Tag Archives: Music

Review: Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee

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Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee

Candidly Cline
Kathryn Ormsbee
HarperCollins
Published November 9, 2021

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About Candidly Cline

A must-read for fans of Julie Murphy and Ashley Herring Blake, this queer coming-of-age story from critically acclaimed author Kathryn Ormsbee sings with heart, warmth, and hope.

Born in Paris, Kentucky, and raised on her gram’s favorite country music, Cline Alden is a girl with big dreams and a heart full of song. When she finds out about a young musicians’ workshop a few towns over, Cline sweet-talks, saves, and maybe fibs her way into her first step toward musical stardom.

But her big dreams never prepared her for the butterflies she feels surrounded by so many other talented kids–especially Sylvie, who gives Cline the type of butterflies she’s only ever heard about in love songs.

As she learns to make music of her own, Cline begins to realize how much of herself she’s been holding back. But now, there’s a new song taking shape in her heart–if only she can find her voice and sing it.

“Empowering, affirming, and sweet as all get-out.” –Lisa Jenn Bigelow, author of Drum Roll, Please

My Review

I tend to love stories about musicians, so I was intrigued when I heard about CANDIDLY CLINE. She’s a songwriter, singer, and guitarist, and she’s learning how music can give voice to things that are hard to say other ways.

Cline pretty much had me at hello. She’s sure in her identity. She also loves her mom and grandmother, who all live together. I loved the bold way she handles her conflict with Sylvie and the way their relationship develops after that rocky beginning.

As she figures out how to tell her mom how important music is to her and to speak about her identity, Cline finds allies, friends and mentors, sometimes in unlikely places. When a church event leaves Cline feeling judged and isolated, a woman she knows from the same church comforts Cline and tells her the way she was treated is wrong, and that it isn’t in line with what all Christians believe. I loved that even though Cline’s church experiences aren’t the center of the story, CANDIDLY CLINE made space for the fact that people observe faith in different ways. Some of those caused her a lot of hurt, but other ways made her feel loved and valued. I’m really glad that got explored on the page a bit in this book.

I also liked Cline’s complicated relationship with her mom. She knows her mom loves and supports her, but she feels like this huge part of who she is (her music) will never be acceptable to her mom. After she learns more about her mom’s history and the pressures she’s currently facing, she begins to realize that it’s not as simple as her mom disapproving of her. I liked that her relationship with her mom wasn’t as simple as her mom wanting something different for her life. It had a lot of layers, and those were presented gently and without dominating the story.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book, and I think fans of BREATHING UNDERWATER by Sarah Allen or HURRICANE SEASON by Nicole Melleby will enjoy this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cline is a lesbian. Her grandmother has Alzheimer’s. Her mom is a single mom.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used only once.

Romance/Sexual Content
Cline wonders what it would be like to kiss another girl. A girl kisses a girl on the cheek.

Spiritual Content
Cline visits church with her friend. She feels uncomfortable with some of the language about “the lost”. She wonders if her Christian friend views her as somehow lesser because she doesn’t believe in God/Jesus. The pastor preaches that same-sex attraction is a sin. However, another church member says she believes God loves everyone and has made them to be who they are.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of CANDIDLY CLINE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero

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The Ghosts of Rose Hill
R. M. Romero
Peachtree Teen
Published May 10, 2022

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About The Ghosts of Rose Hill

Magic will burn you up.

Sent to stay with her aunt in Prague and witness the humble life of an artist, Ilana Lopez—a biracial Jewish girl—finds herself torn between her dream of becoming a violinist and her immigrant parents’ desire for her to pursue a more stable career.

When she discovers a forgotten Jewish cemetery behind her aunt’s cottage, she meets the ghost of a kindhearted boy named Benjamin, who died over a century ago. As Ilana restores Benjamin’s grave, he introduces her to the enchanted side of Prague, where ghosts walk the streets and their kisses have warmth.

But Benjamin isn’t the only one interested in Ilana. Rudolph Wassermann, a man with no shadow, has become fascinated with her and the music she plays. He offers to share his magic, so Ilana can be with Benjamin and pursue her passion for violin. But after Ilana discovers the truth about Wassermann and how Benjamin became bound to the city, she resolves to save the boy she loves, even if it means losing him—forever.

