ARC Review: Drifter by Eden Winters

From The Blurb:

Some legends never die. 

Killian Desmond met his end in the fiery crash that killed his band, or so the newspapers say. Now a nameless drifter, he plays one pick-up gig after another in a haze of pain and regret, moving on the minute someone says, “You sound like that guy from Trickster.” 

Getting outed cost Mike Rose his musical family. A bassist without a band, he’ll play any kind of music to earn a paycheck, but Trickster’s music provides light during the darkest moments of his life. 

A chance meeting brings together two lost souls who spark enough heat to set their guitars on fire. Their chemistry, both onstage and off, feels like something written in the words of a song and gives them courage to face life again. 

But to seize their future, they have to confront their past. 

Every damned, ugly inch of it.

Karen's rating:

I'm about to say something that I've probably never said before...

I know I've said "less is more" on more than one occasion and it's usually in regards to a book that may or may not have been good but would have benefited from some editing to tighten up the story line. I'm sure that we've all read books like that...

But this is the first time that I'm going to say that 'sometimes...more is better'. 

I've been a fan of this story since I first read the novella and then listened to the audio book and even though the novella tells a complete story...there's a beginning, a middle and an ending. Since I first encountered this story I've wanted a little bit more...a bit more beginning, a bit more middle and of course a bit more ending. 'Drifter' gave me all that and maybe just a bit more. It starts before 'Highway Man' giving us more background for both Killian Desmond and Mike Rose before they meet, there's more time spent on their relationship and this one ends after 'Higway Man' showing us more of their life together.

While I'm not a huge fan of rock star stories I am a solid fan of Ms Winters and there was zero doubt in my mind that I'd want to read this story and now that I've read a more detailed story and seen their lives on a more in-depth level I think I'm probably an even bigger fan of this story and this author.



'Drifter' is a story that so much of it could have easily come from today's headlines...a rock band killed in an accident, only to have the lead singer come back from the grave years later...a young gospel singer rejected by his family for being gay...both betrayed by someone they should have been able to depend on.

Interspersed with the expanded story were lyrics from songs written by each of these men. Songs that revealed their pain and heartache and ultimately their love. I loved the intimacy that these songs added to the story but I have to admit if this one goes to audio...I'm really hoping the narrator can sing because for me when a story has a strong musical connection like this one and the narrator reads the songs rather than sings them...well, it just seems to distract a bit from things and honestly it takes away from the intimacy of the moment...but that's a review for another day.

While it may not always work when an author expands a story in this case it worked and for me it worked. I loved getting this story in what really felt like it's entirety. This one's definitely recommended for fans of the music world and fans of starting over/second chance stories.

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A copy of 'Drifter' was graciously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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