SUMMARY: Restless in small-town North Carolina, Dante Rose breathes rock and roll. Has done so since the early days. Since forming his garage band in high school. The band now broken and apart. The one he fights to put back together.
His devoted wife Penny, supporting every career move, hopes Dante can make something big happen for them. Something real. But she harbors a secret. The sacrifice she made when they were young. The choice almost nobody knew about. Not even Dante.
The BookViral Review: A step change from his previous releases Raised On Rock is Drago at his very best delivering an elemental story simply and superbly written. Rock stars come ago and so do their stories but Drago’s fourth novel is a winner from every possible angle. A grounded and thoroughly enthralling exploration of what happens when a former headliner becomes a wannabe headliner, what Drago gives us is not a comeback story but something much rarer: a rounded, original portrait of a good but flawed man and the choices he has made. Drago’s writing style is simple and spare whilst his ear for dialogue once again proves exceptional. Here he succeeds equally in his evocation of Dante’s glory days with the band he formed with his boyhood friends and his love for Penny whilst delivering a message about what’s really important. On one hand, Dante is solid, dependable, torn, on the other, there’s his easy charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of frustration, and the other virtues of a deserving winner.
A corker of a novel with all the hallmarks of a best seller, Raised On Rock proves an exceptional read and is recommended without reservation.