Here are 100 books that Lick fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’ve always adored romance books—there’s nothing like the thrill of meeting characters that you know you’re going to fall in love with just as much as they’re going to fall in love with each other. I didn’t start out intending to write about rock stars. But when I was sitting down in front of that first blank screen looking for inspiration, it was a rock star that took shape in my mind. There is something so inherently appealing about the artistic, tortured souls of musicians. Relationships in the spotlight come with very special challenges, and I love exploring how characters navigate these while still developing passionate, soul-deep emotional bonds.
This book holds a special place in my heart. It was the first rock star romance book I ever read, and introduced me to the seductive world of rock stars and the women that love them. It’s a story about an ordinary girl thrust into an extraordinary situation with a man that every woman wants. What ensues is a story of off-the-charts chemistry, sexual tension, and learning how to deal with the pressures of life in the spotlight. It’s a hot, fun read that will have you wanting to find your very own rock star to go on tour with.
A full-steam, fake-to-real romance, featuring a charming, famous heartbreaker, a sweet “regular” girl, a salacious job offer, a ridiculous bet and way too many shared hotel beds.
A gorgeous rock star. An indecent proposal. How can a girl resist?
Struggling barista Katie Bloom doesn’t even know who Jesse Mayes is until she inadvertently wins the coveted role of his hot new girlfriend in his latest music video. But by the time she’s in bed with him, she knows his reputation.
Love maker. Heartbreaker.
Making out with a stranger in front of a camera crew isn’t how Katie imagined herself getting…
I’ve always adored romance books—there’s nothing like the thrill of meeting characters that you know you’re going to fall in love with just as much as they’re going to fall in love with each other. I didn’t start out intending to write about rock stars. But when I was sitting down in front of that first blank screen looking for inspiration, it was a rock star that took shape in my mind. There is something so inherently appealing about the artistic, tortured souls of musicians. Relationships in the spotlight come with very special challenges, and I love exploring how characters navigate these while still developing passionate, soul-deep emotional bonds.
A.L. Jackson is a fantastic writer, who sucks you into the world of her rock stars and makes it so you never want to leave. Her books are emotional and gripping, and she’ll have you smiling and crying—sometimes at the same time. Beneath the Stars is the last book in her Falling Stars series, but it’s my favourite. This story of a broken, damaged soul hiding his pain from the world, only to be rescued by a woman who has survived her own trauma, is absolutely gorgeous. If you enjoy sexy, southern rock stars, a forbidden, brother’s best friend romance, and a love that will sweep you off your feet, you’ll adore this book!
A friends-to-lovers romance about an unattainable rockstar and his best friend’s younger sister from NYT and USA Today bestselling author A.L. Jackson
Maggie Fitzgerald is the last girl I should think about taking to my bed.
On the cusp of turning 21, she has her whole life waiting out ahead of her. Sexy AF while still radiating an innocence that I know better than to taint.
And here I am, itching to reach out and touch a girl who is so forbidden that just thinking about her feels like committing a mortal sin.
I’ve always adored romance books—there’s nothing like the thrill of meeting characters that you know you’re going to fall in love with just as much as they’re going to fall in love with each other. I didn’t start out intending to write about rock stars. But when I was sitting down in front of that first blank screen looking for inspiration, it was a rock star that took shape in my mind. There is something so inherently appealing about the artistic, tortured souls of musicians. Relationships in the spotlight come with very special challenges, and I love exploring how characters navigate these while still developing passionate, soul-deep emotional bonds.
Paula Dombrowiak writes non-traditional rock star romances that will absolutely touch your heart. This is the first book in her Blood & Bone series and tells the story of middle-aged rock star Jack, who is being interviewed by Erin about the rise and fall of his nineties grunge band, including his tumultuous relationship with his former bandmate and collaborator, Mia. Paula paints a vividly realistic picture of the nineties grunge scene, skillfully mixing past and present to tell Jack’s heartbreaking story. This book is a beautifully written and emotional look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the rock star life.
A steamy, exciting, and emotional rock star romance with a bit of a slow burn, a love triangle and a '90s grunge aesthetic.
Two Days, One Interview, Twenty-Five Years of Rock 'N Roll. Telling his story might just repair past relationships and ignite new ones.
