for him. He needs a strong woman that can stand up to his crap, and Aburey has the backbone for it. She truly holds her own which turns him on even more. I believe he says that the women that play hard to get are his biggest weakness, but I don't think he ever stood a chance from the moment he laid eyes on her.At one point in the book I really wanted to grab them both and knock them over the head. I would find myself saying "Why do they fight it so much". Aburey being torn between the guy that she "thinks" she should be with the guy that she "wants" to be with, made for some SERIOUS angst in this book. I have to say I HATE ISAAC... And this isn't because I LOVE Riff it's because of his attitude. I wanted to scream at Aubrey for even considering him... He just made me completely crazy from the minute he was introduced.One character I found really intriguing in this book is Trip. He was so insightful and funny. He had some great advice for Riff, and he had some really funny dialogue. I am really looking forward to seeing more of him in the future...So during this book I LAUGHED... a lot... and I CRIED... 4 times... And might have felt like I needed a few cold showers... WARNING: DO NOT READ DURING LUNCH HOUR AT WORK!!! Yeah I won't make that mistake again... And I really wanted to HUG RIFF a lot... His story and the self-loathing was so sad at times, his struggles are realistic and will tug at your heart. I cried, did I mention 4 times...This book will make you swoon and completely fall in love with the "badest bad boy" of Black Falcon... Michelle did an amazing job telling this story! I happily give it 5 stars and hope that you all enjoy this story as much as I do...

(prob lots of spoilers)Literally the first 77% of the book is Aubrey and riff describing their side of the same time line from the first book. There was a lot of repeated conversations between characters from different viewpoints which got old. The blurb talks about them having to meet again at the wedding and she's dating Isaac...that was literally the last like 10% of the book that was about the wedding and she was with Isaac for like a week. She also forgave riff way too easily since she was under the impression he slept with other women, that's not something that should just be glossed under the rug and she even tried to make a joke about it, like what. His apology should've started off with "I lied I didn't sleep with anyone else" I loved the first book and was excited that this one was dual POV cause that's what I prefer but usually stories that have the same time line from different perspectives don't do that for almost the entire book. Should definitely change the blurb also

4 shiny stars!!Must admit I was a bit nervous going into this one as in the first 2 books I did not like Riff. I thought am I going to be able to read about a character I detest??? Well the answer was yes and yes I did really enjoy his story. In fact, this made his behaviour understandable to a certain degree. It was fab to get his back story and such a sad story it was too. I felt for the poor guy, he is extremely broken, carries a lot of guilt around and believes that he is unlovable, as everyone he loves leaves.Aubrey was a great character anyway and she just made the book!! We knew all about her anyways so not much more was revealed but the way that she carried herself in this book was great. She does make a few shaky decisions that I could have throttled her for but then as usual, they come to their senses eventually. Why anybody thinks they should end up with somebody safe that they have no physical or emotional attraction to is beyond me, whether they are a bad boy or not love should be the most important.Riff does not get off scot free either, he also makes some crazy decisions but luckily for him his band mates make him see the light!! The thing that made Riff for me during this book is what he asked Aubrey to call him when they were together..his real name..(sigh!!)..he wanted to make sure that she knew she was with him, not Riff the rocker and that just made him even more endearing, the fact that he needed and wanted the differentiation was super cute!!The instant messaging and texting between the two of them is super sweet and at points hilarious and adds to their relationship. These two were meant for each other and you felt that coming off the page, Riff was greatly misunderstood in the first two books and I am so glad that we got to see the real Riff in this one.The sex scenes in this book are sexier and a bit more risqué with some soft BDSM and kinky sex, but I feel that the sex scenes in all the books are not Michelle Valentine's forte, she excels in the back stories, the relationships, the build up and drawing you in to the characters.This book does not carry on from the last but actually from the Las Vegas concert, this is fab as we get some questions answered that were outstanding from the first book. Aubrey's boss in this book is highly irritating and I was so glad he got his just deserts at Noel and Lanie's wedding, couldn't have happened to a nicer man!So looking forward to the twins story too, we saw them a lot more in this book and they are highly entertaining and extremely interesting...think there could be a lot of fun to be had with these two, especially if Michelle is taking us down a more kinky side with her writing.Cannot wait for the next instalment!![...]

