M.L. Rio

Hot Wax

Welcome to the world of Sex, Dugs and rock and roll! This is a gritty story following Suzanne’s life, her relationship with her dad, music and herself, this is an emotionally rich storytelling that M.L Rio’s writing is renowned for. Following Suzanne, both as a child following her dad’s band on tour and as well as 40-year-old women on the run from the life she has built with her husband, the narrative leads us through her struggles of identity, love, trauma and most of all, her relationship with herself and music.

Suzanne’s journey, both literal and internal, is equal parts haunting and healing. Her fractured relationship with her rockstar father and the unresolved trauma of her childhood provide the backbone for a narrative that sprawls across decades. The flashbacks from the chaotic, toxic music scene of the late '80s contrast beautifully with the quieter, yet equally unstable, present as Suzanne attempts to outrun a stale marriage and the emotional weight of everything she’s buried. At times, she’s a maddening narrator—messy, impulsive, and unpredictable—but never boring, and always heartbreakingly human.

If you’re looking for a story about music, the long shadows of abuse, complex and messy characters, and a woman navigating a full-blown midlife crisis with a thrilling element this book might be exactly what you need

Ian Brakspear

Welcome to the world of Sex, Dugs and rock and roll! This is a gritty story following Suzanne’s life, her relationship with her dad, music and herself, this is an emotionally rich storytelling that M.L Rio’s writing is renowned for. Following Suzanne, both as a child following her dad’s band on tour and as well as 40-year-old women on the run from the life she has built with her husband, the narrative leads us through her struggles of identity, love, trauma and most of all, her relationship with herself and music.

 

Suzanne’s journey, both literal and internal, is equal parts haunting and healing. Her fractured relationship with her rockstar father and the unresolved trauma of her childhood provide the backbone for a narrative that sprawls across decades. The flashbacks from the chaotic, toxic music scene of the late '80s contrast beautifully with the quieter, yet equally unstable, present as Suzanne attempts to outrun a stale marriage and the emotional weight of everything she’s buried. At times, she’s a maddening narrator—messy, impulsive, and unpredictable—but never boring, and always heartbreakingly human.

 

If you’re looking for a story about music, the long shadows of abuse, complex and messy characters, and a woman navigating a full-blown midlife crisis with a thrilling element this book might be exactly what you need

It was marketed as a thriller but it definitely reads more like literary fiction which wasn’t a problem because I love literary fiction but unfortunately it just dragged.

Like for a story about rock n roll and the dark side of fame, family dysfunction, self discovery and dealing with past trauma, it was surprisingly boring. 

The constant flipping between timelines gave me whiplash. 

I never felt grounded in the story and instead of building momentum, it kept pulling me out. I will say I liked the flashbacks more than the present day chapters. The present timeline felt flat and unfocused in comparison. 

But by the halfway point, I still wasn’t sure what this book was trying to be. It just felt scattered like the book was trying to be too many different things at once and ended up not really succeeding at any of them.

As for the characters, Gil was probably the most interesting, many of the others felt flat or underdeveloped. I found it hard to connect to Suzanne. 

There are moments of beautiful writing but overall, the pacing and lack of clear direction made it hard to enjoy. 

I do think the premise of this book would have worked better as a movie or a TV series. 

It feels like it was meant for the screen. 

On the page, though… it left me underwhelmed.

A book with this many good elements shouldn’t be this dull.I

Essence

This really missed the mark for me. 

It was marketed as a thriller but it definitely reads more like literary fiction which wasn’t a problem because I love literary fiction but unfortunately it just dragged.

Like for a story about rock n roll and the dark side of fame, family dysfunction, self discovery and dealing with past trauma, it was surprisingly boring. 

The constant flipping between timelines gave me whiplash. 

I never felt grounded in the story and instead of building momentum, it kept pulling me out. I will say I liked the flashbacks more than the present day chapters. The present timeline felt flat and unfocused in comparison. 

But by the halfway point, I still wasn’t sure what this book was trying to be. It just felt scattered like the book was trying to be too many different things at once and ended up not really succeeding at any of them.

As for the characters, Gil was probably the most interesting, many of the others felt flat or underdeveloped. I found it hard to connect to Suzanne. 

There are moments of beautiful writing but overall, the pacing and lack of clear direction made it hard to enjoy. 

I do think the premise of this book would have worked better as a movie or a TV series. 

The visuals, the music, the drama. 

It feels like it was meant for the screen. 

On the page, though… it left me underwhelmed.

A book with this many good elements shouldn’t be this dull.I

very well written! I have many thoughts on this

fris🐝

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!

Beth Bartholomew

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!



The new novel from the bestselling author of If We Were Villains and Graveyard Shift—a vivid and immersive tale of one woman’s reckless mission to make sense of the events that shattered her childhood, and made her who she is.

Summer, 1989: ten-year-old Suzanne is drawn like a magnet to her father’s forbidden world of electric guitars and tricked-out cars. When her mother remarries, she jumps at the chance to tag along on the concert tour that just might be Gil and the Kills’ wild ride to glory. But fame has sharper fangs than anybody realized, and as the band blazes up the charts, internal power struggles set Gil and his group on a collision course destined for a bloody reckoning—one shrouded in mystery and lore for decades to come.

The only witness to a desperate act of violence, Suzanne spends the next twenty-nine years trying to disappear. She trades the music and mayhem of her youth for the quiet of the suburbs and the company of her mild-mannered husband Rob. But when her father’s sudden death resurrects the troubled past she tried so hard to bury, she leaves it all behind and hits the road in search of answers. Hitching her fate and Gil’s beloved car to two vagabonds who call an old Airstream trailer home, she finds everything she thought she’d lost forever: desire, adventure, and the woman she once wanted to be. But Rob refuses to let her go. Determined to bring her back where she belongs, he chases her across the country—and drives her to a desperation all her own.

Drenched in knock-down drag-out rock and roll, Hot Wax is a raucous, breakneck ride to hell and back—where getting lost might be the only way to find yourself and save your soul.

Hot Wax

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