I fell in love with Justin and Kayla,  As with all CD Reiss books it grabs you from the beginning.... if you love a magical romance this is definitely worth reading

This is a nice love story of chasing dreams and the price of fame. In this Hollywood romance setting, Kayla travels cross country in hopes of finding a new start. When Kayla gets a recycled phone number, a shocking twist of fate connects her with superstar Justin. Their romance is a slow burn and the chemistry was great. The side characters, especially grandma Louise, were enjoyable. The story is action packed and comes full circle with second chances.

I love rockstar/celebrity romances, and this is a definite winner. Fashion designer Kayla Montgomery leaves New York after a traumatic experience and heads to LA to begin afresh. After “accidentally” becoming an assistant to scandal-plagued former boy-bander now actor, Justin Beckett, she is less than impressed and definitely not star-struck. Kayla is fierce, Justin misunderstood, and grandmother Louise is delightful.  Both Kayla and Justin have challenges to overcome, and both must work hard for redemption and success with a developing relationship as a bonus to the reader. Witty banter adds to this sexy, engaging story.

I love when CD Reiss takes a walk on the romantic side and you get all those sweet, sexy, swoony feelings that set off all the butterflies in your belly aflutter. ~sigh~  Lead Me Back is one of those!!  Set in Los Angeles with two main character that are polar opposites.  The banter between the two will have you in stitches and you cannot help but cheer them on.

Justin Beckett is Hollywood’s bad boy, lead singer of a now disbanded group, The Sunset Boys, after paparazzi caught him in compromising positions.  Currently trying to move forward by cleaning-up his act, especially after landing a job acting.  Kayla Montgomery designer/seamstress extraordinaire was leaving New York.  Cutting all of her losses and leaving the bad mojo behind.  Ready to start a new life she headed across country to Los Angeles
with nothing more than what she could fit in her van.

Arriving in LA it was by coincidence that she received a call from some sweet little old lady, Louise, requesting roses.  Deciding to purchase the roses for Louise what were the chances of her meeting a bad boy rocker, Justin Beckett?  Not only did she meet him, but Kayla found out that she had been given his old phone number… the one that all of his friends he was to avoid had.  So, with a bit of fast talking he finagled her into taking his messages for him.  Yet in spite of Kayla not really being impressed with him there was an almost instant pull between them.

One of the things that I loved about Kayla is that she was not all star struck with Justin.  She did not put up him up on a pedestal or deal with any of his bull and gave back as good as she got.  And when she landed her first job in LA it was due to Justin passing her name along.  What she did not count on was that she would be working with Justin and his costuming on set.  The other thing she did not count on was finding out just how kind and fiercely loyal Justin was to his friends.

I loved Justin and Kayla together though, the trust and faith they had in each other made my heart happy.
OMGosh, I can not even begin with how so insanely adorable and talk about chemistry…. OFF the charts.
Plus add on CD’s epilogue … icing on the cake!!!

One click this baby!!

Straight from the first chapter with the droll humor and offbeat character situations, I knew this book would be quirky and unusual. The first chapter felt fresh and interesting- and a bit jarring, in a good way. We open with our main character, Kayla, mysteriously fleeing NYC for LA. Her first task? A new phone- which someone ends up being someone else’s number. One bizarre call later, she finds herself running an errand for a stranger’s granny, putting her in the cross-hairs of the THE Justin Beckett, disgraced boyband Hollywood star who is trying to rehab his image STAT. Justin needs to get messages from this phone, so he offers (and then somewhat tricks Kayla into taking a role on his latest project so she can (secretly) keep him in contact with the mystery person this phone connects him to. Hmm. Interesting indeed. And thus begins our rockstar/Hollywood romance, as both characters spend more times together and the shadowed mysteries they both seem to hold close start to come to light.

