I received this email from Coco, who is hoping to find a book that was memorable in a not-entirely-good-way so she can read it again. Trouble is, I didn't believe her the first time I read her email as to how 0_o this book might be:
Kind of a HABO but I know the title. You know how some romance books in the
past often were rapey? I remember reading Liz Berry's Easy Connections when
I was still in junior high in the mid-80s and being enraged at the wtfery.This was a ya novel that had a young girl get raped by a rock star, discover
she was pregnant, then have the rock star engage in some serious
stalkeresque behaviors. Of course it's a love story! So I know the title,
but I can't track down a copy at any library in my state. Anyone have a copy
I could buy for less than the ridiculous prices listed on Amazon? Or could
someone re-read and post a review?I really want to track this down as this book has been stuck in my head for over 25 years. It made me so upset back then and when I even think of this book I still get mad. Probably not the emotions the author intended.Thanks!
NO WAY. There is no way that's right, is it?
Oh, yes way.
I read that email and was like, 'No way was that the plot.' How could I doubt Coco? I was convinced that I was reading that wrong. So I went to look it up.
HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS. This book is many piles of dollars in used condition! And the people who read it are extremely effusive in how much they loved it. Like with Coco, this book left an impression.
On Alibris, the lowest price is $37.95. On Amazon, the used copies start at $69.99 (of course they do).
And yet NONE of the book descriptions reveal or hint at the rape or pregnancy reported by Coco:
A famous English rock star falls in love with a brilliant, seventeen-year-old artist who has wandered onto his property to paint, but after their first encounter, she wants nothing more to do with him.
or
One afternoon, Cathy trespasses on the country estate of Paul Devlin, singer of the rock group Easy Connection. Dev is determined to have her for his own. Cathy, who's just starting art college, knows that her art is the most important thing in her life, and struggles to maintain her independence.
“After their first encounter?” “Maintain her independence?” Wow.
As for tracking this book down, I looked it up on the WorldCat of libraries and if you search by location (enter zip mid-page) there might be a library that can do an inter-library loan to your nearest library. ILL is a great program, and if a library has a copy of this possible epic WTFery with crazysauce, it's worth the trouble. I Think.
There is also a sequel, Easy Freedom, which continues the story ten years later, but, judging from the reviews, also ends ambiguously. The resale copies of that book start at $81.00 on Alibris. The author also hosts several fanfic versions of book 3 on her website.
The fan response sounds very familiar, as do the elements of the plot: wealthy, overwhelmingly attractive, elusive and authoritative hero; a young, inexperienced heroine. Secrets, chaos, and sex? Sounds very familiar. And it seems this book developed a portion of the same absorbed and enthusiastic fanbase as did 50 Shades, Twilight, and the rest.
Did you read this book? Got a copy? You're sitting on a pretty serious cache of resale value apparently. I'm almost too scared to read it, for fear of what the damage to my walls will be like. Yet, I am hideously curious. Do you remember this book?
I own both books. EC in soft cover and EF in hardcover. Both I bought new. And nobody is prying them from my hands until I’ve died, been resurrected, staked, dusted and had my vampiric ashy remains scattered across the earth. I don’t care how much I could get for either in the 2nd hand market, those books are MINE! My precious.
I haven’t read them for many, many years, but I vastly preferred Easy Freedom back then. Even when I was teenagerly addicted to the duology, I disliked rape scene and stalkerish behaviour, but still kept on reading. So I guess maybe I should cut the 50 Shades of Twilight (love that term) fans some slack. 😉
I have Mel and China Garden too.
OMG someone other than me has read Melisa Michaels! Am so happy!
Soooo appropriate that he has Luke Spencer’s hair on the cover.
You know, this reminds me of “Dream Lover” by Marilyn Kaye. The difference being that dead ringer for dead rock star didn’t rape the girl, and she dumped his @$$ when he turned into an alphole druggie loser.
http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Lo…
Wow! Now I feel I must go on a quest to every used bookstore in the area to find this book! Who knew??
Yes! I borrowed it from the library. The rape confused & disturbed me, the other troubling thing was that no one believed that Cathy was raped. I also remember that Rock
Star’s fans chanted “marry him, Cathy” outside her window, and her aspiring fashion designer BFF also pressured her to marry so she could become famous for designing the wedding dress.
I remember reading this dreadful and disturbing book and managing to get it removed from the library at my high school due to my vivid description of the plot.ead the back of it)
Sorry, try again.
I remember reading this dreadful and disturbing book and managing to get it removed from the library at my high school due to my vivid description of the plot. The librarian had thought it was just another teen romance…
I have Mel and the China Garden. Looked for Easy Connections and Easy Freedom but didn’t think they seemed worth the cost. Mel does have rock stars, mainly Mitch Hamilton from the band Assassination who falls for Mel, a girl who’s mum was committed to a hospital and is trying to help make the slums that she lives in better for herself and her neighbors. She meets Mitch through his granddad’s antique shop and doesn’t believe he’s a rock star for a good fourth of the book. There is Roxy Leigh who I guess is Mitch’s ex-girlfriend though she’s only called that in the description of the book, not the book itself. Mitch acts mostly terrified of Roxy whenever she’s mentioned. Mel doesn’t want much to do with Mitch for most of the book and he, for the most part, comes across as a decent guy though some of his actions are shady (like when he announces that he’s engaged to Mel without telling her beforehand and she spends most of the book convinced it was a joke to scare Roxy away) but no rape scenes or anything like that. Plenty of good rock clothing descriptions. And the book is equal parts Mel growing up, coming to grips with her own situation and her mum’s mental disorder, as it is about the romance.
I found this book on ebay for UK price of 15.97 and US price of 24.94 plus sh. hope this helps Coco out
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Easy-C…
not sure if her website is current, but if it is, she is also selling her books through it: http://lizberrybooks.com/index…
oh I remember these books….was sooo disturbed by Easy Connections that i made sure to read the sequel….which was definitely better but still disturbing…..so I then read Mel.. which I liked so much better. I remember being really disturbed by the rape scene, and the reaction of family/friends afterward….