"Unstrung" by Laura Spinella was an excellent, explosive, passionate, tangled tale of an extraordinarily talented violinist, resentful of her talents, and deeply discontented with her life. Wonderful from beginning to end, with much dysfunction and strong emotions, this was a fast, great novel. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

A well done romantic novel about a woman torn between two men. I liked that Olivia is a musician. Good characters and nice storytelling made for a satisfying read.

Laura Spinella wrote an amazing story about Olivia, a brilliantly talented violinist who struggles to embrace her talent. Olivia has some anger issues, mostly brought on by husband’s misuse of their money. The book starts with Olivia in court for destroying Rob’s, her husband, Porsche with a baseball bat. As the story continues we learn more about her history and the reasons for her anger and pain. While this does not excuse her behavior it gives cause for it.

The story has so many twists and turns that it keeps the reader on the edge of their seats. There is people from Olivia’s past that come back to visit, a person she has kept a secret from everyone, and her odd mother who does not seem to support her at all. Add to that her husband who pushes her trust with his secrets and her best friend, lawyer, who also keeps secrets. It may sound like there is too much going on, but this story is perfect and wonderful.

Unstrung is a story of a women’s journey to find her true self. I highly recommend this book.

very well written! Such a good love story! Will be passing this one and buying one for our store! Thanks so much!

I don't have the right words to sing this novel's praises. In a word BEAUTIFUL

Thanks to Netgalley,Publishers, and author for the ARC. My first book by this author.
Her characters were multi facited which I liked. The main character, Olivia, was obnoxious to those around her, but he redeeming qualities are presented in the end. Never saw that coming ! :-)
Good story kept me turning those pages !

This one took quite awhile to grab my attention, but once it finally did, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters of Olivia, Theo, Sam. This was a complicated book with characters who had complex relationships. It was a very different type of story, and one I'm glad I took the time to read.

Unstrung is a beautiful piece of Contemporary Women's Fiction that provided me with the loveliest of reading experiences. A plethora of multifaceted characters cohesively produced a wonderful story of love, hope and longing. Unstrung did not take me to a place I expected, it went further than I imagined. It’s a slow burn with a unique quality to the story arc and a delicate underlying romance running through that felt light in tone but ultimately warmed my heart and made me feel so much for the protagonists at the heart of the story. Protagonists who need to be met, experienced and understood within the parameters of the telling so as not to spoil any aspect of the unravelling of the story. On the surface and from details in the synopsis readers may consider the story will test their levels of acceptability concerning marriage but please trust me when I say that the way the story unfolds is magnificent, the delivery totally compelling and the motivation on point to allow readers a high level of understanding for each of the characters pivotal to the narrative.

The emotion of it completely crept up on my sensibilities, grabbed my attention and submerged my reading heart into the lives of the characters showcased within the writing canvas of this engaging story enticing me into the world of violin prodigy Olivia Klein. Showed me the layers of her history and the impact those layers have on her present day and future. She seems, at times, a complete mess, a product of the pressure and expectation placed on her but equally I saw her strength of character through the choices she found herself having to make. It’s about the way people can shape your life, impact it, change it, creating a history and future. I totally loved how it all played out. I felt love and respect between the characters, the development of individuals, especially Olivia and found myself wanting what they wanted and completely understanding the decisions they made and the motivation for their actions.

The depiction of the important aspects of life resonated for me causing my complete investment in the story and lives of the characters. Unstrung is a must read for those who enjoy beautifully written contemporary romance with a unique and touching story and clearly developed characters at its heart.

I enjoyed this book! I liked the way the story was told and the way the relationships were portrayed throughout the book. I also enjoyed the many surprises that happened throughout the story. The story is primarily about Olivia and her relationship with her husband Rob and with her friend Sasha. Olivia is a violinist in a symphony. Although she is highly talented, she has trouble finding her passion with her playing. Olivia’s behavior is most of the time loud and reckless, getting her into trouble. But sometimes her behavior is soft and silently giving towards others. So much of what happened in Olivia’s younger years has led to her frequent out of control and unstrung behavior now. Now, Olivia’s past is coming back into her life and she must confront it. There are so many new developments and twists and turns with her relationships with everyone in her life. Her life is spinning out of control. As Olivia starts to make difficult changes in her life, she starts to bring her life under control. You will really enjoy this book if you have a musical background or if you like stories about relationships that are full of surprises.

Wow! This book was amazing! From the first page I was totally hooked! I didn't love every character and at times I did get angry with their choices but this was such a fantastic story. I loved this book and can't wait to read more by this author!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

Fundamentally, I enjoyed the plot and characters – but I did find it incredibly slow going. I tend to read 200-300 pages a day, every day, but this took me more than four days to read. I didn't want to give up, as I was curious as to whether it was going where I expected it to – indeed it did, and it was worth reading, but I still don't know why it went so slowly. After about 58% it did get much easier to read, as it was mostly in the current time. The individual characters going back in varying lengths of time did not really work for me.