With spellbinding verse prose, R.M. Romero channels the spirit of myth into a brilliantly original tale, inspired by her experiences restoring Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe.

My Review

What an amazing novel-in-verse. It’s part fairy-tale, part love story, part celebration of history and culture and faith. I fell into this book right from the first chapter and didn’t surface until the last page. I loved the Prague setting and the way Ilana cared for the graveyard out of reverence for her faith and the impact that it had on the people around her.

Lots of things about the story surprised me– in good ways. I loved Ilana’s relationship with her aunt. I didn’t expect some of the conversations they had, and I loved the ways her aunt shared her own stories.

And Benjamin. I loved him, too. I knew he was going to break my heart, and he did, but I loved the journey anyway.

THE GHOSTS OF ROSE HILL is the kind of book that’s going to stick with me awhile. I already want to go back and read it again. It reminds me a little bit of THE BOOK THIEF in its other-worldly-ness. Or VASILISA by Julie Mathison. I think it’s a perfect fit for readers who are aging out of middle grade but not ready for upper YA just yet. And perfect for anyone who enjoys a modern fairytale.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Ilana is Jewish and Cuban American. Other characters are Czech.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Ilana meets a boy who is a ghost. He lives with three other ghost children and a man who has some magic abilities.

Violent Content
Ilana learns of a monster that eats memories.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

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Love Radio
Ebony LaDelle
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published May 31, 2022

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About Love Radio

Hitch meets The Sun Is Also a Star in this witty and romantic teen novel about a self-professed teen love doctor with a popular radio segment who believes he can get a girl who hates all things romance to fall in love with him in only three dates.

Prince Jones is the guy with all the answers—or so it seems. After all, at seventeen, he has his own segment on Detroit’s popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted.

Prince has always dreamed of becoming a DJ and falling in love. But being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that and the only romances in his life are the ones he hears about from his listeners.

Until he meets Dani Ford.

Dani isn’t checking for anybody. She’s focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what’s blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago.

And that’s one thing Dani can’t do.

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani’s not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he’s worth falling for.

Three dates for the love expert to take his own advice, and just maybe change two lives forever.

My Review

I really enjoyed LOVE RADIO. It’s not easy to write in a way that’s both really natural and really emotive, but this book is very much both. I found it very easy to get lost in the story. The writing makes it feel as though you’re sitting down with someone, listening to them tell the story directly. It’s both entertaining and heartfelt, and I loved following both Prince and Danielle’s stories. I loved their families and friend groups, too.

LOVE RADIO celebrates music and literature and how both inspired Prince and Danielle. I loved the way both of those passions were woven into the story. Danielle writes letters to some of her favorite writers as part of processing some things that happened to her. I loved that as Prince and Danielle got to know each other, they each found ways to celebrate things the other person loved. They also respected each other’s commitments to family and friends and the boundaries they set with one another.

I loved this sweet, playful romance that celebrates music and literature as well as treating one another well. I’m super glad I read it, and I can’t wait to see what Ebony LaDelle writes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Danielle and Prince are Black. Prince’s mom has Multiple Sclerosis. His younger brother has ADHD. One of Danielle’s friends is Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – content warning for sexual assault.
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. In one scene a girl and boy take their shirts off together.

A college boy kisses and touches a girl after she repeatedly tells him no. He rips her dress. She runs away from him.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
See sexual content section.

Drug Content
Danielle and her friend drink alcohol at an apartment where college boys are hanging out.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Edgewood
Kristen Ciccarelli
Wednesday Books
Published March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Edgewood

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

My Review

I always love reading about musicians and magical woods, and EDGEWOOD is loaded with both those things. Emmeline’s struggle for her career and her conflict about her home and the weird things her neighbors believe about the woods drew me into the story. I loved the cast of characters from the woods, too– Rook, Sable, and Hawthorne. This is the kind of story that sets itself up perfectly for fan fiction to be written about those characters. I would absolutely read that.

There were a couple of things that felt weird to me about the book, though. I guess Emmeline had to be older in order to be on her own, but the fact that she was nineteen but paired with other story elements and writing that felt definitively YA left me feeling a little off-step or something.

I also thought it was kind of weird that no one else in the woods knew who Emmeline was. Because of some other circumstances, it seemed like at least somebody would have put two and two together before she did. (Trying to avoid spoilers, sorry.)

