Starting from Zero

Starting From Series, Book 1

De: Lane Hayes

Narrado por: Michael Dean

Justin Cuevas is going through a rough patch. A broken relationship, a scandal, and the demise of his band have shaken the aspiring rock star’s confidence. Working two jobs and sleeping on his friend’s sofa isn’t ideal, but Justin isn’t ready to give up yet. With a little luck, he’s hoping to re-launch his music career in LA with his new band, Zero. The key is to stay focused, and not get distracted by his past...or the sexy songwriter he can’t get out of his head.

Gray Robertson has written dozens of hits and worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. But he’s never met anyone like Justin. The younger man is fiery, passionate, and smart. A powerful voice for a new generation. Other than an unforgettable one-night stand and a passion for music, the two men have nothing in common. Or do they? Justin knows the out-of-the-blue challenge to write a quintessential love song is a huge opportunity. And it’s the ultimate test for someone who’s doesn’t believe in happily ever after. When sparks fly, Justin and Gray realize they have a shot something special if they start from zero together. Maybe even love.

©2019 Lane Hayes (P)2019 Lane Hayes

Enjoyable May/December romance

Starting from Zero is a May/December rockstar romance. Its two main characters are brought together to collaborate on a love song for an upcoming movie. Justin is a talented songwriter and struggling musician who wants to make it to the big time. Gray is the older songwriter already with a successful career behind him. Their first encounter is a sizzling hook-up, which follows a romantic ‘date’ overlooking the city from a rooftop bar. They click from the start, but neither of them is looking for a long-term relationship. They meet again because of outside help and Justin is offered the chance of a lifetime. Or not.

A fair proportion of the story deals with the rock music industry and Justin figuring out how to involve his band in this amazing chance. He’s not entirely confident with the idea of writing a love song, but as he falls more and more for Gray, the song (and his life) slowly comes together. There’s good chemistry between these guys, with plenty of conversation and banter alongside the steamy moments. The relationship is relatively angst-free. The main conflict and angst in the story happens because of the producer and also Justin’s ex-girlfriend and previous band, who are also in with a chance of a deal with the production company. Can any of them be trusted?

I liked many of the secondary characters, including OTT Seb, who acts as the band's manager, and that we get to meet Rory and Christian from the Out in College series again. They're still together and very much in love!

Michael Pauley’s narration is enjoyable. He created distinct voices for the various characters. I wasn’t too keen on Gray’s voice at times, but overall the production is good with the right emotions being portrayed well in the various scenes. It’s not my favourite Lane Hayes story, but I definitely will listen again.

Michael and Lane are a fantastic pairing!

Starting from Zero is Lane Hayes' newest sexy, rockstar romance. I read the book first and then listened to it in audio as I do with ALL of my Lane Hayes' books because they are better enjoyed that way! I always find I miss certain things or am reminded of why I liked a chapter or character. Michael Pauly and Lane are such a fantastic pairing! I’m a huge fan of both and Michael just gives these characters a stronger voice.

This is a spin off from her Out in College series and features Rory's brother, Justin. We met him briefly in Out in the Offense and I knew his story was going to be fantastic! Justin is a struggling musician who loves music. He sings like an angel and just wants to make music. His old band is just coming off a scandal and the remaining members want to start fresh. New songs, new vibe. When Justin sees Gray he's instantly attracted to the older man. He's sexy, smart and confident. They spend one night together and it's fun, sexy and freeing. Gray can't stop thinking about Justin after their brief encounter. He's a famous songwriter and he knows talent when he hears it and Justin is it. When they have the opportunity to work together on a song, they can't refuse. Gray wants to write with Justin but he also wants to be with him. Keep the personal and the professional separate. Justin tries to resist, but the sexy older man is too tempting. They laugh together, talk, and write music. It's perfect. But too good to be true? Are there things they are keeping from each other? I loved this story! I love rockstar romance and I love Lane, so this is a match made in Heaven! Gray is so sexy, talented and smart. He knows who he is and is so confident in his skin because he's forty-four. He's lived and knows what he wants. I love that he's my age! Justin might be younger but he's smart and quick witted. Their banter is perfection with the eighties jokes and their love of music.
When they are together it's magic. They balance each other out. Sometimes fighting for love is the hardest thing there is. Overall, I laughed, cried, smiled a lot, got hot and bothered and just thoroughly enjoyed every word! Lane always delivers the perfect mix of emotion, sexy, flirty and swoonworthy characters.

I loved this audiobook!

