Hot Wax

Paperback Published on: 09/07/2026
Price: £10.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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Hot Wax
No notes, just perfection!
Hot Wax is musical literary perfection. It's part gritty glimpse into the underbelly of the 80s rock n roll music scene, part road trip of trauma healing. ... READ MORE
Victoria at Aviemore
Hot Wax
A mad whirlwind through one woman’s psyche
A great and fantastic read, that explores the impact of unresolved childhood trauma on an adult psyche, and the madness of our society that expects us all ... READ MORE
Lewis at Huddersfield
Hot Wax
M.L. Rio at her very best!
Listen: ‘Hot Wax’? Sublime. A love letter to music (particularly vinyl) and invoking a strong sense of nostalgia for the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, we get to peek b... READ MORE
Gem at Witney (@theblackcatbookseller)
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Synopsis

Even turning up the volume can't drown out the past

1989: Suzanne is a wild child, swept up in her father's world of muscle cars and rock and roll. There's nowhere she would rather be than out on the road with his band, on the concert tour that might skyrocket them to stardom. After one night of chaos and bloodshed brings their whole world crashing down, young Suzanne will never be the same.

2018: Suzanne trades the guts and glory of her youth for the calm stability of suburbia, but the marriage that was supposed to be her solid ground now feels more like a cage. When her estranged father's untimely death offers her an escape, Suzanne leaps at the chance - driving back into the past she's spent decades trying to outrun, even as her present threatens to catch up.

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.

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
  • ISBN: 9781035421206
  • Number of pages: 416
  • Dimensions: 198 x 129 mm
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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Hot Wax
Rock n' Rolling Good Time
Thank you so much to Headline and NetGalley for this ARC. Hot Wax tells the story of two very different summers in the life of Suzanne Delgado. In 1989 she... READ MORE
Molly O'Connor
HOT WAX
Beautifully Devastating
This book was so beautifully devastating. M.L Rio set themselves a difficult task in writing a book on the same level as If We Were Villains, but they succ... READ MORE
Emily Gibbs
Hot Wax
Compelling
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. ... READ MORE
Jennifer Charlton
Hot Wax
So atmospheric and sad
Thank you so much Headline for the arc! „They had ruined each other, in some unspeakable way, and no matter how many years they spent apart they were s... READ MORE
Rina
Hot Wax
Five stars!
Hot Wax by M. L. Rio is an electrifying dive into the chaotic, dark heart of rock and roll, and the lingering shadows of a fractured childhood. Set in 1989... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
HOT WAX
Daisy Jones with some grit
It's hard to put into words my feelings about Hot Wax because the book itself is hard to put into words. It's not a thriller, not a mystery, not quite lit ... READ MORE
Victoria Hall
Hot Wax
Four stars!
Hot Wax by M. L. Rio is an electrifying dive into the chaotic, dark heart of rock and roll, and the lingering shadows of a fractured childhood. Set in 1989... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
HOT WAX
ML Rio has done it again
The writing has me more emotional than I expected. I knew Rio's writing could make me cry, but this was a rough read, especially the first half. Now thi... READ MORE
GEMMA PEARSON
Hot Wax
On the road
At its heart, Hot Wax is about a daughter of a wannabe rockstar trying to make peace with her unresolved childhood trauma. In the Summer of 89, Suzanne ... READ MORE
Rebecca J