Although chapters are seen from different points of view, the lead is always Olivia, and she is a woman who really has not grown up – and even though she had a tough family life, she has not moved past it, in spite of having a very patient husband and best friend. Maybe my biggest problem with this story is that I never quite identified with her. It was easier to understand the actions of all the other protagonists!

I was intrigued by the musical elements and the love and hate that she had with her talent and career. As she got to know Theo, the similarities and differences were beautifully explained. The question of why everyone can't teach was also an interesting element in the story.

So, I would recommend that you give this a go, because the story is good, and you may find the style is absolutely to your taste. I will remember and think about the story for a long while, as it prompts the reader to ask some curious ethical questions.

Olivia Klein is a world class violinist with the Boston Symphony. She’s married to Rob Van Doren, a man who operates in the world of high finance and risky investments - one of those investments just lost Olivia her family’s home. Olivia is so distraught at the loss she takes a baseball bat and destroys Rob’s beloved Porsche. Forced to do community service in lieu of jail time, Olivia ends up in the Dorchester section of Boston, helping kids in a school that has more police officers patrolling the halls than teachers, and metal detectors instead instruments and music stands.

Her choice of community service is the turning point which will affect everything and everyone in her life. As the reader gets deeper into the story they discover Olivia’s life appears to be one thing on the surface, but like a Russian nesting doll there are secrets hidden beneath the layers. Everyone in her life gets some version of the truth, and when her ex-husband comes to town to ask for forgiveness, her life begins to unravel like a knitting ball tossed to the floor by a playful kitten.

This story is a multi-layered mosaic of how Olivia became Olivia and what moves her. Ms. Spinella weaves a complex story, chapter by chapter. In many respects the book plays out much like an episodic series on HBO with each chapter adding another revelation to the overall story arc.

Nothing is as it seems, and everything will be different when you finally reach the end of the book. Will the reader get a happy ending? Yes. Will it be what you expected? I’m not the one to say. I can say I would certainly read another of Ms. Spinella’s books. She has a terrific wit, and creates dialogue that sets the tone and gives breath to each character.

I’m always amazed when I read a work of fiction where the author has created a world that comes to life, a living drama before my eyes. Those are the best kinds of reads. That’s what this author has accomplished with “Unstrung.” A work of fiction that’s come to life, beautifully and sometimes tragically played out, in a world I couldn’t stop ‘watching’.

This review will appear in www.theromanceblog.com

I would like to thank NetGalley, Montlake Romance, and Laura Spinella for the ARC of "Unstrung" by Laura Spinella for my honest review. The genres of "Unstrung" are General Fiction(Adult) and Romance.
I find that the author's vivid and colorful descriptions of her complex and complicated characters are amazing.
I found myself wanting to scream at some of the characters for their decisions. I actually despised and hated some of the characters, and I was cheering for some. I I guess I got emotionally involved in this fictional story.
The story opens with Olivia Klein, and her attorney facing a judge for charges against Olivia for destroying her husband's Porsche with a bat. To add insult to injury, Olivia profoundly tells the judge where he should go. Olivia is a famous Violinist with a chair in the symphony orchestra. Despite the fact that Olivia was drunk and angry that her husband Rob made some investments that might cost the loss of the home that was in Olivia's family for years, the judge sentences her to a night in jail and one hundred hours of community service. Olivia for her own personal reasons offers to do community service with a Music teacher in one of the worst schools in the area. Olivia's mother is furious at Olivia and reminds her that she always has been rebellious. Her mother warns her that this will be the second marriage that will be ruined. Olivia had a very short lived marriage when she was young that at the time was a bad decision. Olivia is a very insecure woman who feels imperfect and "unstrung", and her Mother lives to remind her of this.
Rob, her husband vacillates between being a bad guy at times to a supportive good guy.
Laura Spinella writes about honor, family, love, redemption, forgiving, second chances, and hope. The author also describes that no one is just good or bad, and that we should accept ourselves for who we are.
There are surprises, twists and turns in this story. I would highly recommend this as an entertaining and intriguing read.

I had no expectations when I started reading Unstrung but from the very first page, I knew I was going to like it. What I didn't know was how I was really going to love it and to love Olivia and Theo and Sam. Olivia was the character I probably needed to read about, her travails, her journey it really strikes a chord somewhere in me. About what life expected of you, of what you expected in return and how when everything doesn't turn up the way you envisioned everything just unravels. This book just flows, the tone, the pacing was just apt, a perfect balance of humor and angst. The characters might be messy and imperfect but the story itself will strike a reader just in the right place.

