Synopsis:
“Once he met her, it was and always would be Lyla.”
They were the gentlemen bad boys of rock. Forming in a garage in a small town in Indiana. Taking their licks on the road. Going balls to the wall until they made their big break.
And then Preacher McCade and the Roadmasters redefined rock and roll.
Guided by their tortured lead singer and songwriter, the Roadmasters changed the face of music in the 80s and 90s. And on their journey to becoming one of the most enduring bands in history—dogged by rumors and myth and fueled by drugs and booze—the Roadmasters had one touchstone.
Lyla.
Preacher’s muse, the love of his life, and the band’s moral compass, from the beginning, Lyla is along for the ride.
But with fame and acclaim in their grasp, they’ve entered the fast lane.
And they didn’t know it, but they were headed for a crash.
My Review:
“There are women who just have… [Pause] Something. Lyla had that.”
Well I am sure that this story was a long time coming, knowing what a huge fan Kristen Ashley is of rock & roll! And ‘Fast Lane’ is certainly a bit outside her normal comfort zone, much like a passion project or a story that she absolutely HAD to tell.
This book tells the story of a famous band’s path to stardom and the often-rocky road to the top. Told in an interview style much like Taylor Jenkins-Reid’s ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’, ‘Fast Lane’ (LOVE the title, by the way!) also has at it’s center the love story between Lyla and Preacher, the lead of the band.
Preacher McCade and the Roadmasters lived a hard life, exactly as you would expect a rock band from the 80’s and 90’s. This is a book filled with nostalgia from those decades, written by an author who is obviously a true fan of rock & roll and the bands that created the memories of our youth. Kristen Ashley’s biography states that she grew up with the sounds of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake so you just know that she has probably been DYING to write a story like this for years!
This story unfolds as the interviews with band members develop and for me, the best parts focused on Preacher’s muse, Lyla. Of course her arrival changed many things about the band and their relationships. I loved the interview-style narrative and as always, Kristen Ashley created another unforgettable main character in Preacher McCade.
“And the only thing I’m sure of in all of that, the only thing that’s solid, is Preacher.”
Although this book is different from most of Kristen Ashey’s other books, the interview style works well. I wasn’t always feeling the pull of the music or the nostalgia for the time period but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. Definitely pick this one up if you are a fan of rockstar romances and the emotional pull of Kristen Ashley’s books. You won’t be disappointed!
“We should all follow our stars.”
(ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.)
Excerpt:
Preach was an equal opportunity, benevolent almost-rock god. I remember seeing him with his jeans bunched up to his knees, sitting on the side of the pool, his feet and calves in the water, her friends barely clothed in the water, wet and hanging off his legs and his every word, and he’d glance over at her. When he was in the mood to spread his love, everyone was invited. We all were nailing serious tail, but I don’t think anybody but Dave had had a threesome. But that was not unusual for Preach. Or more, you know? That night, I had one girl, he had two, three were in with Tim and Dave, tripping, and Tommy was fucking another one in what we would find out later was one of the girls’ dad’s waterbed. And looking back, I knew Preacher was more into her than the two he had. I also got why. Kind of. Now, again, it was the eighties. We’re talkin’ Jane Fonda workout videos and Jamie Lee Curtis in that movie Perfect and one-pieces making a comeback because the legs were cut so far up the hips, a girl had to shave. And Lyla was not… [Pause] That. I mean, there was a reason anorexia became prevalent during that decade and didn’t let go. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t good, but it was the way it was. But Lyla was not that way. Tits and ass. A lot. Of both. And, from what I could tell that night, bad attitude. But fuck, the longer the night wore on, Preacher couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She’d do a lap to clean up ashtrays or beer bottles or whatever the fuck, and honest to Christ, he didn’t miss a step. Not that first step. She had what they now politically correctly, but also, it’s gotta be said, just plain correctly call curves. Freddie Mercury called them fat-bottomed girls. But man, she was pretty. Lotsa hair. Perfect skin. You know, and a way about her. It was part that attitude. Part the mystery. You know, tell a man, “don’t touch, you’ll get burned,” he’ll become obsessed with the fire. It’s just how it is. She screamed don’t touch. And Preacher, man… Preacher could be obsessive. In a big way. But it was the eyes. I gotta believe, and this would prove true, in a way, if it wasn’t Preach, it would be somebody. Another rock star. A photographer. A painter. Someone would fall in the muse of Lyla’s eyes. But as you know, it was Preacher.
