Showing posts with label Violinist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Violinist. Show all posts

Review: What's the Use of Wondering? (WMU #2) by Kate McMurray

Violinist Logan has spent most of his life training for a career in music. But as the pressure mounts during his junior year, he questions whether playing in an orchestra is the future he wants, or one chosen by his parents. His new roommate—that annoying jerk Peter from last year’s production of Guys and Dolls—complicates matters. Crammed into a dorm room with the overconfident but undeniably hot accounting major, Logan can’t stop snarling.

Then Peter sprains his ankle building sets, and Logan grudgingly agrees to play chauffeur. But instead of putting further strain on their relationship, spending time together reveals some common ground—and mutual frustration. Logan discovers he isn’t the only one who doesn’t know what he wants from life, and the animosity between him and Peter changes keys. But just as the possibility of a happier future appears, Logan gets a dream offer that will take him away from Western Massachusetts University—and Peter. Now he has to decide: will he live the solitary life laid out for him, or hold on to Peter and forge his own path?


I have a minor confession; I am a musical lover. It’s not a terrible confession but I adore musicals, I even have a few favorites on vinyl and often break into song just because. I wonder why life can’t be like a musical where a simple walk down the street can’t turn into a song and dance where everyone knows the moves and words. Bjork did it in a video and Enchanted captured it perfectly on film so what I am trying to say is when I read the title of this book, I didn’t actually read it… you see, I turned into Bernadette Peters and sang the classic from Carousel.

Now that we have that bit of information.

This was a really sweet and slow burn kind of roommate to romance story and I adored it. Told from Logan’s POV we meet him as he is being assigned a new roommate his junior year at WMU and it’s not who he expected. Last year, Logan had a run in with a Theater Tech who let Logan know he was killing himself by smoking and now, the Tech aka as Peter is his roommate. It’s not such a problem for Logan but it is because Peter is a hot blond jock who Logan assumes is straight and they really don’t hit it off to begin with. The boys pretty much stay out of each other’s way as Logan focuses on his violin rehearsals moving toward a career in performance orchestra and Peter one in accounting. But being roommates and in each other’s space can lead to unrequited crushes and misunderstandings.
Life is uncertain. You never know what’s about to happen. Sometimes what feels like the worst turns out to be the best.
When Peter has a fall while working with one of the sets for the Guys and Dolls show and his ride around campus bails on him, he asks Logan to help him out and Logan is too nice of a guy to say no. But one single sentence that Logan takes the wrong way puts a strain on this new almost amicable friendship between them and almost ruins a beautiful romance that never even began.
“Do you even know the effect you have on me? Do you know how fucking hot you are?”
“Why are we arguing about this?”
“I don’t know. Why are you cleaning your half of the room when we should be kissing?”
I truly adore both Logan and Peter. These boys are under so much pressure from their parents to be who their parents want without regard to what they want. They are so focused on doing the right thing that they almost miss the chance to be with the person that is right under their nose or at least right across the dorm room. The feelings Logan has for Peter are laid out clearly even when he thinks Peter is straight but after reading an LGBT article Peter wrote that included a story about him coming out, Logan decides he needs to apologize for judging Peter without knowing who he really was. I loved how honest these young men were with one another from the beginning even when they aren’t exactly sure how to move forward with their romance.

Honestly, the build up to Logan and Peter with their crush confessions and then them moving forward was nice but everything after that was even better. I love college age romances because it’s lovely to watch young people figure their lives out and I get to live the college experience I never had through them. Roommate romances though are so much fun! You are in this space, sharing space with another person who you find attractive and then once the physical starts followed by emotions there is always this bit of angst around because what happens if it doesn’t work out? Thankfully, Logan and Peter find out right away that only honesty will do with them and I fell hard for their romance as they learn to be friends and lovers looking toward the future.
“We’ll rebel together, here in this room, even if no one else knows about it.”
I could ramble a good deal about the details of violin playing and how I could see and almost feel Logan as he played and hear the notes coming from his instrument. I could ramble about Peter and how steadfast he is in his love for art and painting and how freaking supportive he is of Logan. I could ramble about how I liked the way the author handled sex between these two and didn’t over saturate the story with it because they were more than sex though when they were together, I felt it. I could ramble about Logan coming back to the dorm after talking with his parents and how much I loved the epilogue or how I need to go back and read Dave and Noel’s story because it’s definitely one I need to read or… I could stop here and go listen to Maria and The Captain sing about doing Something Good.



