This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Love Evolution by Michelle Mankin
Series: Brutal Strength #1
Published by Selfpublished on 1 May 2012
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 222
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Purchase


Reading Challenges: 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, Bookish Resolutions Challenge 2015

After the death of her twin brother, nineteen year old guitar prodigy Avery Jones finds herself desperate, alone, and out of options. Hope arrives in the form of a job opening with Brutal Strength, one of the biggest rock bands out there. Only problem is temperamental lead singer Marcus Anthony doesn't want a woman in the group.

So Avery and her manager Trevor come up with a plan involving a Bieber haircut and men's clothing. No one seems to be onto their little con. But what happens when Avery starts falling for Marcus? Will she be able to continue with the farce or will the whole thing come crashing down around her like a house of cards?

Love Evolution is a rock star romance based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It is the first book in the Brutal Strength series.

Love Evolution is a great start to the Brutal Strength / Black Cat Records series, I loved the characters, the excitement, the reluctant romance and, of course, the music!

My Love Evolution review:

I love it when stories manage to mix romance and music, and Mankin definitely managed that in Love Evolution. Finding herself all alone, Avery was ready to do anything to catch a break and find a position as guitarist in a group. When her manager told her Brutal Strength didn’t want a female guitarist, she dressed as a boy, cut her hair, and went to the audition. Of course, after she got the job, there were some awkward moments between her and the lead-singer of the group, Marcus.

Because Avery was a great guitarist, she didn’t get her job out of pity or anything else, however, Marcus felt weirdly good in Avery’s company, and that didn’t always sit so well with him. Love Evolution has a lot of humorous scenes, because Avery was instantly attracted to Marcus, but had to keep everything under a tight lid, as a male guitarist, she could not be seen fawning over the lead singer of the band.

The character development is very well done in Love Evolution, Marcus has a difficult past, including drug use and a stint in a rehab, but he is working very hard to do without. Avery and her brilliant lyrics help Marcus get his song-writing focus back, and in just a few weeks, they have new songs for a full album. That, coupled with the friendships, the surroundings of a band, and very strong family ties made Love Evolution a very good read.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, and with a lot of direct dialogues, Love Evolution was narrated in a way that helped me get to know the characters very well, and I definitely look forward to seeing more of these characters as the series unfolds.

Some of my favorite Love Evolution quotes:

A crazy idea started to evolve inside his head. What if they disguised Avery as a guy? Hey, it worked for the women in movies like Mulan and Yentl. Well, sort of…

But he knew there was something more. Something he couldn’t quite identify. Something so totally different from any of his previous friendships that it puzzled him.