After her father death, Suzanne is left with his old car and memories of the summer they went on tour. Along the way she meets new friends and possibly more, all the while her old life is close behind. After spending her life constantly looking for where she fits in, Suzanne is finally beginning to come terms with her past and creating a better future.

At moments funny and at others tense and suspenseful. This is an immersive story of music and how it helps people to find a place where they belong. The story it's self unravels bit by bit, giving you small tastes and leaving you wanting more with the only option being to continue reading. M.L. Rio's debut novel, If we were villains, is one of my favourites making Hot Wax one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Although vastly different to her previous work, she carries along some of the same techniques. My favourite of which is matching the format of the book with the theme. In Villains the book was set in act and scenes, Hot Wax has an A side and a B side, like you would on a vinyl, flipping between the past and the present. I would recommend this book for any fans of M.L. Rio but also for fans of music, mystery and thrilling journeys.

This is a different kind of book from M L Rio and not what I expected from her, but after a bit of a slow start I have to say I really got into it. The last 20% especially was explosive, completely couldn’t put it down. The way she writes about this band is something else, almost other-worldly. I also think she nailed the changing voice of Suzanne as she ages, the childlike lens up to the tired exhaustion of living a life she doesn’t want. It’s very cleverly done. I’d love to see something in between her dark academia style and this.

4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wildfire for a free review ecopy!

Suzanne flips the story between her childhood with troubled parental relationships and the present day, as she flees from her husband and hits the road in the beat up and tinkered with car she inherits from her recently deceased dad. Suzanne loves music; and helps out at a local vinyl shop, her mom hates music and after an argument goes so far as to burn her daughter's treasured music collection. To say she has issues with musicians (like Suzanne's dad) is a gross understatement... The flow of this narrative felt clunky, the jumping around jarred and I didn't warm to Suzanne as a character and became less and less invested in her story as I progressed through the book. I got about halfway through and gave up. I did like Phoebe and Simon and thought that they were interesting characters. Not for me.

This digital ARC was provided by Netgalley


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Hot Wax" by M. L. Rio follows Suzanne, a middle aged woman and her self rediscover journey after her father's death.

The novel alternates between Suzanne's childhood (her parents, rock und roll star Gil and suburban Nora, important events that shaped her) and her adulthood (her marriage, relationship to her parents, her needs and wants).

This book is messy in the best way possible, has a great plot and perfect pacing. The chapters are short(ish). I devoted it in 2 sittings (my phone was long forgotten on the nightstand).

Perfect for you if you like:
👨‍👩‍👧 Complex family dinamics
♀️ women regaining their strength & freedom
🚗 a car with personality
🗺️ the journey of a lifetime
💭 an introspective analysis of relationships
🎸rock and roll
🎭 drama
💁‍♀️ messy girl aesthetic & chaotic energy

🎶🎶 That being said, go read it!
You won't regret 🎶🎶

Maybe I should just finally read "If We Were Villains" and give up on M.L. Rio's new releases, because so far I'm really not vibing with them. To be fair, "Hot Wax" is an ill match for my personal reading taste in the first place, because the book has multiple plot points that I don't like to read about (music, fame, road trips) and the dual timeline format is not my favorite either. I can't really blame the author for that, but just imagine my disappointment when I found out that a book titled "Hot Wax" was about rock stars in the 80s and not about creepy wax figures or my favorite wax-winged boy Icarus.

The story is following Suzanne at two different points in her life. One storyline is about her at eleven years old as she accompanies her rock star father on tour in the late 1980s. A second storyline is set in present day with the now 40-year-old Suzanne not having her life together, to say the least. Even though I don't care about music-centered stories, I was pretty invested in the chapters about her past. I don't have any 80s nostalgia, but it was still such a vibe. I liked to read about her falling in love with music and her very unique perspective of a child amongst sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Suzanne loves her father and this life on the road, but the whole situation is unsettling for the reader, because it's ultimately no place for a child. She's always around many people but still neglected in multiple ways, and she also has to witness intense violence more than one time. Something happened on tour that still has Suzanne traumatized in the present-day storyline, 29 years later. At first I thought that the dual timeline could be an interesting way of showing how Suzanne reflects her past and how she finally starts coping, but she barely ever did so. The present-day storyline reads like a midlife crisis while also being so very boring. Suzanne leaves her husband and goes on a road trip with two strangers where they do the most random stuff without any direction. I understand that this reflects her character and her mental state, but actually reading about it was such a chore. Then there are also chapters from her husband's POV, and they were even worse. He's looking for his wife and he's always one step behind her, making his POV repetitive and unnecessary. I really wondered what the point of his chapters was, but later his character was antagonized entirely, so I had my answer. I would never excuse his behavior in any way, but Suzanne turned his life upside down without ever answering a single question, so I at least understand his motivation. Suzanne on the other hand was completely unlikable in the present-day chapters. I felt sorry for her as a child, but her being a fully grown adult without any sense of responsibility was so annoying. The present-day side characters gave absolutely nothing either, but at least the band and crew members in the past chapters were interesting. Some of their scenes were absolute mayhem and really intense to the point where I had a hard time understanding what was actually happening. Overall, I just can't say that I enjoyed a book when I only liked one of two storylines. The plot was jumping around in time constantly, and I was always dreading the return to the present-day chapters. In addition to that there are also so-called snapshots that are set at different times once again. Some were straight up unnecessary, like the first meeting of Suzanne's parents, but some were interesting, like the flashback to Suzanne's late teens or to her wedding. I still didn't get a complete picture of Suzanne's life with the way this book was structured. There are too many holes in her story that are just not filled when we mostly get the perspective of her as an eleven-year-old and her as a forty-year-old. So yeah, at first I was turned off by the overall themes of this book and when I started to actually like something after all, it left me unsatisfied in the end. 2.5 stars.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Headline / Wildfire for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I think if you’re going into this expecting something similar to If We Were Villains, you’ll definitely be disappointed. If We Were Villains gave very pretentious and dark academia whereas Hot Wax is basically the complete opposite with the entire book being centered on sheer grit. That being said, I LOVED this book. It took me some time to figure out the structure of the book. I didn’t immediately realize that it was flipping back and forth between Suzanne in the past as an eleven year old and Suzanne in present day. Once I understood that though, I really started to enjoy it.