Review: Where Do I Start? (Why You? #1) by Chase Taylor Hackett

The ex best thing . . .

Fletcher Andrews never believed in promises. Or monogamy. Or love. When you’re tall and gorgeous, New York City is one big all-you-can-eat buffet of hot young actors, models, and baristas. Even when living happily with Roger, his sweet, sexy violinist boyfriend, Fletch can’t resist an occasional taste. Too bad you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s thrown you out for cheating with half the cast of Disney on Ice.

Two years and a chance meeting later, Fletch desperately wants Roger back. Roger’s new boyfriend, Jeff, will do anything to stop that from happening. But Fletch has a plan to make amends. And with a little help from friends, colleagues—even Roger’s Scottish terrier, Haggis—they might find that the love you don’t believe in can sweep you right off your feet . . .


I admit that the premise of this book might not appeal to everyone, and I’m kinda surprised myself that I chose to read this. For unknown reasons, I was apparently intrigued by how a guy, who has made some unforgivable mistakes, wins back the love of his life.

Now to put it out there, Fletch is definitely a piece of work. He knows he’s very good looking and is not shy, nor above using said looks, to skew things in his favor. However, I want to clarify that there’s not really a malicious bone in his body. Fletch is fun, spontaneous, very carefree, and at the same time, when he was with Roger, he was kind and thoughtful and they just clicked. So why the cheating?? It really is quite the conundrum, but things slowly come to light as this story unravels, and though I don’t excuse his behavior at all, I can totally see why Fletch is the type of person he was and is. When he meets up with Roger a couple years later, harsh reality smacks him in the face, making Fletch realize his mistake and just how much he wants to win Roger back.

Roger is understandably still hurt. In his ignorant bliss, his time with Fletch stands out as his happiest, but he can’t fathom ever forgiving him, let alone taking him back. Regardless, it’s a moot issue since he’s perfectly content with his boyfriend Jeff, and in comparison to Fletch, Jeff’s stable, responsible, and trustworthy. Little does poor Roger know that Jeff is far from the polished, put together person that he presents. As Fletch wheedles his way back into Roger’s life, it produces some interesting revelations, and Roger has to wonder if his planned life trajectory is really something that he wants, including what he currently has.

Was this perfect? No. At times this was quite verbose and there was an overuse of nicknames that drove me a bit bonkers… but it grew on me. Fletch grew on me. I will say 99.9% of the time, cheating is a hard limit for me, but somehow Hackett made me change my mind, and I found myself actually rooting for Fletch to win. One slowly comes to see the complexity of the man with plenty of faults and baggage, who wants desperately to move beyond his origins and grab onto the one exceptional person who made him the happiest he’d ever been in his entire life. Fletch’s charm is just that - charming. One can’t not like him despite his past deplorable behavior. I think that says something about Hackett’s ability to successfully change the reader’s, and Roger’s, mind.

So, this is technically a story about redeeming a cheating cad. It’s a story about opposites attract and second chances. I implore you to not give up on the rough beginning. As things are revealed, and how Fletch and Roger slowly reenter each other's lives more and more, this really turned into a sweet, fun, funny (sadly no smex) romance that had me speeding on through and ultimately, cheering Fletch on to get his guy. I had my reservations, thinking I had temporary insanity choosing this trope, but as the sequel is about Roger’s dumped asshat of a boyfriend Jeff, I really don’t have any more doubts that Hackett can change my mind for that as well.