Unfortunately, the character chemistry just didn’t land for me, and I think our leads needed a little bit more character depth and more evolution. A lot of this was Justin- he’s painted as Justin Bieber-y, lovable douchey. He does have some depth, and he’s funny and sweet later on, but I could never shake his earlier characterization, and i’m not sure I saw enough development to believe he wasn’t that guy. I liked Kayla overall- she’s sassy and self-assured, but then she’d do something that surprised me and felt inconsistent with who I thought she was (like the opening chapter). Together, I just didn’t buy their connection- emotionally or even physically. The passion was missing for me, the intricacies of an intimate and personal relationship weren’t as strong. I actually felt like Justin had stronger character chemistry with his grandma (who stole the book and is FANTASTIC), which just speaks to there being something missing, for me, with Kayla and Justin overall.

The writing was sharp and very witty. While I appreciated the unexpected and slightly bizarre action in the narrative, some of it felt contrived that made it hard for me to connect to the story, and that paired with the mystery of both of their pasts just felt like we had a lot going on plot wise that further detracted from the main romance. The parts of their history that were kept secret for much of their story also distanced me from the characters and made me care less about them when they were “unearthed”- even though these were serious things that impacted both characters.
I love CD Reiss, and I loved what she was trying to do here- just wasn’t my favorite work of hers, but I know others will love it.

Our main characters are Kayla, a fashion designer, who moved to LA from NY after something bad happened to her (we learn about it later in the book) and Justin a “boy band” member who is trying to clean up his image and fix his messed up life. They meet on the movie set Justin is starring in. Kayla was interviewing for the job, Justin saw her and he took a liking of her and he made sure that she would be on set, even though he made her life harder.

There is a lot of drama in the book. Justin has a lot going on in his life. The major problem in his life is a scandal about him sleeping with one of his bandmate’s wife. I have to add here that I would love to read a book about said bandmate and his wife. I wanted to see them get a happy ending by the end of the book and unfortunately, that didn’t happen. If the bandmate started sleeping around though, after the separation, I’d rather skip the book.

As I mentioned above, Kayla’s secret is not revealed until later in the book and it has a huge impact on Kayla and Justin’s relationship. I sort of disliked Justin for the way he behaved when it found it out. Up to that part, I liked the progression of their relationship even if some readers didn’t/will not.

The drama(s) made the book heavier than it should have been (in my opinion), but I wouldn’t have recommended it.

I loved Justin and Kayla’s story!! 
CD Reiss knows how to write a story that sucks you in from the very first page!! 
It was a sexy and magical Hollywood fairy tale... everything I needed right now .

C.D. Reiss brings is another hit! But this isn't your average rocker book. This one has such a deeper meaning and a powerful message! I really loved Justin and Kayla's story. C.D. Reiss books are like a box of chocolates you never know what your going to get. The ability to write so many different story's is amazing and is one of the many reasons I love her writing.

Kayla left New York with the intentions of starting a new life in California and leaving the past in the past. But when Kayla's past comes out will it destroy her chance at a new life and a future with Justin the sexy rockstar that has taken a liking to her. Kayla must face the past and not run from it. With the help of her friends and family she can take her past and make it better.

Justin was part of a hot guy band but then something happened to change all that and now he's on his own missing his friends and living with the regret of secrets he's keeping. When he meets Kayla she makes him see that his mistakes must be righted. But will the mistakes and secrets he's kept and done keep him from having a life with Kayla or will those things stay in the way?

I thoroughly enjoyed  this story, I love Cd Reiss's writing and this one was another great book!This story is so swoony and captivating . Justin   is a rockstar who has recently decided to try his hand as an actor,  Kayla  has recently relocated to California looking for a fresh start. Kayla and Justin meet completely by accident and you can feel what a great chemistry they have!There is intensity and tension between these two!It was a great read I enjoyed a lot!

This is Why She Has her Own Shelf!