Even as a violin prodigy, Olivia Klein courted trouble. But when her marriage to high-stakes investor Rob Van Doren takes another wrong turn, Olivia acts out once too often. A night of bad behavior results in community service hours. Time is to be served with Theo McAdams, an inner-city teacher whose passion for music eclipses Olivia’s. As she inches toward a better place, life surprises Olivia in the form of her first husband—baseball legend Sam Nash.

Years ago, Olivia fell in love with Sam. Their impulsive marriage imploded with a fateful car crash and harsh parting words. Olivia never expected to see him again. But now Sam is back, and he wants her forgiveness. He also wants to recapture their volatile love affair. Olivia is torn between rekindling romance and saving her marriage. To her surprise, it’s the presence of the young music teacher—and the lessons from a reckless past—that may bring harmony to Olivia’s off-key life.
43%, it took until I was 43% of the way through this book before I was REALLY interested in it, I was worried that I was going to toss it into my just can’t bring myself to finish it pile. The crazy thing is that I enjoyed the story and Laura Spinella is easily one of the most talented authors I’ve come across in a really long time. It was Olivia, I just couldn’t stand her. Just. Couldn’t. Stand. Her. That’s my biggest complaint about the whole book. I want books that will grab me in the first chapter and not let me go (like Ghost Gifts did for me) and this one just had me plugging along. When I finally got to the end, I was left utterly spent and emotionally drained and I thought to myself, “ahhhh this is what I was looking for!”
I have to say again, Laura Spinella is so incredibly talented. Her ability to take your emotions and just twist your heart around them is unlike any other recent author I’ve come across in a long time. Her books keep you turning the pages because she’s masterful at crafting gut wrenching turns and emotional chaos, I love that! The evolution of the characters is always second to none and what keeps me coming back, but Dear Lord, why couldn’t someone have just punched Olivia in the face? Just once.
All in all, totally worth picking up and reading Special thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A new author to me and what an incredible delight. A story of deep sensitivity and awakening. It was gritty, real, emotional and an embracement of your past and a welcoming of your present.

This story is an amazing journey of Olivia Klein Van Dorsen. She's 46 years old, a virtuoso violinist, and a hot mess. Her marriage is in trouble and she has come to a cross road in her life.

***"Whether it was a violin or your life, Olivia, it’s always been rather unstrung.***

Her story is emotional, heartbreaking, destructive, and awakening. There are so many facets to her life. She is a hot mess and her life, past and present, are fixing to be on a collision course. It's an inevitable crash but the journey getting there is epically emotional and one where healing of the soul is finally achieved.

I loved how the author exposed the many layers of this story. With each page that I turned, I gasped, I sighed, I cried......I truly felt with my heart the emotional battle that Olivia struggled with. Theo, Rob, Sam, Claire, Sasha, Eugenia.....all vital individuals who were part of Olivia's life, who shaped her into her 46 yrs, who encompassed her with sorrow, pain, joy and love.

As the story unravels, Olivia begins taking responsibilities for her actions. It's as if destiny has brought her to this place and time to finally deal with her life, both good and bad. I feel that I really can't tell you anything more involving the story. I believe that one should experience the book as it plays out and not by knowing what is going to happen if I tell you. I promise the plot is full of feels. I read the blurb and had a recommendation push from my amazing reading buddy TeriLyn. Everyone has friends who they believe in their recommendation and she is one, so TL thank you for sending me to NG and requesting. This book totally exceeded my expectations and the author hit it out of the park!!!

3,5 stars

To be honest, going into this book I didn't quite know what to expect. And now, after reading this book, I must say I am pleasantly surprised. This is a wonderful book about realizing self-worth, trust, love and human relationships.

This book pulls on your emotions. Every ups and downs of the characters I felt too. I came to like all of the characters, they grew on me very sneakily but I don't mind. They are all fantastic in their own way.
Spinella's writing was great, she did a magnificent job of creating a fitting atmosphere to the story.

That said, I found the second half of the book to be overly dramatic. I lost a bit of my interest and I cared for the characters a tiny bit less and couldn't get myself to enjoy the book like I did in the beginning.

