Thrown Off Track (License to Love #1)

This is the first book by Tamsen Parker that I’m reviewing. The first one I’ve ever read, in fact. As an intro to Tamsen’s writing, I’ve got to say: not bad.

I expected more band-related content as this is a book about musicians, but the author is concentrating more on the relationship between the two main characters – Christian and Teague. As a matter of fact, all the other characters take a huge step away from the spotlight, to the point where I think the series would’ve benefitted from them having more screen time. Well, book time. Page time?

Whichever.

As for Christian and Teague: what is happening between them is entirely new so a lot of the book is about each man exploring the other, something I appreciate, because sometimes authors are so concentrated on giving us the physical aspects of a relationship that they forget that there’s more to it than just lusting after each other’s bodies. However…

There’s a scene from Teague’s POV – the POV switches between the two leads – in which he’s getting to know Christian in this new light he sees him and it just doesn’t read that well for me. One: he acts like he’s never had sex, and yes, I realize he’s never been with someone in the way he’s with Christian so it’s new to him, but he’s just too inadequate at reading his partner, which leads us to two: this is Christian, and Teague should be able to understand him better even in the current circumstances.

Still, Thrown off Track was a good book for me. It’s one of those novels that I read and I can’t pinpoint exactly what I like, but I keep on going not just because I have to finish it and write a review. It also made me pause and think about the characters, and I like books that make me think, so thumbs up for that.

I’d recommend Thrown off Track to people looking for a quick read and enjoying the friends to lovers theme.

This is a longish novella, boy band m/m romance with an interesting demi rep which I liked though it was completely different from my personal experience. This is a low-heat friend-to-lovers story where two best friends and band mates become a couple. I loved the romance arc which had some virgin feel because it was the first time for Teague to feel sexual attraction and desire. I loved how they were comfortable with each other and freely discussed their feelings, their sex lives, including a lot of explicitly stated consent. I appreciate how considered of his giant statue Teague was, but having this said again and again every couple of pages became repetitive. He did act immature at times, jumping to conclusions but given the general turmoil of his life at the moment, I guess this was understandable.

The romance between Teague and Christian blossomed at the time when the band had to move on and each member had to start thinking about/working on a solo career. This highlighted some interesting perspectives on the life after the boy band bringing forth discussions of popularity and making money vs making the music you love. All the characters read like real people, unique, with their own characters and quirks, no generic stereotypes of the bad boy rock star.

In short, it was an enjoyable, very emotionally charged rockstar romance which I greatly recommend.

If you’ve read any of my other reviews of rock star romances, you know that rock stars are my kryptonite, and Thrown Off Track did not disappoint. The story has funny moments, serious moments, and informative–without being preachy and boring–moments.

Teague is a gentle giant trying to figure out his sexual identity and is confused by his “pants-feels” for Christian. Christian is the quiet, introspective best friend and band mate who is harboring his own secret crush for Teague. Teague finally takes action and attempts to show Christian how he feels. I love how Christian helps Teague navigate his sexuality and helps educate him. I also love how consent is such a big part of the story. The respect they have for each other is sweet, and I appreciated how the author makes their intimate moments hot while establishing boundaries. The heated argument, resulting in each saying some pretty nasty and hurtful things to the other, is one I could see happening between best friends and lovers. I am excited to read the other band members’ stories to be released in this series.

In short, the “schmoopiness” is adorable, the development of the MCs relationship is enlightening, and the conflict is realistic.

In this friends-to-lovers tale, bandmates Teague and Christian give into to their attraction to each other, but find that there’s more to having a relationship than just falling into bed.

This is a bit of a different story since Teague and Christian have a lot to work out. The changes in the band LtG have everyone on edge and it becomes a bit of a source of conflict for these two. And they both have expectations and issues with intimacy to deal with. I did like the conversations between these two since it’s not the usual romance faire. I found this to be more about the journey rather then the HEA destination, so if that’s what you are looking for, you might like this m/m title.

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