If you follow my reviews at all (thanks if you do) then I'm going to sound like a broken record. I reviewed Starting From Zero as an eBook when it first released. It was a great read but now Michael Pauley's audio performance makes it even better. He does so many great voices in this one and when it comes to the sexy time – look out – hot as fire!

The following is my original review of the ebook:

I'm a relative newcomer to Lane Hayes books. I started with her Out in College series (3 books long so far) and loved all of them. Now comes her new Starting From series which is a spin-off from the Out in College series. No worries if you haven't read that series; Starting from Zero stands alone and is a complete story with an HEA.

The book is told in first person POV, alternating between Justin and Gray. Justin is an aspiring rock star with many problems. Gray is 18 years older than Justin but something just clicks for them. It starts off as an anonymous one-off but circumstances bring them together again and a relationship develops.

This story had a lot of secret keeping going on and that caused a fair amount of angst in some of the characters. I loved Gray, a successful, wealthy, older man who doesn't flaunt what he has. He started from humble beginnings and hasn't forgotten that. Justin was a bit all over the place. He has ADHD and that makes it hard for him to focus. He's determined to help his new band make it big and won't let anything stop him from making it so. He's not intimidated by Gray's wealth.

I really felt the connection between Gray and Justin and their sexy time together was WOW! The story made me smile in places, cringe in a couple and had all kind of feels going on. There are several intriguing secondary characters in Starting from Zero and I hope they get books of their own. I was particularly taken with Gray's former lover, Sebastian. He comes off as quite a jerk but I think he can be redeemed and would love to read his story. 😊

An advanced copy of this book was provided to me via IndiGo Marketing but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Swoon Worthy

Swoon! Gah, I just loved Justin and Gray’s story. You know when you read a book, and it’s just so good and you have a smile plastered to your face? And you don’t want to finish because it will be over? This! This is one of those books! I loved it so much I also grabbed the audio, because amazing book, amazing narrator! Justin and Gray made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I loved their witty banter and their comfortable conversations they had with each other. Their chemistry together was explosive and off the charts hot. They truly completed each other so well, and their story really gave me all the feels. I know this will be a book I re-read when I need a pick me up. I really can’t recommend their story more!

I loved their story in ebook, but this narration really made Justin and Gray's story even more for me.

Great Story

I loved their story, especially reading about a character with ADHD. I live with it every day in watching my son’s struggle with it. I think the story could have been more fleshed out, but it was still complete. Michael Pauley, as always, did a great job narrating.

excellent base story!

I really loved this book. I don't write reviews explaining the book but I will say that this book lays the groundwork with some great characters for many books to come! (fingers crossed) I want to know more about these main characters and how their future plays out as well as see the supporting cast get their story told. Thank you Lane for another great read. Need more words!!!

Loved 😍 Gray and Justin's Story

Hot 🔥 🔥 and sweet and great narration. Well worth the credit. Moving on to the next in the series.

Loved it!!

This was amazing!! So beautifully written and Michael did an amazing job!!! I loved it so much.

Great start to another great series by Ms. Hayes!

I feel like I’m always chasing my tail in the book world, but I did not know that Rory’s brother, Justin was getting a book; I was very pleasantly surprised in the opening scene when Rory and Christian made an appearance and I was able to connect the dots. While it’s not necessary to read their book before reading this one, I do recommend reading that book…I loved Rory and Christian’s story!

I really liked this book and pretty much didn’t put it down once I picked it up. I was hooked from Gray and Justin’s first encounter and love the banter and chemistry between them. Their age gap worked so well, Gray’s experience balancing Justin’s inexperience both in the industry and life in general. Their similar interests essentially eliminated the gap and they just worked together. I love watching them bond over their talent, becoming friends and lovers as they spent more time together getting to know each other.

This was surprisingly low angst considering the potential for drama from outside sources. The conflicts were resolved quickly but I don’t know that they were totally eliminated from the series so we may see some of these issues reappear.

The jury is still out on Seb…I would probably be alright without him appearing again.

There is a great cast of characters setting the stage for a long, fantastic series!

This is another strong vocal performance by Mr. Pauley. I love that he has been carried over from the Out in College series. He does a great job of separating the characters, giving them distinct voices and bringing the emotion of the story off the page.

Good story. Good narration.

Justin is an interesting character with some unique challenges. I could definitely relate to his squirrelly brain!

I think the author did a good job of building a relationship between the two main characters, and I am looking forward to listening to the rest of the character's stories.

The narrator did a nice job of creating distinct voices for the characters. I only had one or two quick moments of uncertainty as to who was thinking/speaking, but it didn't distract from the story.

Overall, an enjoyable listen that left me interested in the next book.