Dating Nashville

When country music sensation Becks leaps off the stage mid performance and kisses Nicky everything he’s worked so hard to build could fall apart, even his friendship with Nicky. His label doesn’t want the truth revealed, that he only kissed Nicky because he couldn’t stand by and watch Nicky’s boyfriend break his heart again.
Nicky’s quiet life is turned upside down the night Becks kisses him in front of a crowd of screaming fans and now Becks wants him to pretend to be his boyfriend to save his career.

This is the first time I’ve read a sweet M/M romance and it’s safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The relationships between the characters and the storyline kept me hooked until the very end. It was an easy read that kept me turning the pages.

Final Verdict:
This was a sweet romance that had me hooked to the very end.

'Dating Nashville' by Michelle MacQueen and Ann Maree Craven follows some of the same characters that graced the pages of Macqueen's and Craven's 'Redefining Me' series. Beckett (Becks) Anderson and Nicky St. Germaine are the two main characters in this novel about finding one's own truth and coming at it with a vengeance.

When Becks left town a couple of years before to move to Nashville with his friend Nari and her boyfriend Avery, the three friends felt they made the right call. Becks didn't look back, aside from talking to his sister, Wylder, from time to time. When he returns for a concert he's performing and shows up at Nicky's graduation, he feels he is seeing his best friend Avery's little brother, who also happens to be his friend, grow up. Little does he know that seeing Nicky will awaken feelings in him that he didn't know he had.

At first it seems like he's just trying to protect him, being the big brother type. But everything changes when he jumps off stage at his own concert and kisses Nicky smack on the lips to make Nicky's ex-boyfriend Kenny jealous. Everything turns upside down, including Becks' music career. Even though he stresses that he isn't gay and was just trying to help a friend, his label wants to make a big deal out of the relationship, and he goes along with it, enlisting Nicky to play his fake boyfriend. The problem is that Nicky has had a crush on Becks for years, and despite wanting to stay out of the spotlight, he can't say no to the invitation, even though he can see what the onslaught of paparazzi are capable of doing to his not-so-exciting life.

As Becks and Nicky grow closer, much like they were years before, Nicky starts to feel standoffish. He doesn't want the public displays of affection that Becks feels he needs to give to the people who are representing him, let alone his fans. Becks, on the other hand, is worried about the way he feels whenever he kisses Nicky. It is unlike anything he's ever felt with a woman. It makes him question his sexuality and his understanding of who he is. The now topsy-turvy world that Becks and Nicky are in doesn't make it easy for them to talk and learn about anything together, so they find themselves growing further apart, not wanting to step on each other's toes, and not wanting to hurt each other any more. Yet, Becks knows one thing for sure – he needs Nicky now, more than ever. Even if life goes back to the way it was, he can't stop thinking about his old friend, the person he has become, and the person Becks himself feels like when he thinks of Nicky.

A love story through and through, with definite doses of truth-telling, anger, resentment, uncertainty, and even some Secret Service thrown in for good measure, 'Dating Nashville' expands the story of a group of friends from small-town Twin Rivers and reveals how truths, no matter how scary, can sometimes be the best way to move forward and learn who you are, why you matter, and what you can do to make sure that you always stay just that way.

If you read the first series, Redefining Me, you got a glimpse at these characters and probably love them just from those small appearances. I know I did, and I was beyond excited when I heard they were getting their own book.

It did not disappoint.

This book is everything. I absolutely love it and already know it’s going to make the top ten list of 2019. It was funny and made me laugh because, let’s face it, Becks’s sarcasm and attitude is just the best, BUT it also had a lot of serious plot points. It gets pretty emotional, and I definitely cried a couple times.

You all know how important characters are to me in a book. You also probably know how much I love the funny side characters. They always end up being my favorite, and Becks was no exception. In the other books, he’s the friend of everyone. He was a jock who didn’t care about labels. He was always joking and meddling, and I knew instantly that he was my new favorite. Dating Nashville shows a more in-depth look, and, because half is written in his perspective, you get to see what’s underneath the charm and smiles. For so long, I lived my life behind a fake smile. So to see this side of my beloved Becks was a little heartbreaking. It made me love him even more, as I could appreciate his struggles with trying to please people while figuring out who he is.

Nicky is just… Nicky. He’s precious and I just want to hug him. I loved him before as Avery’s younger brother and Nari’s best friend, but he became his own character in this book. He grows so much, from thinking he can’t do better than Kenny to being able to stand up for himself and turn away from the cycle he was constantly being sucked into.

This book was amazing. It exceeded expectations and made me happy on so many levels. I laughed, I cried… I highly recommend it. If you like YA contemporary, definitely give it a try!

*Original review on Functionally Fictional.