A great debut for a tough topic!

Thank you to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.


Giveaway + Blog Tour: The Love Song of Sawyer Bell by Avon Gale


Riptide Publishing is here today promoting The Love Song of Sawyer Bell, the first of a new series by Avon Gale. Be sure to enter to win a signed paperback copy of the book below. Good luck!


About The Love Song of Sawyer Bell


Victoria “Vix” Vincent has only two weeks to find a replacement fiddle player for her band’s summer tour. When classically trained violinist Sawyer Bell shows up for an audition, Vix is thrilled. Sawyer is talented, gorgeous, funny, and excited about playing indie rock instead of Beethoven. Their friendship soon blossoms into romance, even though Vix tries to remember that Sawyer’s presence is only temporary.

Sawyer’s parents think she’s spending the summer months touring Europe with a chamber ensemble. But Sawyer is in dire need of a break from the competitiveness of Juilliard, and desperately wants to rediscover her love of music. Going on tour with her secret high school crush is just an added bonus. Especially when Vix kisses her one night after a show, and they discover that the stage isn’t the only place they have chemistry.

But the tour won’t last forever, and as the summer winds down, Sawyer has to make a tough decision about her future—and what it means to follow her heart.



About Avon Gale

Avon grew up in the southern United States, and now lives with her very patient husband in a liberal Midwestern college town. When she’s not writing, she’s either doing some kind of craft project that makes a huge mess, reading, watching horror movies, listening to music or yelling at her favorite hockey team to get it together, already. Avon is always up for a road trip, adores Kentucky bourbon, thinks nothing is as stress relieving as a good rock concert, and will never say no to candy.

At one point, Avon was the mayor of both Jazzercise and Lollicup on Foursquare. This tells you basically all you need to know about her as a person.

Connect with Avon:
     Website: www.avongalewrites.com
     Facebook: www.facebook.com/avongalewrites
     Twitter: @avongalewrites
     Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/avongalewrites/
     Instagram: www.instagram.com/avongale/





To celebrate this release, one lucky winner will receive a signed paperback copy of The Love Song of Sawyer Bell! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 30, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info! 

Review: Volatile (Treacherous Chemistry #1) by Avylinn Winter

Like a depressed moth drawn to a wild flame, Chris hoped that flame would brighten his life, not burn him alive.

Chris Sinclair fades into a gray world after losing his mother to cancer. When forced to attend a concert as a last attempt to coax him out of his shell, he discovers that life might not be as bleak as he first thought.

Dante Heron holds the audience between the tips of his fingers and the delicate bow, playing the violin as if every heart is his to command. However, something darker brews behind the façade, and Chris is determined to solve the enigma.

When Chris is offered the job of traveling around Europe with the famous violinist, he surprises himself by accepting. With no idea what awaits him, he's thrown into a world where emotions rule and rules are bent.

They're a perfectly dysfunctional match, but then there's always calm at the heart of the storm.


I love characters that are dysfunctional and hurting or flawed in some way. I love healing stories (not ones about the magic power of a healing penis though, they get on my wick). As I read the blurb I was super excited because this book sounded exactly like my cup of tea. And you know how seriously us Brits take our tea...



I was, unfortunately, disappointed by this book though. However much I wanted it to, it didn't work for me. 

I think my main problem is that the author did too much telling for my liking. I didn't feel what the characters felt, not from their perspective, I was just told it. The telling was good, the author isn't a bad writer but there was just too much of it. Telling is needed but too much keeps from an emotional attachment and a book like this needs emotional attachment. The style of the writing meant I didn't get to know or grow attached to the characters. Without that I had no anchor to the story. I wanted to like them, I really did - Dante especially had so much potential for me, but at the end of the day I just didn't care enough. 

So, for me, this book didn't work, which is sad but that's how reading is. Definitely check out other reviews to get a wider spectrum of opinions.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Goodreads.