Member Reviews
This book took me back to when I was thirteen and I was convinced that Taylor Swift was the most country singer out there. It made me feel fuzzy and warm inside, and it was so sweet and funny.
More heart wrenching than expected. This was a great example of contemporary YA done right. I look forward to reading more from this author
Damn this is a stupid stupid book, with a story that was written from such half heart.
Story is most typical love story that could be possible in love stories...
Girl and Boy, A band, and boy keep saying I am wrong for you, I am wrong for you.. but girl get attracted..
And slowly they uncover each other true self.. but what they unpeel is back stories of characters..
It such a common dialogue ever :
"I am wrong for you, I am a bad boy, don't fall for me, I will break your heart"
It's a total, Not You But Me Story
Great book for music lovers. There are multiple song lyrics in the story. Annie and Clay each have their own demons to fight and to a degree they have to do it on their own. When they do need support they are there for each other. Not much romance but it really is about their personal journey to being a better person.
Clay had so much going for him and was so well-written to encompass both the country musician stereotypes and his own unique personality and faults. Annie was sweet and talented and more than a little hung up on her past. Very enjoyable story.
I really enjoyed this story. If you’re a fan of older YA set against the lights of country music stardom, you definitely need to add this one to your TBR list. The writing is beautiful & now I really want to hear Annie & Jefferson’s music.
I’m a sucker for a good contemporary. Especially those that feature enemies to lovers. Which, in a way, this kind of is. It also has the vibes of A Star Is Born, and yeah, I was hooked.
Now I’ll be the first to admit this isn’t a light read. It deals with some pretty heavy topics. And they’re handled beautifully.
I’m not a fan of country music, so I’m pretty sure a lot of the songs chosen/featured and their meanings went over my head. But that didn’t take away from my love of the story itself. Annie and Cole has phenomenal chemistry from the jump. But since he was the bad boy, of course there had to be intense build up. And there was! Oh, so much angst...which I also love. I was also a fan of this being a clean romance—as far as sexual material goes. Yes, there are moments in which it’s thought of or discussed. But there aren’t graphic, unnecessary scenes. A good writer can portray chemistry between characters without resorting to the physical.
This is pretty formulaic in a lot of ways. Many tropes and aspects of a contemporary that you could mark off on a checklist. Yet I was still engrossed, thoroughly. I mean, I read this in a matter of hours. My one complaint would be the ending. It’s not completely open-ended, but there’s enough to make me question what exactly happened next. And in a story like this, I typically prefer full closure. Or as close to it as I can get. I realize the characters are young, but they’ve dealt with so much I feel we could’ve seen more of their futures.
Anyway, fans of A Star Is Born, Love Songs and Other Lies, or any other musician romances will adore this.
Absolutely loved this book! Compelling characters and a great story! I couldn’t put it down! I am a huge country music fan so having country artists as part of this love story made me want to read this book. Thank you so much for letting me read and review this! Shared this book on Twitter as well!
First of all, anything you say is in the vein of Emory Lord...I'm gonna read it. I haven't seen A Star is Born, so I don't know if it's like that at all, but I first saw this book compared to Open Road Summer and here we are.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I pretty much loved Annie instantly. I don't often love characters right away, but Annie is quirky and smart and talented and I loved her. Annie has also had a not-so-easy life, so you feel for her.
Clay. Well. You can tell Clay needs help. He's a jerk, but it's all an act. He needs help. Love. Someone to set him straight.
The chemistry between Clay and Annie is instant and that's just fine with me. I loved their interactions and how they were constantly challenging each other. The descriptions of them singing together made you feel like you were out in the crowd watching it all go down. Erin did an great job making us all feel like we were there.
I loved pretty much everything about them. It wasn't too fast or slow. It all kind of felt just right. The way they shared things with each other that no one else knew let you know their true feelings and it was so sweet and innocent.
Even the drama and the ending was a perfect way to sum it all up. I'm definitely looking forward to more from this author!
Swoony, fabulous, heartwrenching, and beautiful. I'm in love.
