Title: Night Shifts Black
Series: Hold Me series (previously known as NSB series)
Author: Aly Stiles (previously known as Alyson Santos)
Release date: March 2016
The powerful story no one saw coming.
His name is Luke. But nobody here knows that. He was an iconic musician before he gave up music. But nobody knows that either.
They also don’t know he’s twenty-seven, that he used to have an infectious laugh, and he’s way too young to be widowed. They certainly don’t know the rest of his tragic story.
All they know is that he comes into their café at the same time every morning and stares at the same empty chair at the same table. They know he’s strange. They know he interrupts their breakfast with a cold blast of air as he hovers in the doorway, mustering the courage to confront a piece of furniture.
No one asks why. No one cares.
He’s fine with that. He’s done with life. This isn’t even his story anymore.
It’s mine. I'm Callie Roland, the young writer who sat in his chair one day.
Please note that this book addresses depression, anxiety, and suicide in a compassionate, realistic manner. For a full list of content notices please visit my website. Night Shifts Black can be read as a standalone, but the story continues in Tracing Holland.
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This book starts with a guy and a chair, and the mystery that surrounded it.
Callie Roland is a young writer, who spends a few days a week enjoying tea at a small diner. Until one day, it is interrupted by someone asking for her chair- despite their being a near empty diner full of chairs- he wants her chair specifically.
And that moment in time sets Callie's mind spinning. Who was that strange man? What does he see in that chair? And why did he look so sad?
She is fascinated by him and their one brief encounter. Their encounter that changes the course of both of their lives. Especially since he's drawn into the fact that she doesn't recognize him.
She starts piecing the puzzle together. Luke. Twenty-seven. Widowed. And haunted by the ghost of that chair.
Soon their breakfasts become some what of an odd routine. And they become some what friends. And then she learns he is Luke. Frontman of the band Night Shifts Black. A musician who gave up music. Walked away from it all. Ready to end it all. Until a chance encounter because of a chair.
So, what do I even say about this book? This isn't your typical rockstar romance. - it's raw, and gritty, and packed with emotion. It touches on loss, on grief, anxiety, depression, and suicide. It was real. It starts with an unlikely friendship, between two people over a chair, and ends in a near instant romance when Luke introduces Callie to a friend and band member Casey.
I loved every second of this book, and stayed up waaay too late to finish it. And I cannot wait to continue the series, and see what happens next & where it takes me.
4.5 ⭐ out of 5 ⭐.
2🌶️ out of 5🌶️. A couple scenes, & some details.
Tropes:
→ Rockstar romance
→ emotional reads
→ strangers to lovers
→ contemporary romance
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