The Lucky Moon series by M.J. O’Shea and Piper Vaughn

I just finished reading Catch My Breath by M.J. O’Shea which had a reference to the Ventura brothers. Shane and Nick Ventura appear in the Lucky Moon series by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea. So I thought I would share my thoughts on this great series!

  • Moonlight Becomes You (book #1)
  • The Luckiest (book #2)
  • Moonstruck (book #3)

Moonlight Becomes You (Lucky Moon, #1)Moonlight Becomes You

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Blurb…

Eleven years ago Shane Ventura made the biggest mistake of his life when he caved in to pressure from his record label to kick his best friend Jesse Seider out of their band, Luck. Though he had a gorgeous voice, Jesse wasn’t beautiful, and didn’t fit the label’s ideal look. But Shane’s never wanted anyone else more, and all the sex and alcohol in the world can’t fill the void Jesse left behind.

As his thirty-second birthday approaches, Shane feels more miserable than ever. Even the prospect of teaming up with Britain’s hottest band, Moonlight, for an epic world tour can’t get him out of his depressive funk. Until he meets lead singer, Kayden Berlin, and falls into instant lust.

Though Kayden acts like he’s not interested, Shane knows he feels the spark between them. But the harder Shane pushes, the more Kayden pulls away. Then one explosive night things finally come to a head and Shane is left nursing a broken heart. That seems to be Shane’s lot–lucky at everything but love, the one thing that matters most. But there’s a lesson Shane still hasn’t learned: when it comes to love, you can’t always leave things to chance.

So what did I think?

I really liked this book, the story of Shane, part of a hugely successful band but lacking something in his life. Although slightly predictable but with an interesting make-over theme, there is enough tension and a good pace. I also love a nice happy ending!

The story is told in a combination of ‘now’ and ‘then’ with the flashbacks telling the story of Shane’s love for his best friend Jesse, a love based on what’s inside rather than outward appearance. The ‘now’ tells the story of Shane’s current discontent and his growing attraction to Kayden, the hot lead singer of another band.

Interestingly the only character I didn’t warm to was Nick (Shane’s brother) who features in the second book of the series. Reviews of The Luckiest indicate it is better than this first book so I am very eager to read and learn more about Nick.

4 Stars

The Luckiest (Lucky Moon, #2)The Luckiest by Piper Vaughn

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The blurb…

Rock star Nick Ventura has finally hit rock bottom. Jealous of his brother’s new love, he starts overindulging in his usual vices and winds up crashing his car into a department store in a drunken haze. Publicly humiliated and on the verge of jail time, he enters into a court-ordered rehabilitation program.

Nutritionist Luka Novak is flamboyant, effeminate, the type of gay man that bisexual Nick would normally sneer at. His sunny nature hides a deep hurt from a previous relationship. Luka knows he should be wary of Nick’s reputation, but he’s drawn to Nick despite himself. Their tentative friendship turns into romance, but Luka soon comes to realize that Nick’s fear of losing his bad boy reputation means he’ll probably never go public with their relationship.

Nick never thought he needed anyone, until Luka Novak came into his life. Now he has to reconcile his carefree past with the future he suddenly wants more than anything. And the first lesson he has to learn is how to become the man that both he and Luka need him to be, rather than stay the boy he always was. Alone.

So what did I think?

I loved this book and knew I was going to love it after just one chapter!
This is the story of bad-boy rock star Nick who needs to spend months in rehab where he meets Luka, the nutritionist.
The writing style drew me in. I could feel Nick’s pain while at the same time laughing at the humour of his internal dialogue (loved the scene where he is filling out the forms for his doctor!). Nick’s character, is filled with pain and struggling to adjust to changes in his life. He appears selfish and childish but so very vulnerable.
Luka is supportive and protective of Nick but has his own pain from being hurt in the past. He is a gentle character but also a firecracker in bed!
The story follows Nick’s journey as he puts his past behind him to give his heart to another and Luka learning to trust.
“What they had was rare, imperfect and beautiful and scary all at once. It was hard to say those things out loud and know the right words to use. But that was ok. Because when two people found each other, two people who were meant to be, words didn’t even matter anymore. They just knew. And that was the luckiest thing of all.”
4.5 stars because there are gorgeous rockers, cute dogs, misunderstandings, hot sex and HEA

5 Stars

Moonstruck (Lucky Moon, #3)Moonstruck by Piper Vaughn

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The Blurb…

Surya Patel is the drummer for the massively popular band, Moonlight. When his label suggests a collaboration with Luck, the band Moonlight toured with the year before, he should be all for it. Except for one thing—he slept with Luck’s manager during the tour, and then bolted in the dead of night. He’s regretted it ever since, but he knows being around Emmanuel will only lead to disaster. Unfortunately for Surya, the person the label sends to sweet talk him into joining the collaboration is none other than Em himself.

Emmanuel Cortez has spent months trying to forget about the hottest night of his life—the night he slept with Surya. It’s been a year, but not even the death of his beloved grandmother and the subsequent drama with his family could keep the memories away. Now it’s time to be professional. His job is to convince Surya to collaborate with Luck, nothing more, but a day spent together leads to yet another passionate night. This time Em is the one to leave.

But unexpectedly Surya has a change of heart. He isn’t satisfied with just one night anymore. He wants forever.

So what did I think?

The excitement level did not match the earlier books, especially #2 The Luckiest which is the highlight of the series. However it is still an enjoyable story.

Surya falls for Em and, although happy for their relationship to be known among friends, struggles to come out to his very traditional family. Em has his own family issues to deal with. There is lots of wasted time and heartbreak caused by lack of communication (if only these guys would speak to each other!)

The story is steadily paced, with lots of soul-searching, but lacks the humour and drama of the earlier books but still a nice read.

4 Stars

For more information on M.J. O’Shea and her books visit her website.

For more information on Piper Vaughn and her books visit her website.

Buy The Lucky Moon series from Amazon.

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