Tag Archives: songwriter

Review: Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant

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Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling by Elise Bryant

Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling
Elise Bryant
Balzer + Bray
Published January 31, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling

Delilah always keeps her messy, gooey insides hidden behind a wall of shrugs and yeah, whatevers. She goes with the flow—which is how she ends up singing in her friends’ punk band as a favor, even though she’d prefer to hide at the merch table.

Reggie is a D&D Dungeon Master and self-declared Blerd. He spends his free time leading quests and writing essays critiquing the game under a pseudonym, keeping it all under wraps from his disapproving family.

These two, who have practically nothing in common, meet for the first time on New Year’s Eve. And then again on Valentine’s Day. And then again on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s almost like the universe is pushing them together for a reason.

Delilah wishes she were more like Reggie—open about what she likes and who she is, even if it’s not cool. Except . . . it’s all a front. Reggie is just role-playing someone confident. The kind of guy who could be with a girl like Delilah.

As their holiday meetings continue, the two begin to fall for each other. But what happens once they realize they’ve each fallen for a version of the other that doesn’t really exist?

My Review

I tend to love books about music and musicians and Dungeons and Dragons players, so I felt pretty sure going into this book that I would love it– and I did. I really enjoyed the journey of Delilah finding her feet as a front woman in her band and learning more about music and songwriting as well as forming relationships with other girls in her music scene. Discovering what she meant to her fans truly affected her, and I loved that. I thought it was really cool.

I liked Reggie, too. Maybe I just connected to Delilah’s story more, or maybe the story was weighted more toward the scenes in her point of view, but I kind of found myself wishing there was more DnD content or more about Reggie experiencing the game. The scenes that were there were great, and I enjoyed them. I just wish there had been a few more.

On the romance side, I loved that, too. It was sweet watching the two of them try to figure one another out or wrestle with doubts or finally work up the courage to make their moves. Also, in terms of side characters, Delilah’s little sister Georgia is my absolute favorite. I loved the way she spoke truth and made me laugh, often at the same time.

All in all, I enjoyed reading REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING a whole lot. I think readers who loved EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon should give this one a try.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Delilah is biracial and identifies as Black. She also suffers from migraines. Reggie is Black and has dyslexia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Reggie’s brother Eric and his friends make fun of him for playing Dungeons and Dragons and being a nerd, telling him he isn’t truly Black if he likes those things. Delilah faces racist comments on social media after her band posts photos and videos of her performing with them.

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 REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee

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Candidly Cline
Kathryn Ormsbee
HarperCollins
Published November 9, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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.