Samantha Fisher never thought filming a music documentary of the up-and-coming rock band, Indigo King, would turn into a personal nightmare. But Matt Sturridge, the hot and mysterious drummer, seems to have made driving Samantha crazy his sole mission in life.
Mixed messages aren’t even half of it.
There’s something off about Matt, and since he refuses to talk about it, Samantha is determined to find out what it is, no matter what it costs her.
Book #2 in the Near Miss series. The series consists of stand-alone novels following the exploits of the members of the band Indigo King.
Samantha Fisher never thought filming a music documentary of the up-and-coming rock band, Indigo King, would turn into a personal nightmare. But Matt Sturridge, the hot and mysterious drummer, seems to have made driving Samantha crazy his sole mission in life.
Mixed messages aren’t even half of it.
There’s something off about Matt, and since he refuses to talk about it, Samantha is determined to find out what it is, no matter what it costs her.
Book #2 in the Near Miss series. The series consists of stand-alone novels following the exploits of the members of the band Indigo King.
Samantha
When my college friend Sarah Lawrence asked me to film her music videos for her a few months ago, I never thought it would lead to me filming a documentary film about the hottest band on the planet, yet here we are. That band is Indigo King, whose lead singer happens to be Sarah’s boyfriend, Ryan Crawford. What a coinkydink, as my grandmother used to say.
After filming Sarah’s music videos, I got several inquiries from Blackmore Records, her record label, to start this new documentary project. I tried to tell them I really didn’t have experience in this kind of thing, but they seemed to think my music history degree, with a minor in filmmaking, qualified me for the job. I’m not arguing their life choices with what they offered to pay me. And it’s not like there are tons of employment opportunities for someone with a music history degree in the first place, so when this kind of thing drops in your lap, you grab it. I’m not going to lie; to witness and experience the rise of a band like Indigo King will be something special for me. I hope to bring something interesting to the medium, not be a cheesy ‘Behind the Music’ type of circus, or worse, a Spinal Tap remake.
I was so happy for Sarah when she got her record deal after the videos we produced together took off online. The recognition is well deserved since she’s so talented, and I was lucky to hitch a ride on her star to get here. I still don’t know if she directly had anything to do with me getting this gig, but once I find out who is responsible, they are getting a huge kiss, a fruit basket, or something from me. I don’t know the proper gift-giving etiquette for something like this.
Luckily, I’m in a position where I can drop everything and jump on the road with the band as soon as possible. I recently broke up with my boyfriend, Nick, and we were living together in his house, so to be able to throw my things in storage and hit the tour right away is a godsend. We didn’t have a contentious split or anything, but it was quick. We became too comfortable. We were complacent about everything, and when I pointed that out to him, he didn’t want to change or take any steps to improve the situation. He was perfectly happy with how things were, so now he can go ahead and be perfectly happy alone with those thoughts and without me.
The day I don’t care what someone is thinking is the day I need to leave. And I didn’t care what Nick thought anymore because he never thought anything new. He’s happy with his life where he is and has zero ambition for any further growth.
Everything about our relationship had gotten stale, even the sex, and I do not like boring sex. I am all about being confident; in myself and my partner. Not that I crave adrenaline rushes or stress or chaos, or even swinging from the chandeliers, but a relationship needs to keep me curious about the other person. I need passion. Enthusiasm. Desire, and not just sexual. I want to be interested in everything about the other person. I want the dream.
I wonder what Nick is doing right now. Is he missing me at all? Regretting anything? Ugh. I need to stop that loop right now. I can’t care what Nick is doing. He obviously didn’t care about me. Well, not enough to try to change or work with me. Damn, nowhere near wanting to actually fight for me in any way. He was so god-damned apathetic about the whole thing. There’s nothing I hate more than apathy. It’s worse than him disliking me or being angry at me; at least those are visceral, tangible; something you can feel. Indifference is so empty and absent of any emotional worth. It makes me think I don’t even rate any emotion. I’m that forgettable to him. Two years were wasted with him. Two of my best years, since these are supposed to be my ‘prime’ years if the magazines are to be believed. I’m not sure I buy into the whole thing, but if the theory is correct, it pisses me off if I think about it too much that I wasted years on Nick. He doesn’t deserve my seconds or minutes, let alone years.
Now that I’m out of Nick’s house, I’m a bit of a homeless gypsy on my way to join a traveling band for the summer. Sounds like a premise for a 1960s Jack Kerouac novel. And that puts me here, on a flight from Cleveland to Salt Lake City for the beginning of the summer shed tour for Incendiary Ink, the headlining band. Indigo King opens up for them all summer, and Sarah opens for them.
Flying is not my favorite thing to do, and I’m looking forward to the more freeing bus life. Not just because the dude sitting next to me, now known from this day forward as Cookie Guy, is a complete and utter slob with his complimentary cookies, either. Which he is. But because on a plane, you can’t stop to see something. You can’t turn around to take a picture of a weird cactus you just passed because it looks like Ozzy Osbourne from the cover of his Diary of a Madman album. Which I may or may not have done... On a plane, you’re held captive for as long as you travel, and I don’t know if that counts as being claustrophobic or not, but I don’t like not having freedom of movement. I like knowing I can up and leave to go somewhere else if I want to. Hopefully, the bus isn’t simply a different kind of captivity.
With all of these life changes, maybe I should focus on myself. And my career. This documentary could lead to bigger things if it goes well. I refuse to waste any more years. I owe myself to spend my time on things that matter to me and will benefit me in the long run. Regardless of what it leads to, this job is a chance for me to expand my mind and my active experiences. Someday I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren I once toured with a rock band and got to document them becoming common household names.
Grandchildren...that’s rich. I don’t even have a freaking boyfriend anymore.
The seat belt light comes on, and the pilot tells us to expect turbulence soon. Lovely. I sure hope this isn’t an omen of things to come.
So close is a rockstar romance featuring a reclusive drummer and the vivacious film major documenting his bands journey.
All Samantha wants to do is her job filming the band. All Matt wants to do is hide behind his music and ride his bands came to the top. This all comes crashing down after a freak accident that forces them together (literally).
Samantha wants to get to know Matt but all Matt sees when he looks at her is an intrusion of his carefully built life. Matt is guarded with good reason as he has secrets to hide that are slowly resurfacing.
The story that follows can only be described as “love beyond the camera”. Sam and Matt are constantly clashing and their hot and cold behavior was entertaining.
The story is propelled much further than a rockstar romance into something slightly darker. There are themes of sibling abuse and the harsh realities of foster care.
While the premise was intriguing I believe the story escalated reallly fast between Sam and Matt which led to the interactions feeling awkward instead of building a foundation for a relationship
The best character by far is Jude. A tattooed hunk with a snarky demeanor
who is an undercover bookworm. His commentary and personality really shine through for me and I can’t wait for his story.
Thank you to Reedsy Discovery for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review