M.L. Rio writes books with complex themes that are woven throughout the plot and builds up until the climax. Some authors will throw in some plot lines/themes for the shock value but M.L Rio is very meticulous in including these themes.

Suzanne was such a complex character. She never had an easy life and the way M.L Rio portrays that is so well done. When you first meet Suzanne in the present, she seems like she mostly had it figured out with the “picture perfect” life with Rob. As the book gets further in to the plot and their history, it shows she actually struggled to acclimate and her marriage and life survived on her submission to Rob.

I loved Phoebe and Simon and how they wormed their way into Suzanne’s life. You can tell while reading Hot Wax that this is the first time Suzanne really felt like she could be herself.

The build up to the reveal to what happened to Gil and the Kills left you guessing and while I did theorize it happening, it was definitely a later realization. Suzanne viewing the entire situation as “her fault” is heartbreaking because end of day she was eleven when everything went down. I do wish we could’ve gotten more resolution between Suzanne and Gil and seen their interactions after everything went down, but I do understand why M.L Rio chose not to. It left Suzanne at a point that led to the entire journey of this book.

Hot Wax was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I’m so incredibly excited it did not disappoint. This was well worth the wait after If We Were Villains and you can tell M.L. Rio took her time to write this and wrote it with so much care. I just warn that when picking this up, do not expect If We Were Villians vibes.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review ◡̈

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I’ve read three books by this author and this was my favourite. This was a compelling character study as we see the main character in the wake of her father’s death and looking back at her childhood and the events that made their relationship so complicated.

We get a gradually unravelling set of events, jumping between timelines to help us understand why Suzanne finds herself at such a personal crossroads following her father’s death. Her father was a rock star and music has shaped Suzanne’s life. We know that they have long been estranged and we learn what caused that as we explore the book. Suzanne is left with her father’s beloved banana yellow truck which stirs up storms of memories for her.

This book is nuanced in its character exploration. We find our perceptions changing in subtle ways as we pick up on snippets of information about characters. There’s a clever balancing that complicates your feelings towards the characters.

I found myself deeply invested in Suzanne. Her pain was palpable and her challenges throughout her life explained well by the events of her past.

A compelling, fascinating character study and exploration of grief.

I mean what’s not to love it’s ‘electric’ honestly such a good book I just didn’t want to put it down to sleep! I was pulled in from the start and it was very much my cup of tea! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

3.75 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved If We Were Villains so I had my hopes set high for this book. I did enjoy it however think I prefer IWWV.

ML Rio’s writing was great in this book and really paints a picture. The story is a bit on the slower side so sometimes I found my attention drifting but it’s one of those stories that once finished the book it really stuck in my head. The topics discussed in this book were handled in a very good way.

M. L. Rio writes great messy characters as usual. They're fascinating and complex and burst off the page. I think the book could've been shorter. Sometimes the story felt slow. I think quicker scenes might've improved the pace. So grateful to have read this before publication, thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the early review copy.

I enjoyed this but having read M.L Rio previously expected it to be darker. Still very readable though and some intriguing complex characters.

This author has been on my instant buy since the days of If We Were Villians and I am never disappointed. Each of her books gives us such a different verarity of feelings and this one has not disappointed.
It has taken me longer to read it but it felt more like saving each small bite of my favourite dessert. Each bite giving me emotionaton of bitter sweet as it might end soon. The story itself was full of paper cuts taht left the readeer feeling emotionions of confusion but ointregied.