At any rate, I liked the woods and its magic and the mystery of the curse. Overall, I’m not sorry I read the book. I think I was expecting something more like INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD by Joanna Ruth Meyer, and it’s a different kind of story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Main human characters are white. Two minor characters are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A couple of scenes show explicit sex. Several scenes show nudity, sometimes for the purpose of studying drawing.

Spiritual Content
A powerful curse spreads through the forest. Magical creatures fill the woods, some intent on killing anyone they encounter. Others are shapeshifters or other magical creatures.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle violence. The king has a long history of executing those who do not please him.

Drug Content
One character is known for putting unwanted spells in the drinks of others. She spikes Emmeline’s drink at one point.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of EDGEWOOD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

You Can Go Your Own Way
Eric Smith
Inkyard Press
Published November 2, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Can Go Your Own Way

Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.

Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. She lost all her friends. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.

But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?

My Review

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the nostalgic feel of Adam’s chapters. It’s a contemporary novel, set in the present day (minus covid), but Adam has a lot of love for bands his dad loved and for the vintage pinball machines his dad was obsessed with before he died. I haven’t played a lot of pinball in my life, but I felt like the descriptions of the game play and the machines made perfect sense and was really engaging. I also couldn’t help connecting with Adam and his complex, unresolved grief with all his nerdy amazingness.

Whitney is super different than Adam is. She’s sleek, cool, and incredibly driven, and yet I felt an instant connection with her, too. I really appreciated her wit and tenacity. She is definitely one of those characters who acts tough and has a soft heart underneath, and I love those!

In addition to all of that, there are some very fun social media situations and conversations, plus a community of indie business owners who all show up for each other. If you know me, you know community is another thing that I tend to adore in the books I read. It just feels so real, and makes the characters feel like part of a real world, you know?

YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY is the first book by Eric Smith that I’ve read, though I’m pretty sure I own his others! Reading this made me really want to read everything he’s written. I felt like the relationships were super real and the characters were really easy to connect with. I think readers who enjoy contemporary romance will have a lot to love in this book.

I suppose my only complaint is the ear worm that constantly happens to me every time I read the title. Every. Time. I guess I can live with a little music in my head. Ha!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Adam’s dad is Sicilian and his mom is Palestinian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to making out.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Adam tries to clean up glass from a broken pinball game and cuts his hand. A storm breaks some windows, causing some damage.

Drug Content
Whitney attends a party at her boyfriend’s house where kids are drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published June 8, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This

Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn confessed her crush on him in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response.

Quinn has been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing the harp for her parents’ weddings. When he shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. Tarek’s always loved the grand gestures in weddings—the flashier, the better—while Quinn can’t see them as anything but fake. Even as they can’t seem to have one civil conversation, Quinn’s thrown together with Tarek wedding after wedding, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman.

Quinn can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence, opens up about her own fears, and begins learning the art of harp-making from an enigmatic teacher.

Maybe love isn’t the enemy after all—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing Quinn’s ever done.

A wedding harpist disillusioned with love and a hopeless romantic cater-waiter flirt and fight their way through a summer of weddings in this effervescent romantic comedy from the acclaimed author of TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW.

My Review

While I’m definitely not disillusioned about love, I felt like Quinn’s character really resonated with me. Her feelings about being trapped in the family business and being at a loss as to what her real passions are felt so real that sometimes I squirmed while reading (in a good way though). It was really fun reading a book about a romantic guy, too– I don’t see a lot of those, and I found Tareq absolutely charming.

I loved the way the story explored Quinn’s connection with music, though. I don’t know much about the harp, so I can’t speak to the technique, but I found the performances engrossing and believable. And the way Quinn’s journey with the harp guided her through other conflicts in her life was really cool. I loved that.

The romance was great, too– Quinn’s fears were relatable and the conflicts had me reading one more chapter long past my bedtime, and even peeking ahead a couple times. (What can I say, sometimes I just NEED to know what happens so I’m emotionally prepared.)

I think fans of Solomon’s other books will enjoy this one a lot, and readers looking for a summer romance with a bit of spice should definitely add this to their reading lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Quinn and her family are Jewish. Tareq and his family are Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some references to sex and explicit sexual content between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some references to Jewish and Muslim beliefs and traditions.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Some scenes show teens drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of WE CAN’T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS in exchange for my honest review.