As a fan of C.D. Reiss's work for years, this is why when her books come up for review, they are an instant yes for me. Whether it's Songs, Marriage Games, Bombshell or Hardball, this woman can write any genre like a boss!

In Lead Me Back we are introduced to the spoiled boy bander tying to grow up, Justin Beckett and the girl that learned to put her guard up in New York, Kayla. They meet under hilarious circumstances and even if the situation is serious around them, there is always something quick for a laugh. C.D. Reiss has a way of weaving that into her books, which I appreciate.

Justin and Kayla are opposites, but you know what they say and that is true for them ten fold. Justin needs a woman that doesn't care who or what he is and Kayla is the perfect fit. She left New York for a reason and was determined not to let that happen to her again. Hence, the high wall she's built around herself. Never did she think somebody like Justin would get around it.

I was a huge fan of Kayla. She was written strong, no nonsense, but still a woman with feelings. She didn't show them quickly and doesn't take crap from anybody...especially former boy banders. While she may have given in to Justin faster than I liked, she still stood strong and didn't let him walk all over her. Justin was looking for a change in his life and Kayla was the perfect fit, if he could only realize it.

"She was perfect and I wasn't. She was a nutrient and I was a toxin."

The book is well written and is the perfect balance of serious, sexy and funny. Along with Justin and Kayla, we have a handful of family members from both sides to keep us entertained. Another thing I like in my reads. A la C.D. Reiss, I have added a few new words to my vocabulary from this book as well, veneration and ephemera. I always appreciate that! Lead me Back reads as a stand alone with a nice epilogue to wrap things up.

Reviewed for Renee Entress's Blog

I fully expected to love this since I usually love celebrity romances, but I was just a tiny bit disappointed.
I didn't feel the connection between Justin and Kayla until the very end, and I felt like events and conversations were very choppy and stilted. Maybe it's just the author's writing style that I couldn't get used to?

I did like that there was none of the usual OW/OM drama from your usual celebrity romance though.

My favorite CD Reiss book to date! I seriously loved this book.  

Kayla & Justin’s story was everything! 

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I really enjoyed this, in spite of it being centred around Hollywood. It seemed like it would stay that way. The Hero, Justin and the Heroine Kayla had great chemistry. Their meet cue was... so cute.
Justin's grandma Louise plays all innocent like, but is a major buttinski . (Butt-in-ski) not sure how to spell it, but oh well.
Kayla moves to L.A. to start over. She has so many bad breaks at the beginning of this book, I'm so glad author Christine, finally changed her luck. The scene when Kayla & Louise meet is so dang funny.
Kayla works hard , but is trying to make it big in the fashion industry.
Justin is a musician, who also had some bad breaks, but made a couple of bad choices. He's in a very dog- eat -dog competitive profession. The tabloids are constantly after Justin & whoever he's with- ( you guessed it- Kayla ) Kayla is very private, for very private reasons.
The story and characters really clicked for me toward the 30% or so mark- although, you have to watch out for Grandma Louise throughout the book.
I listened to the audio. Emma Wilder (Kayla) had a majority of the narration time.
Justin (Joe Arden does Justin's chapters), is very sweet to Kayla, but has trouble trusting women after he got burned trying to help out a friend.
There's some serious moments that were very well done. I was waiting for vindication!
I would love to read the book too. The dialogue is great.
This is set in the L.A. area Some of the cities are very close to where I live. I still feel like I got taken away.