This book is the epitome of sex, drugs and rock and roll. It’s a gritty, raw story following Suzanne’s life, her relationship with her dad, music and herself. Reading this novel during a heatwave felt even more perfect for the sticky summer atmosphere. M. L. Rio shines at writing books with immaculate vibes and perfect atmospheres, both of which where the highlight of this book for me. We’re following an unreliable narrator who doesn’t have all the answers to her own story which makes this a very intriguing plot to follow. There isn’t a singular big climactic moment in this book, rather several along the way. Suzanne had an incredibly traumatic childhood which she is still looking for clarity in, as we see her present day time line we’re met with more and more questions, of which we turn to the past timeline for answers. Because of the chopping and changing time of the plot, this book feels erratic and scattered, but in a brilliant way that holds the tension and suspense and kept me coming back for more. I felt totally hooked by every timeline and each journey. I adore books with passions I also share, this one having both music and photography, which made me feel even more invested.

Whilst I didn’t love this book as much as Villains, I still adored it and felt totally hooked. The atmosphere, the range of characters, the music, it felt brilliantly epic and gritty, a great read!

DNF at 42%

Hot Wax might be my most disappointing read of the year. I absolutely loved If We Were Villains and I have been waiting for another full length novel by M. L. Rio for years but this didn’t end up working for me.

I was hoping to feel the sweltering summer heat and the alluring pull towards Gil and the rockstar life but I just felt like I was on the surface and couldn’t really get into the story. My biggest problem is that, so far, I’m just not caring about anything.
Suzanne is supposed to have some kind of tragic backstory, something that happens while she travels with her father from concert to concert and we’ve gotten some vague allusions so far but honestly I don’t care enough about adult Suzanne to continue reading to find out what happened to young Suzanne.

I’m not quite sure if I’m just not in the right mood/headspace to read this book right now and I might pick it up again in the future because I really want to like it but currently I’m just too bored and underwhelmed to continue.

A vivid and immersive tale of one woman’s reckless mission to make sense of the events that shattered her childhood. A homage to music, and the descent to hell, where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul. An emotional and atmospheric novel that will lead you through an emotional quest for answers.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 | 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐱 𝐛𝐲 𝐌. 𝐋. 𝐑𝐢𝐨

Hot Wax is a story of music, memory, trauma, and healing. In it we follow Suzanne, both her past and present self, as the narrative oscillates between her younger years spent on tour with her aspiring rockstar father and her present forty-year-old self dealing with the aftermath of his death.

This novel takes you on quite the ride, but unfortunately for me, it’s one I don’t want to take again. While Rio’s writing is excellent as usual, the pacing of this one felt way off. For a book detailing the eighties rock ‘n roll lifestyle and the aftereffects of growing up in that world, it felt incredibly slow and sometimes a little boring! Eeek! I needed the pace to match the tone of the book and feel electric and unputdownable. Instead it felt like a very long read.

Still, it did have its good points, and will definitely appeal to lots of readers. Especially those who enjoy stories about the music industry and its impact on individuals and families, and those that liked Daisy Jones and The Six. All in all, Hot Wax has got a great atmosphere, great characters, and a great story to be found in there, if you’re happy with a super, super slow burn.

Kind thanks to @netgalley and @headlinebooks for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I struggled to get through this, the story felt a bit sluggish which felt odd as you're reading about a rock and roll lifestyle which is the opposite of sluggish.

This book will stay with me for a while. The book is haunting, terrifying, and heart-wrecking. Author has captured the emotional depth of each character so well. The vibe of the book was gloomy. Things take a dark and twisty turn, and the book constantly kept me on the edge. Suzanne’s childhood was unsettling. Her marriage also brought her to a position where she didn’t want to be. And she had to make tough decisions. I felt deeply for Suzanne and everything that was happening with her was so unsettling. The characters were raw, and complex while some were good. I felt this is the most haunting, heart-aching, unsettling and horrifying read. The events in the book feel like a nightmare. If you like emotionally charged books that evoke intense emotions and stay with you for a while, read this book.

Thanks to the Publisher

If We Were Villains holds a very special place in my heart, so I was very excited to get my virtual hands on HOT WAX. Complex, uncomfortable and ill-fated, M L Rio brings readers on a rock n roll tour with Gil and the Kills told through the eyes of their front man's daughter, 10 year old Suzanne Delgado.

This past tense narrative is undoubtedly the more compelling of the two timelines explored through the book. But I can see the merit in having the present-day sections as they hold a mirror up to the long-term effects of a messed up childhood. Yes the pacing slowed in the middle and yes there were some points in the narrative that seemed to go nowhere but the last 15% goes a long way to redeem it as a reading experience.

It doesn't quite sparkle like IWWV but HOT WAX certainly contains nuggets of gold.

I've been dying for more M. L. Rio, and this was so worth the wait. A thrilling, suspenseful and electrifying account of a young girl's summer spent tailing her Dad's semi-legendary rock band across the US, and her memories - decades later - of the complex relationships, rivalries, resentments, heartache and tragedies that tore them all apart. Alternating between her childhood memories and her adult attempts to process her loss and reclaim her life as her own, this is a blazing exploration of love, ambition, trauma, grief, and - gloriously - the timeless beauty and power of great music.