Slick's review posted at Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 Having just read the first book in author Jessica Topper's Love & Steel series, Louder Than Love, I was thrilled to see that book two was releasing soon and jumped on the chance to read and review it. Softer Than Steel is a very different book from its predecessor and that's not a bad thing, in fact I applaud Ms. Topper for writing something so very different for another aging rocker trying to figure out his life and where he fits in the world. A man whose life if spiraling out of control, a woman who gives so much of herself she forgets she's important too, one crazy mixed up meeting, hours of yoga and a connection so strong that the universe seems to draw them together over and over made Softer Than Steel an amazing spiritual journey yet also a sensual and sexy romance. 
 Rick Rottenberg (aka Riff Rotten) lead singer for the defunct metal band Corroded Corpse and the new Rotten Graves Project has regrets, he has more than a few actually. Jealousy he has that going on as well seeing his best friend in love and happy. And he's got anger wrapped up in not being able to control everything and everyone around him now and in the past. He also has stress induced panic attacks that have led him to believe on more than one occasion that he's having a heart attack. Despite believing he needs the thrill of playing live to thousands of adoring fans, the touring, the song writing, the recording Rick is a ticking time bomb. A panic attack at a ribbon cutting ceremony for a cancer center dedicated to his late wife sends him running and he encounters a woman he has no clue will change his life in more ways than one. 
 Sidra Sullivan believes that she makes a difference in her student's lives from the very youngest to the oldest. As a yogini she prides herself on her growing practice at her East Village studio Evolve located in a building that has been in her family for generations. She doesn't mind the hard work; teaching classes at a summer kids camp in upstate New York in the summer or the program in the New York schools she did during the school year on a fitness grant. She believes in the harmony and the strength she gets from yoga and in her life she needs it especially when having to deal with her ex-lover who works for her cousin, her brother who despite his wicked talents as a drummer works part time jobs to make ends meet, and her father who during the school year is a respected professor but during the summer turns into a raging alcoholic. Sidra does her best to handle everything unpleasant in her life and she lets it all go when she enters her studio and when Rick comes to her studio she senses a need in him so deep that she vows to help him, little does she realize that Rick may be exactly what she needs although he's exactly what she said she'd never get involved with again. 
 I'll admit that I had a love/hate relationship with Rick throughout most of this book. It was so easy to tell he was hurting but it was hard to understand where it all was coming from and so when he lashed out at those people who loved him or wanted to help him I really, really wanted to hurt him. I loved the way he burst into Sidra's life and how she helped him without even knowing it the first time they met. How they encounter each other again without trying and the way he burst into her life in a big way after insulting her and treating her badly. Honestly at times I wondered if Rick was bi-polar but as this story went on it was easy to see that his manic behavior came when he was the most stressed and he tended to lash out at the people closest to him. While he made some big changes in his life and learned ways of coping throughout this book, I'd be lying if I said I thought he changed. Yes, he made some changes but in all honesty I think Rick has a lot of work to do in order to truly be happy. One thing I can't deny is his deep feelings for Sidra, feelings that go beyond sexual and feelings that began to form from their first meeting. I believe sometimes a person can touch your soul and that is exactly what Sidra managed to do to Rick and at risk of sounding cliche, it made him want to be a better man, a better person, a better friend, a better lover and a better Dad. Sidra was not without her own issues; having her heart stomped on by the first man she'd given her heart to made her cautious, made it hard for her to trust and made her vow never to get involved with a musician again. Losing her mother at a young age yet trying to keep her mother's memory alive through her work, her teachings and the memories she had left has left Sidra living a life where she feels she must take care of everyone because she wasn't able to take care of her mother. This was an emotional story yet I couldn't help but feel calmness as I read it because in my brain as things would begin to spiral out of control I could hear Sidra reminding me to breathe. It really was amazing how she was so infused into my brain that it helped me get through the rough times just as it helped both Rick and Sidra, with a little help from the universe and a precocious 8 year old named Abbey (Rick's best friend's soon to be step-daughter). 
 While this book was a little darker, a little more emotional than the first book in this series it was still a fantastic story. I won't say it wasn't without some drama and I will say both Rick and Sidra had some moments that made me want to hit them upside the head, but I can also say that they both learned from the experience, they both took time for reflection, took time to breathe and most of all took time to understand one another completely and fully. While I don't think you'd hear most people screaming sex, yoga, and rock and roll for these two it worked and there's no doubt in my mind they'll be chanting it for a good, long time. 
 Review copy provided for an honest review.