We follow Annie and Clay’s story of finding themselves. And just utterly falling in love with them in the process. I honestly didn’t know how I’d feel going into this book. I’m not big on country romance, but boy let me tell you, I’m so glad I did. It was just the perfect romance!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and didn’t have high expectations. Small town girl goes on tour with the bad-boy superstar seemed like a story I’d heard before, more than once. And while that’s true, this story had heart. A lot of heart! I loved Annie and Clay and Fitz so much. They came to life on the pages and I was rooting for them from page one. This was a great story full of grief and healing, finding yourself and redemption and not having to be the person everyone thinks you are. Annie was such a GOOD soul. She loves people fiercely. The author managed to capture her genuine GOODNESS without it feeling too good to be true. She felt real. The story is fully developed, not only focusing on the romance and drama, but fleshing out the why and heart of it all. ♥️
This was a really quick, fun read that offers a very small peek into the world of country music. Some parts felt a little idealized and unlikely, and I don't love books that make a main character completely without flaws. Annie Mathers has a tragic past and grew up out of the limelight even as the child of two famous parents. The perfect timings that led to her connection with the love interest were one thing, but the way he and everyone always treated her as a pinnacle of goodness without flaw got a little old. Overall, it's a fun, light read to lose yourself in.
(ARC provided by Netgalley, my opinions are my own!)
Clay Coolidge is famous. Like, crazy famous. A good ol' boy of country music whose partying is getting out of control. To help his image, his label sends him to help recruit Annie Mathers, a good girl whose parents were country music royalty. Annie's been avoiding the spotlight, to prove to her Gran and herself she won't end up like her parents. When they meet, sparks fly, but Annie has no intentions of letting a star sway her, and Clay, well, he's not the type to be tied down. Still, neither can quite shake the fact that there's something beyond friendship there.
When I started this book, oh man, did I hate Clay. What a jerk! (But of course, a jerk with a reason. A jerk with pain fueling his drinking.) I warmed up to him pretty quickly. I loved Annie straight away, and her band, too. Before I knew it I was rooting for them, both separately and together. I really quickly got attached to both of them, and to the side characters, too. I'm not a huge fan of country music, but I am a major fan of the world the author created!
**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn through NetGalley for review purposes. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.
You’d Be Mine is the story of Annie Mathers and Clay Coolidge. Clay is the quintessential country rockstar. He sings songs about beer, babes, and trucks; he’s a superstar. Annie, on the other hand, is an up and coming country star whose deceased parents are country royalty. Clay, who has a bit of a bad boy reputation, is charged with recruiting Annie, and her band, to play on his summer tour so that he can put himself back in his label’s good books. She reluctantly agrees and they end up touring the United States together. But while touring, country music isn’t the only thing that’s brewing. Could there be a bit of love in the air?
I loved this book! I gave it 5/5 stars on GoodReads, because it was just what I needed at the time. I will admit that it took me awhile to get to it (it was one of the first books I was approved to read on NetGalley), but I am so glad that I did get to it and read it. So let’s get into why I loved it!
Firstly, I loved the way that Erin Hahn wrote it. Her prose was was really lovely, and I loved the songs that she included in the story. They really added depth to the tale, and if they ever do an audiobook for it, I really hope they put the songs to music. I think it would really add something. The song that the title of the book came from was probably my favourite. It kind of punched me in the guy a little bit and gave me all the feels.
Secondly, I loved the characters. Annie and Clay were both beautifully flawed. They felt really real and three dimensional. You wanted to cry with them and you wanted to just shake them and tell them to get their shit together. I really enjoyed their dynamic as well, but not just that, I also enjoyed their dynamic with the other characters. Clay and Fitz are my new favourite male friendship I’ve read, and I loved Annie interacting with her band.
Thirdly, I loved the concept. I grew up listening to country music. My parents were always listening to it on the weekend and I fell in love with people like Reba McEntire and Faith Hill. (Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will always be couple goals for me). I didn’t know that I needed a country music contemporary romance book in my life until I read You’d Be Mine, and it turned out that it was exactly what I needed. I loved the look into the world it gave, and I loved how the story centered around the music.
Finally, I loved that the story had a happy ending. Sometimes I don’t mind a jarring cliffhanger, or something that leads me into impatiently waiting for the next book. However, sometimes you just really need something that sums up prettily and it ends happily. So I really and truly thank Erin Hahn for that.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book if you like romance and contemporary and country music. If you don’t, this book probably isn’t for you and I would not pick it up. Don’t be that person who reads a book that isn’t for them and then leaves a nasty review. But if you do like those things, please pick up this book when it comes out in April.