Olivia Klein is in trouble again. After a nasty fight with her husband Rob , she takes a baseball bat to his car. She ends up in jail and receives community service. Her community service is served at an inner city school working with Theo McAdams in his music class. Olivia is a violinist with the symphony. She has tried to escape her gift her entire life. She enjoys getting to know Theo and his students. As Olivia is getting to know Theo, she needs to decide if she should save her marriage to Rob. Then another twist, her first husband Sam comes back into the picture. Olivia must decide if her first love or her husband is the love of her life. With so many twists and turns this book kept me up late into night. By exploring her past, Olivia finds her future. This is a story of love, getting to know ones true self, and forgiveness. I loved this book and will recommend it to all of my reading friends. Thank you so very much to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for allowing me to read and review this book. I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Going into this book I held no preconceived notions about what to expect. After the short blurb the story sparked my interest. What I received in return is nothing short of a magnificent reading experience. My words will pale in comparison to what I believe this story should receive in acclaim but I hope to give you a reason to read this book. The wonderful richness of the writing, the enormous depth and excellently structured development of the story telling created a perfectly emotional and luminous reading environment. This tumultuously beautiful story of growing, learning, trust, and choice will grab you from the very first sentence, the pull so strong you will hold on tight until the end.

Laura Spinella spun this tale chronicling a woman who's life revolves around the choices she's made at a precarious time in her life. It's a story of how those choices effect her daily life years later. A continual journey of those choices compounding her decisions, her mind, and her emotions in her present and future. Her experiences, both those she's chose and those thrust upon her by others, shapes who this heroine is in her adult life and provide the catalyst for this story. There's a common thread woven through the story that builds the enigmatic, engaging plot. This common thread pulls taut the many bands of the story throughout the entire journey.

We see this story from the first person point of view of the heroine and the sprinkling of third person points of views from two key people in her journey. Snippets of her past told through vivid reflections give us so much insight. I loved the relationships in this story. It's truly a book of vivid characters. A study in development characters for your readers and driving the focus forward because of this interesting people. Friendships, a marriage, ill-fated relationships and introspective personal relationships provide layers and layers of story you can sink into. You'll identify with each character in some way. You'll find yourself thinking about the choices you've made and how they affect you now. You'll think about your marriage, if you're in one, and how your choices affect your partner. An insightful look into the windows of your life. It's a beautiful thing to me when an author finds their way into your own life and your own reflections.

And this story was very real-life for me. It's provocative and seductive, melancholy, and nurturing in it's tone. It's about growth and self-worth, recognizing your best qualities as others see them and fostering the tremendous giving impact of meaningful relationships. This isn't an easy story - there are characters for whom will provide you a thundering array of feelings. Each of them you'll love and loathe, celebrate and damn them. Some characters you'll root for the entire time. Rest assured each one evokes a maelstrom of complex feelings as deep as the characters feel. Each one you'll find the compassion you crave through this fierce story.

Human relationships prove to be hard. Every single day they take work and perseverance. The complexities of individuals and how we fit with others built upon the foundations we're from in our childhoods, it's a recipe for complicated adults with even more complicated lives, feelings, and relationships. Laura Spinella unraveled all of that so perfectly for me. Her writing hit every note brilliantly. And the choices this author made to tell this story worked in a big, bold, and wonderful way.

Unstrung is a slow burning mosaic of emotion and grandeur. It's a completely satisfying stand alone book. I'm so grateful and elated to have read this story and now to have been introduced to this authors beautiful writing. I highly recommend it to readers who love complexity in their stories and more importantly their characters, a slow burn, a momentous onslaught of emotions wrapped into a story of growth, loss, bravery, and deep enduring love.

Arc provided by Netgalley for a review

4-4.5 stars

This book was seriously the hottest mess ever and I enjoyed every single second of it.
Do you ever read a book and sit back and think Holy Shit did i grow up with this author. Kidding Kidding not kidding?

This book is more Women's Fiction than a romance, family drama, drama drama llamas....

But the author can weave a story like strings on a violin....

There were some lines in this book that struck me right in the heart. I had my son young (no regrets as he is the best human to human) and it was just him and I because the sperm donor just didnt have the mental capacity to father. I understand making decisions without you being the 1st person you think of. I understand how doing what you think is the best in a situation causes a domino effect, how at a young age you can look at someone and think it is LOVE LOVE LOVE and you're caught in this whirlwind of fast and furious and booze and smoking a lil weed, getting down and dirty in a stolen VW Jetta. How your decisions can affect this lil human being and how having an absentee father shapes your whole entire existence.

Some say you are not your past, but your past is what shapes you, makes you you, makes you tick and tock. How for 21 years we have shaped each other. How he is me and I am him and how many I hate you and I love you's have been thrown my way and how i would not change that for the world.
And now my human has a lil human of his own and the affects of not having his biological father in his life makes him a better father, someone who wants to do better, who at 20 took his responsibility like a man and ran with it. And all I can think is " I DID THAT " ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME

So I understand Olivia more than I think most who read this book will.
She was crazy and self centered and her walls were so high that it was frightening.
Also I love someone very much who is very very much like Olivia who went through the exact same thing.
Somehow someway I hope her story ends up how this one did....

Mare~Slitsread