Rock 'n' roll romance
Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon (Pocket Books)
Another of the modern romantic genre, Johnny Be Good from the author of Lucy in the Sky, is a slightly more realistic look at modern love.
Meg Stiles is whisked away from her job in England to work as the Personal Assistant for ‘megastar rock god’ Johnny Jefferson.
Naturally enough Johnny is a pastiche of every Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash etc, etc, of the recent age and as such is about as deep as the varnish on his guitar.
Meg is better developed with some character flaws and an ability to be ‘every girl’.
Unfortunately the plot is fairly pedestrian. Meg says she’s not interested in Johnny, but then discovers his ‘sensitive heart’ and his hot abs.
Gradually Meg is drawn into the wild world of LA and eventually falls for the bad boy of rock ‘n’ roll.
There’s Johnny’s ‘nice mate’, Christian who’s around to pick up the pieces.
Unfortunately that’s pretty much the story.
The bloke is a jerk, Meg is easily led, and the good guy only kind of wins.
Still, if you’ve ever had fantasies about Robbie Williams falling in love with you, Johnny Be Good will put up off the idea for good.
Verdict: Ordinary modern romance with a rock ‘n’ roll edge.
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Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon (Pocket Books)
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