I absolutely ADORED this book. In fact I will go as far to say this is the best book in the Black Falcons series. This book just blew me away.This is book 2 in the series (there is a 1.5 but that is still Noel and Lane) and I was a little apprehensive to see it would be about Riff. Not that I didn't like Riff, not at all as he has intrigued me from book 1, but he didn't get the best profile after all that went down with his big fall out with Noel. Oh and his reputation of being a total dirty dawg with the ladies. Yes he came across as the ultimate rep of the bad boy rock star, with his tats and piercings and his freaky Mohawk, he was a total embellishment of that role.The book starts more or less at the beginning of the series and gives the reader an insight of what was going on around Noel and Lane when their story was being told. It pulled lots of things together for me and gave me a better understanding of some of the things that kicked off.Riff is the lead guitarist with the Black Falcons and he loves his reputation as a ladies man with his fans. His one night hook ups help to keep his inner feelings protected and he uses his outside persona to keep people away and from getting too close. But then he meets Aubrey the little "Wild Cat"Aubrey is the BFF of Lane and comes face to face with Riff at the Texas concert where he deems to "award" her with one of his golden tickets. But when Aubrey lets it flutter to the floor he sees the challenge in her that totally fulfils his kink. When he sees her friend request on one of his fan pages the next day it leads to some serious flirty PMs and an eventual hook up when she goes out on the tour at Lane's invite.From the start I loved these characters, with the flirty banter and the cheeky innuendos you could feel the passion pouring off the pages (well kindle screen) but as much I as liked Riff and Aubrey it was all about Zach and Kitten that got the love factor for me. Yes we find out that Riff's real name is Zach and is the "real" him - a wonderful, lovable, all round good man who has learnt to close his heart and his feelings due to the tragedy of his family in his past. He sees that his "wild cat" who he semi tames to be "Kitten" is the one person who he wants to let in and with whom he can see all the good she brings into his life.I just fell hard for Zach; I utterly adored him all way through. This book felt a lot more mature than the first book for some reason which gave it more strength for me. But I found it fascinating that I fell this hard for a character that I didn't really care for much in the first. This is all down to the wonderful writing of Michelle A Valentine. She truly is amazing at drawing the reader in and developing the relationship of reader to character so naturally. I found myself wondering how I could ever have not liked Riff/Zach. I even found myself fangirling over Aubrey! No girly angst or hang ups for her!The best part of this book for me was the" I won't give up" moment of the wonderful Jason Mraz track. This song is so close to my heart that it ingrained Zach and Kitten to me more. A wonderful moment in the book, beautifully done.I highly recommend this series to anyone, and even though you could read this book as a standalone I strongly suggest you read them all in order otherwise you will not get to witness the beauty of the development of Riff's character. A ten star read for me. Amazing.

Second book in the series follows Riff real name Zach and Aubrey. We met these two characters in the first book in the series Rock The Heart. Aubrey works at the centre stage management. She first meets Riff who is a guitarist in Black Flacon, through her best Friend Lanie who was Noel's highschool sweetheart, and who is now back with Noel the leader of the group.The story follows Aubrey and Riff's relationship.Riff is a tattooed bad boy, who has a different woman in his bed every night. The band are always surrounded by willing women eager to bed any of the band. Aubrey is definitely not groupie material and is not impressed with Riff's first approach to her. Intrigued Riff pursues Aubrey, he's not used to being turned down.I might have given this a higher rating. But the timeline of the story was a bit of a disappointment. As the H/h met in the first book, I thought there might be a prologue recapping that. Then the story proper, would start at Lanie and Noel's wedding. But this story began right back at the beginning of book one. So the reader had to go through all of Noel and Lanie's story again. Yes we got to read in detail Riff and Aubrey's early interactions. But I was disappointed how much Lanie and Noel featured in this. The story surrounding Riff and Aubrey felt a little lacking in substance. This certainly wasn't as good as the first book IMO three and a half stars.

I think I liked Aubrey and Riff's story more that Noel and Lanie's story.I think (rather than know) that this book can be a stone alone, as it covers Noel and Lanie's story but from Aubrey and Riff's point of view. If you haven't read the others you can still read this and not scratch your head thinking "what is going in?"As is said I liked their story, however I did skim a bit when we got to an N/L as it was word for word from books 1 and 2 and found myself hurrying to and A/R scene.It has all the necessary components you would find in a rock band book and it is an enjoyable read.I would want to see the twins next.

Following the characters of the band, Riff soon likes to be known by his real name Zach, as he alternately pursues the potential love of his life Aubrey (woman with an old, rarely used, English male name) and pushes her away as he wrestles with feelings of self-hatred and loathing.Michelle Valentine is a good writer, she's just following a well worn storyline. There were some potential great sub-plots in the story that I felt were underused. Still authors have to make decisions where to go. I look forward to her next book.It's a good, easy, long read, that is value for money.For older readers due to content.