Jack O’Donnell is a middle-aged rock star with a long history of bad decisions. When unimaginable circumstances bring Jack and journalist Erin Langford, together, the two embark on a journey through Jack’s past where he recounts the rise and fall of his band and the profound bond he shared with his former bandmate and collaborator.…
I’ve always adored romance books—there’s nothing like the thrill of meeting characters that you know you’re going to fall in love with just as much as they’re going to fall in love with each other. I didn’t start out intending to write about rock stars. But when I was sitting down in front of that first blank screen looking for inspiration, it was a rock star that took shape in my mind. There is something so inherently appealing about the artistic, tortured souls of musicians. Relationships in the spotlight come with very special challenges, and I love exploring how characters navigate these while still developing passionate, soul-deep emotional bonds.
I love Carian Cole’s books. She writes the most beautifully emotional rock star romances, and the final book in her Ashes and Embers series is an unapologetic tear-jerker. This book asks the question: if two soulmates meet and fall in love, and then tragedy fundamentally changes one of them, are they still soul mates? The answer Carian Cole provides is a breathtakingly romantic story that will make you believe in true love that lasts forever. The fact that Asher is a sexy rockstar who could make anyone swoon is absolutely the icing on the cake.
Carian Cole unapologetically pulls out all the feels in this romance! Reading this book will have you asking yourself if you would stay committed to your spouse in the face of unspeakable tragedy. And would they stay committed to you?
I should have died. I should have been forgotten. But I didn’t, and I wasn’t.
Living the life most women only dream about, I was madly in love with my soulmate—Asher Valentine—amazing husband, loving father, and rock’s favorite kick-ass frontman. A man who loved me every day, in every way, since we first met as teens. We were blessed with…
Like many others, I had an early fascination for pop music, which moved on to rock music as I grew older. I would love to know more about the artists or music figures who made such emotional and stunning music that made the world better and more exciting. British rock and roll music has made a massive impact on the Western life that we all know and love. These five books are the best ones for me, and while all are unique, they have humor and interesting details and let me gain knowledge about these iconic figures.
I love John Peel, which attracted me to read his story. He was partway through writing the book when he passed away, and his wife took over to complete it. It was lovely to learn about his upbringing and early years, and it’s a compassionate, funny book about a man to whom the music world owes a debt of gratitude for all his musical discoveries.
Despite the number of claims in publishers blurbs, not many people actually achieve the status of legend in their own lifetime. Fewer still actually deserve that status. John Peel is the exception which proves that rule, a Great Briton whose contribution to British culture is undeniable, without whom popular culture would never have become popular. Beloved by millions - whether for his unstinting championing of musical talent on Radio 1 or for his wildly popular Radio 4 show "Home Truths" - this is the astonishing book he began to write before his untimely death in October 2004, completed by the…
I have loved the supernatural world since my dad took me to see The Lost Boys in the theater. There’s just something about the unbelievable that drags me into this genre. I enjoy the escapism aspect because real life is hard enough. Plus, what girl wouldn’t want to be taken to a castle and live happily ever after with her prince? I know I would.
Kristen Ashley is known for her contemporary books with heroines that rock and commanding alphas. In this book, you have the same, but with a supernatural twist. Wildest Dreams gives you the raw emotion you’d expect from a KA book, while adding a fantastical story and some hilarity to boot.
Seoafin “Finnie” Wilde was taught by her parents that every breath was a treasure and to seek every adventure she could find. And she learns this lesson the hard way when they perish in a plane crash. But she never forgets and when she discovers there is a parallel universe where every person has a twin, she finds a witch who can send her there so she can have the adventure of a lifetime.
But upon arrival in the Winter Wonderland of Lunwyn, she realizes she’s been played by her twin and finds herself walking down the aisle to be…
Richard Niles was born in Hollywood but grew up in London where his 50-year professional career as a composer, arranger, record producer led to work with some of the most acclaimed artists of our time, including Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, James Brown, Tina Turner, Cher and jazz icon Pat Metheny. He has worked on 20 Gold and 28 Platinum records. He has published many books on music including The Pat Metheny Interviews, The Invisible Artist, From Dreaming to Gigging, Piano Grooves, Songwriting – The 11-Point Plan, Adventures in Arranging, Adventures in Jazz Composition, What is Melody?, and How to be an Employable Musician. Dr. Niles' PhD is from Brunel University and he has lectured internationally.
Mo Foster was one of rock’s great sidemen, performing with artists such as Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Gerry Rafferty, Van Morrison, and George Martin.
Mo tells the stories of the greatest players who developed what is arguably the most important instrument of the 20th century, the guitar, talking to some of its greatest players including Hank Marvi, Eric Clapton, and Brian May. Mo was one of the funniest men I have ever known, and I can guarantee that if you read this book, you will be learning and laughing on every page!
