e-Audio, 08:35:50
Narrated by: Emily Lawrence & Tristan MorrisRelease Date: April 2, 2019Published by: Macmillan Audio
Read from: April 29-May 3, 2019Stand-aloneSource: Library (Overdrive/ Libby)TW: Parent Death, Drug Overdose, DrinkingFor fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Music, YA
Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.
But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.
Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.
*MY THOUGHTS*
From the look of this cover this was going to be something I really enjoyed. I am a sucker for contemporaries and those that are light and fluffy are my favorite. But this one has a deeper story than what the cover shows.
Clay Coolidge is a country singer heart throb who's had his share of trouble. Then there's Annie who's been on the rise after slips of her singing ended up on YouTube. Clay's label wants to sign Annie, but she's been trying to keep out of the spotlight since her famous parents died. Annie and her band agree to the tour, but Annie knows she has to make sure her band mates and Clay all understand that she's there to make music and not to mess around with Clay. But sometimes, history is destined to repeat itself.
For the most part, the writing style of this one was good. I found myself hating to turn it off. I really loved that the lyrics to songs were incorporated into the book as well. I would have preferred that the songs were actually sang, but it didn't make much difference. It was still good.
But the plot was where I had a bit of an issue. It was so repetitive. It was show after show and them arguing about what Annie wanted to do or them deciding if they were going to be nice and try to be together or not. And when it finally came down to it, I was disappointed in the way it ended. I know that love is powerful, but (minor spoiler?) I don't think Clay deserves her. (End spoiler)
And I guess I should do a bit more research when trying to decide what to read. (Or Goodreads should give a place for TW or CWs.) For personal family reasons I try to stay away from those books with drugs and overdoses, especially with teens. It doesn't really show up until about 75% into the book, so I was stuck at a what do I do situation. I finished listening, but I was on edge hoping it didn't come back up. (This whole trigger warning debate, yeah, this is why it's important.) But in the end I finished it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.
I did like the narrators. They had the best accents for this story. Again I wish they had used singers for the parts where lyrics were, but them just talking them was ok too. I was just glad they included it.
This book should have been a 5 star read for me, but there were just too many things holding me back. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it as much as I expected. I can see where others might love this, but I think I was hanging on too hard on what I thought it was going to be and not what it was.
Overall, I give this
There will be no quotes because this was read via audio.