Good Time Bad Boy by Sonya Clark

Wade Sheppard was the king of country for nearly ten years. Now he can’t get Nashville on the phone, much less another record deal. When yet another drunken night onstage gets him fired from a casino gig, Wade is pulled off the road by his manager and sent home. Being back in the small town where he was born and raised, his every screw-up fodder for gossip, isn’t helping any. His family knows him too well, and the pretty, sharp-tongued waitress who catches his eye doesn’t want to know him at all.

Daisy McNeil has more baggage than most her age but she’s finally pulling her life together. College classes will be her ticket out of poverty and instability. She doesn’t mind waiting tables for the time being, but she could do without the rowdy rednecks who sometimes get handsy. When one of them crosses the line, she snaps and gives him and his stupid ten gallon hat the telling off he deserves, but causing a scene gets her fired.

Wade didn’t mean to cost Daisy her job. Chastened, he decides he doesn’t want his train wreck of a life to crash into anybody else. He offers the bar owner a summer of free shows if Daisy can have her job back. Now they’re spending nights together trading barbs and fighting a growing attraction. With a sexy smile and a powerful voice that can make any song his, Wade’s determined to show Daisy that he’s more than just a good time bad boy. 

I've bought many low cost books by authors I've never heard of and many of them just don't appeal to

me. They're usually bought on sale - think 99 cents - or the blurb makes the plot sound really good. Good plot and good price - it's worth a try.

I wasn't really expecting anything from Good time Bad Boy; I was just hoping I could finish the book. The book was surprisingly good and I really did like it.

I'd say the story is character driven. There is little action, no shooting, fighting or such. It's a story of two people falling reluctantly in love and overcoming some long term problems to be together. There's no "big misunderstanding" to maneuver around and the writing has its beautiful moments. This passage in particular caught my eye. Wade is playing his guitar while thinking about past music.

"From there Wade continued in the same vein, Spanish rhythms and melancholy, Texas and California country with dust and grit sandpapering the notes and faded dreams coloring the lyrics."

One of the underlying themes is teenage pregnancy. Both Daisy and her sister got pregnant in their teens; the sister kept her daughter while Daisy put her baby up for adoption.

Family, lifestyle, making your life work something that will make you happy, all these themes are covered. It's not a rock 'n roll book by any means; it's a small town troupe, almost a cozy with sex.  :-)

Definitely recommended. A damned good read.