A renowned bass player, Mo Foster has played his guitar with the greats, and with their backing, contributions and memories has written an insightful, passionate and very humorous book. British Rock Guitar is illustrated with original advertisements, memorabilia and photographs, many from many artist's private collections. Mo Foster, draws upon his own recollections and those of some of the greatest exponents of the rock guitar, from Hank Marvin to Eric Clapton and Brian May. Mo Foster has written the definitive history of the importance of the guitar in the development of British music over the last 50 years. British Rock…
I am a journalist, author, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who has spent my career spreading the gospel of the music I love, notably the Allman Brothers Band and the blues masters. I’ve been a Guitar World writer and editor since 1991, profiled countless musicians for The Wall Street Journal, and lived in Beijing for four years, forming a blues band with three Chinese musicians that toured the country, recorded an album, and won awards. That experience has informed everything I’ve done since, including forming Friends of the Brothers, the premier celebration of the music of the Allman Brothers Band.
I found this book riveting from page one and studied the ease with which Booth alternates chapters of straight biography and his own personal experiences with the band.
This included a drug-fueled slide that contributed to the book, largely chronicling the Stones’ 1969 tour of America, to take 15 years to complete. He writes about this with honesty and without romance, looking the devil in the eye with candor while also offering deep insights into bit characters like BB King and providing the definitive story of the Altamont fiasco.
Stanley Booth, a member of the Rolling Stones’ inner circle, met the band just a few months before Brian Jones drowned in a swimming pool in 1968. He lived with them throughout their 1969 tour across the United States, staying up all night together listening to blues, talking about music, ingesting drugs, and consorting with groupies. His thrilling account culminates with their final concert at Altamont Speedway—a nightmare of beating, stabbing, and killing that would signal the end of a generation’s dreams of peace and freedom. But while this book renders in fine detail the entire history of the Stones,…
I’ve been playing and singing music since I was six, and my childhood dream was to become an orchestral cello player. Over the years, I learned a number of other instruments and studied music around the globe, yet I was always intrigued, even intimidated, by those who were able to compose. This list of books helps readers like me really get inside the heads of some of the greatest composers (and performers) of popular music in the 20th and 21st centuries. While many of my questions were answered, there remains a sense of mystery and wonder that even the artists themselves can’t always explain.
I always knew there was something special, even mystical, about Led Zeppelin’s lead guitarist Jimmy Page. As a high school student, there was something about the band that drew me in, as if I didn’t have a choice.
I now know that I love their music, and Page’s playing in particular, because of the vision Page had for the band’s music, lyrics, and iconography on their album covers and artwork. Light and shade, light and heavy, clear and murky, simple and epic—how better to sum up Led Zeppelin?
This “oral autobiography” of Jimmy Page, the intensely private mastermind behind Led Zeppelin—one of the most enduring bands in rock history—is the most complete and revelatory portrait of the legendary guitarist ever published.
More than 30 years after disbanding in 1980, Led Zeppelin continues to be celebrated for its artistic achievements, broad musical influence, and commercial success. The band's notorious exploits have been chronicled in bestselling books; yet none of the individual members of the band has penned a memoir nor cooperated to any degree with the press or a biographer. In Light & Shade, Jimmy Page, the band’s most…
I have two major passions in life: music and writing. I started learning guitar aged 16, and my friends and I formed a band as soon as we possibly could. My first professional job was writing about pop music for a monthly magazine, and much later in life, I discovered jazz. Now I’m a bass-player, jazz singer, and composer who works with some of the finest jazz musicians in London, and I play regularly at Ronnie Scott’s club. As well as the Donald Fagen biography, I’ve also written biographies of the great jazz singers Mark Murphy (for me, the greatest of them all) and Jon Hendricks.
You thought you knew everything there was to know about The Beatles. I thought I did. I was wrong.
Craig Brown somehow manages to tell a very familiar story with details that either you never knew or had forgotten. He isn’t scraping the barrel: the book is full of excellent stories about the Fab Four, and sheds new light on where the band came from and where they ended up. It’s more than 600 pages long, and beautifully written, but a very easy read.
SHORTLISTED for the Baillie Gifford Prize's 25th Anniversary Winner of Winners award
WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020
A Spectator Book of the Year * A Times Book of the Year * A Telegraph Book of the Year * A Sunday Times Book of the Year
From the award-winning author of Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret comes a fascinating, hilarious, kaleidoscopic biography of the Fab Four.
John Updike compared them to 'the sun coming out on an Easter morning'. Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. The Duchess of Windsor adored them. Noel Coward despised them. JRR Tolkien…