Sooo goood!!  I love this author and her spectacular storytelling and swoon-worthy characters. It's hard to believe but this might be my favorite!  I know...crazy.  But this is crazy good. There maybe a few little things but didn't matter because this has all the feels from the panty-melting couple to the endearing family to the crazy friends. It's fairly obvious who the muse is for Justin but soon this hero is separated from the muse quickly as his personality comes out as the boy band hottie that's now navigating adult life as the douchecore bad boy running from papz, fans, bad publicity and rotten choices. But he is so much more and I fell in love with this fabulous bad boy. I fell even harder for the feisty fashion designer, Kayla. Her story is right out of the Me2 movement and rang true without being overly salacious. My heart broke a little not only for these characters but also for the real life heroines in this modern day tragedy. I loved Kayla's family and background. The fast build of Justin and Kayla's relationship was hilarious as he tried to navigate this firecracker's lack of game playing and fan girling. His entitled existence held little relevance in her world as she struggled to regain her career on the other side of the country even if she couldn't outrun her past, especially when his spotlight landed on her. Their attraction was mutual and their chemistry sizzled. Sexy and sweet! I really loved the growth of Justin in the story and Kayla part in his maturation. I've got to give a shout out to Wizzy, Justin grandma. Love her zaniness!  I was hoping we would get more stories from this fabulous world. I was curious about Justin's twin. Or maybe...Kayla's dad. That would be interesting and a different direction. Anyhoo, this story is absolutely terrific and a must read. Loved it!  .

I just could not connect to this book. I have read CD Reiss before and loved her books, so I am so sad I could not get excited for this new book.

I don't know what made me request this book but after being approved I was scared I wouldn't like it. Hollywood/famous people are things I don't tend to enjoy in books. However, CD Reiss created a beautiful, heartwarming story that made even my skeptical heart feel full.
The story has great characters. I loved Kayla since I began reading about her. She's gone through a lot and her strenght is incredibly inspiring. Justin, our love interest, is a rock star going through a very rough patch. Meeting Kayla is the beginning of a sweet relationship and I couldn't help but root for them. I need to mention that Justin's grandma is my favorite secondary character, hands down. She had me laughing whenever she was on page.
Lead Me Back was a heartwarming romance story about finding and understanding yourself and finding and understanding another. It's the first CD Reiss book I've read, but it will definitely not be the last.

CW: mention of assault, victim blaming

This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed every moment of it. I thought the concept was well thought out with some great ups and downs between the characters. Their development had me fully engaged in the story with the witty moments and passion. I would definitely go back and read this authors backlist in a heartbeat!

Every time I read a CD Reiss book, I think I know how it’s going to go... and each and every time, I am pleasantly surprised because each book is different. I am an avid reader and sometimes stories don’t stand out for me, but every story I’ve read from this author, I remember every character and every nuance of every story.  To me that’s a big deal and it makes her an author I will always one click for.  

Kayla ran from New York after being assaulted, and vilified for speaking out.  She moves to LA because her sister is there.  The first thing she does is get a new phone, with a new number, so no one can reach her.....  enter Justin.

Justin is a rock star.  He’s been vilifies and skewered because of things that happened with his band... a band comprised of his best friends... who believed things about him...  but were those things real?  Or should they have known better?  Either way, he’s on notice from his manager to clean up his act.  

I love the way these two meet.  It shows Kaylas heart and character.  She cares.  She has a bull#@*& meter that makes her hesitant to get to know Justin, but the more she does, the more she likes him, and Justin likes her as well.  That becomes a problem when his manager checks up on her....  it sets off a series of events that will make you not want to put the book down!  I read this in two sittings.  I started it before bed, got sleepy so I put it down, and woke up a couple of hours later and read through the rest of the night!  

In typical CD Reiss fashion, the story reads like real life.. like these people are friends and you just want to know what’s happening in their lives!  I loved this.

Lead Me Back is a fun take on a modern Hollywood romance. I started this one on ebook and fished it on audio. Yes, I do that entirely too often. It was a smooth transition with excellent narration. I loved Kayla right from the beginning. And, I got hooked the moment she met Justin. Well, maybe it was the moment she met his grandmother, she's a hoot. Anyway, the same as any C.D. Reiss book, it's a heartwarming story, full of witty banter and swoony romance. Low Angest, which I appreciated. I've been escaping my anxieties with reads like this.

Melt-your-Kindle hot and a great romantic story. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.