Review by Booklist Review
On the eve of her annual vacation back home and to the Revelry, the music venue on the Outer Banks that has been in her family for a few generations, hit songwriter Joni Lark must attend a concert. There, she is manipulated into kissing Sebastian Fell, former boy-band member and son of a multiplatinum recording artist. She hurries home, but even being back doesn't help Joni's writer's block, as she deals with the long goodbye of Alzheimer's stealing her mother away. And a voice, as well as a particular melody, is stuck in her head. It continues to haunt her, until she discovers the person whose voice she is hearing is hearing the same melody fragment. Perhaps the only way to get out of each other's mind is to complete the song. Poston (The Seven Year Slip, 2023) is comfortingly adept at creating complex characters who are kind, and surrounding them with realistic friends and family, while making the world of music writing, a small coastal town, and its music venue feel real.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Poston (A Novel Love Story) delivers a winning magical realist romance that explores artistic creation, grief, and new beginnings--all through the medium of a sweet, slow-burning love story between a burnt-out songwriter and a former boy band "bad boy" who's eager to make a comeback. "Popcorn pop song" writer Joni Lark is stuck. She hasn't written a new song in nearly a year, she's run out of old material to revise, and on top of that, her parents have decided to close the Revelry--the family-run music venue where she has always been able to find inspiration--due to her mother's worsening dementia. So when she starts hearing a man's voice in her head, Joni thinks she's cracked from stress. The voice, Sebastian, is equally convinced that Joni is imaginary, until a phone call proves that they are both real people tied together by a mysterious psychic link that's somehow connected to a half-finished song. Poston mines this setup for both humor and pathos as she teases out a deep history connecting her protagonists. This moving romance will delight Poston's fans and should earn her plenty of new ones. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Joni Lark's latest song is taking off, but inside, she is spiraling from her mother's recent health news and her fears about her current case of writer's block. Before heading home for the summer, she has a frustrating encounter with an arrogant former boy-band pop star that involves an electrifying kiss. Returning home is not the solace she was hoping for, as her parents make the shocking decision to close the Revelry, their family's music venue. Then, suddenly, Joni begins to hear an attractive and comforting voice in her head, which brings its own stunning revelation when the man with that voice shows up at the Revelry. While trying to figure out how to get each other out of their heads, they decide to finish the song that has been haunting them both, leading to a growing connection. Poston (A Novel Love Story) explores grief and regret while inspiring hope in love with poetic banter and the comfort of a close-knit, eccentric, and humorous family. VERDICT Poston writes another lyrical and magical tale set in a cozy beach town that will make readers want to savor reading it while sitting on the sand themselves. Hand to those who also enjoy B.K. Borison and Tarah DeWitt.--Morgan Lockard
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