Loving Dallas by Caisey Quinn

Loving Dallas by Caisey Quinn
Release Date - June 16, 2015
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages - 360 pages
My Rating - 4.5/5
**received for an honest review from publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

In the second novel in bestselling author Caisey Quinn’s Neon Dreams series, a country rock band and its members embark on the rocky road to fame and find love along the way.

Dallas Lark is so close to achieving his dream of making it big in country music that he can taste it. Arriving in Nashville after signing with sexy, successful manager Mandy Lantram, his life goes from tragedy and turmoil to one lucky break after another—except it isn’t really luck because Dallas has sacrificed everything for his career, leaving behind his band, sister, best friend, and high school sweetheart, Robyn, in the pursuit of fame.

Robyn Breeland is a successful marketing coordinator and promotions specialist for a thriving liquor distributor out of Texas. She loves every aspect of her job: coming up with new ideas, traveling, hosting promotional parties and exclusive events—until it brings her face-to-face with the man who broke her heart, prompting her to erect a steel cage around it.

When their paths collide and they’re forced to work together, Dallas and Robyn realize that the old spark they thought they’d extinguished might still be a burning flame.

Leaving Amarillo is one of my favourite New Adult novels that I've ever read. I went into Loving Dallas with some pretty high expectations and Caisey Quinn did not disappoint. The Neon Dreams series is an addictive roller coaster ride through the music industry, seediness and all.

Caisey Quinn adeptly balances her plot with the sexy elements that are found in the genre. She allows her characters to take centre stage, and the plot to carry them forward. The focus isn't on the sex scenes, and that makes a huge difference in terms of character development and connection. I think I connected with this series as much as I did because of this choice with the writing. It meshes everything nicely so that they all combine to create a delicious drama filled, sexy read.

I expected to love Dallas. His protectiveness of Dixie was charming and I was eager to learn more about him. Robyn, surprisingly, was the one that ended up stealing the spotlight. She's driven, focused, funny, quick witted, and imperfect. She's the type of girl you wish you had for a friend. Her sense of humour really stood out to me as I found myself laughing out loud a lot while reading. The ease in which I cared for her so early on in the novel shows Caisey's talent in creating characters. You'll leave the novel knowing exactly why Dallas couldn't forget Robyn, and that's probably the point. Caisey Quinn obviously recognizes that for a love story to work you have to make the readers fall a little in love with the love interest as well.

The dynamic between Dallas and Robyn is totally different from Dixie and Gavin. This novel is all about second chances and what you would do differently. While the wait for Gavin's story to close out the series will be nearly unbearable there was something endearing about the chemistry in this sequel. The relationship Robyn and Dallas have is one of second nature. Falling back into old patterns comes naturally and Caisey Quinn captures that familiarity and history without unnecessary flashbacks. You immediately believe their connection and that these two characters have a past. Their interaction and banter seem effortless.

The music industry once again feels like a character in this novel. The seedier aspects get a bright spotlight in this installment with Dallas struggling to find his way in this new world he's being thrown into. We see the temptation, and regret that a lifestyle like this can offer through various characters and it feels like something that will arc over all three books. The industry being such a big focus and the drama that it causes swirls around the characters causing havoc like a tornado.

A novel about how the journey we take to our dreams may not be quite what we expected, and how sometimes our dreams change into something else entirely from what we expected. It's the best kind of love story - the that makes you believe in second chances. Caisey Quinn once again writes a fun and sexy New Adult novel that puts the emphasis on characters and the plot. I'll be breathlessly waiting for the final novel in this series!