Book Review - Nothing But Trouble by Matt Cain

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Title: Nothing But Trouble

Author: Matt Cain

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Publication Date: 16th July 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Lola Grant is the hottest pop star in Britain and she's about to go global. But behind the music, her addiction to bad boys is taking her personal life in a dangerous direction. When it comes to men, Lola just can't stay away from trouble - and her self-control is pushed to the limit when she meets her handsome new drummer Jake Hunter.

Looking out for Lola is her best friend and manager Harvey Sparks. But Harvey's fighting his own demons and can only watch from the sidelines as the star he helped create begins to fall. When Lola seeks comfort in a life of wild partying, she meets good-hearted showbiz reporter Freddy Jones, a man who may just be able to offer her a way out.

But as she starts rehearsals for her Trouble tour, Lola finds herself faced with an even bigger threat. And unless someone can get through to her before opening night, she's in danger of losing everything she fought so hard for - in full view of the whole world.

Sexy, sassy, bad boys, romance, a pop star who could be going off the rails, a drummer who is far more trouble than he's worth, and a showbiz reporter who people tend to think is lovely, but not want anything more from. Add in all sorts of excesses,revenge, a broken relationship with her mother, and a load of side stories and threads and you have the most amazing and exhilarating book, and that is exactly what Nothing But Trouble is. 

This book starts off at a relatively sedate pace as you get introductions to a lot of the key players in this twisted tale, and then it gets continually more gripping, until the last quarter where I couldn't put it down, and was shouting at family if they tried to interrupt my reading of it, as the book builds up a crescendo into a thrilling climax. 

Lola is a huge pop star and is preparing for her UK tour, about to try and break into America, and has an addiction to bad boys or "tramps" as she calls them. So she knows she is in trouble when she meets the new drummer for the band Jake.

Jake is essentially new to London, and viewing different areas of it as he gets cabs home, from assorted females houses, after spending the night with them. I don't like to call people names, and I think the kindest words I can come up with describe him would be sex addict.

Harvey is Lola's manager, has battled his own problems with drink in the past, and now is petrified that Lola is going to become the cliché bad girl pop star, of the drunk and disorderly variety. He is also Lola's best friend but can he stop her from getting into a huge mess. 

Then there is Freddy Jones, who is a showbiz reporter, and seems to be a genuinely nice guy and is clearly attracted to Lola. In fact there are scenes where you see what both Freddy and Lola are thinking and just want to slam their heads together and get them to see sense! But if that happened then the book wouldn't have been anywhere near as entertaining. 

There are also sub plots involving all manner of Lola's general entourage, some better than others, but all adding to the atmosphere of what it must be like as a pop star. 

Many times throughout the book I was wondering if there was a real album of Lola's songs available as the lyrics all seemed so strong, I would have loved to hear them against some music like they should be sung. 

I found I loved almost all the characters and even the ones I wasn't as keen on, had some good points. There is a fair bit of x-rated content in this book as you would expect, which I feel I should mention in case you have problems with it. 

Nothing But Trouble is one brilliant book, and I'm so glad its on a summer release schedule as it is a fabulous summer holiday read, to lose yourself in Lola's life.  Based on my utter enjoyment of Nothing But Trouble, I can't believe I haven't read Matt Cain's other book, but I will definitely be moving it up my must read list!

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for my review copy of this book. This was my honest opinion. 

Nothing But Trouble is out tomorrow.