Thank you net galley for the advance read copy of this novel. This was a contemporary romance about two country music stars, clay and annie, that fall in love while on tour. The pair has severAl on/off type events in their relationship as well as grieving lost family members. There was so much sweating and language in this book. I wish it had been cleaner especially for a youth audience. I will try this author again hoping. Overall 4 stars.
This was such an enjoyable read! It reminded me a little of Open Road Summer by Emmery Lord. It has the same vibe. Reading it gave me the same feeling as listening to a slow moving country song, in the heat of summer, on a beach. Highly recommend.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Suicide, Drug use & Alcoholism
This book was an interesting one, but I have to be the first to admit that Country Music is really not my thing, and since this book was about young Country Music stars it didn't really fit with the type of stuff I read. That is totally on the reader in me, not on the book itself, so I would take my review with a little grain of salt. This book just wasn't for me, but I still was invested in the characters that I was glad I read it. It's a solid book, just not one I would be shouting at everyone to drop everything to read it.
I picked up this book because it looked like a sweet young adult contemporary romance. It does have that in this book, but it also was much darker than I expected. Our protagonist Annie is the daughter of Country Music stars who died when she was thirteen, in a really bad way. I was kind of annoyed that the book drug out telling us how her parents actually died. So I do wish that was revealed much sooner in the book. When you do find out, it makes a lot of sense why Annie has resisted signing to a label for so long. The girl has been through a lot, and she is so afraid of becoming her mother. She makes some mistakes in this book, which I think makes sense for a girl of her age, but she also feels so mature at times. It's clear her grandparents upbringing really stuck.
The love interest Clay is really broken, but the whole time I just really did not like the romance between Clay or Annie. He was just a Grade A Jerk! Even when he starts to change his ways towards the end of the book, I just didn't feel like these two fit together. I do like that Clay gets a redemption Arc in this book and it was good to see his development, but I just never liked the guy. It made it hard for me to root for him, because every time he would do something nice he would turn around a be a huge jerk the next time.
There is only one person of color in this book, that we know about, which is Annie's drummer and best friend Jason Diaz. It's even mentioned early on in their tour that people kept on mistaking him for a roadie. I was glad this was mentioned, but then it's only once and we never really see what comes of that. I did really love Annie's bandmates Jason and Kacey. They gave the book a lot of comic relief, and it was nice to see she had a great support system.
The book is really steeped in Country music, that was cool, but also it didn't really interest me. That is totally a personal opinion, so if you love Country music this would be a perfect book for you.
You'd Be Mine is an emotional story featuring two country music singers - one a nineteen year old out-of-control, damaged superstar and the other an eighteen year old reluctant rising new artist who's skyrocketing up the ladder of fame while toting some personal baggage of her own. Superstar Clay Coolidge is in trouble with his music label after another public display of drunken violence. He's given an ultimatum - talk Annie Mathers and her group-mates into opening for his summer tour or his label will drop him. Annie was born to sing. She'll just have to figure out how to join Clay's tour while resisting the magnetism pulling her to Clay. They may make sweet music together onstage, but she won't repeat the mistakes of her famous parents which led to their tragic deaths. And that means the cowboy with the tight-fitting Levi's and swoon-worthy vocals is off-limits. Right. Looks like it's going to be one long, hot summer on tour!
I love it when a book surprises me, and I've been fortunate to be gifted with several this year. I'll admit I feared this would be just another typical badboy superstar story - pages of nothing but booze and sex. I was happy to discover much more depth, charm, realistic emotional turmoil, and personal growth in You'd Be Mine. The story quickly pulled me into the lives of Clay and Annie. As the summer and story progresses, the tension and chemistry ramps up and the magnitude of the baggage carried by both characters becomes a reality and a barrier between them - making for an impossible situation. Told through alternating points of view (and the lyrics of a few songs), the author does a great job of peeling back the layers and letting readers get inside both character's heads to experience the emotional turmoil, fear, hopes, and dreams driving them - both toward and away from each other. The story tugged on my heart-strings, and I found myself cheering these two on. Clay and Annie's story is supported by a strong, quirky cast that readers will love. I'd love to read more about them (hint hint). Combined with a well-delivered and unique for the theme plot line, it all adds up to a great story I didn't want to stop reading.
Sometimes, love just isn't enough . . . or it's too much. Sometimes people are too broken, too damaged, too jaded, too tired to fight anymore. Sometimes, it's easier to just give up. Clay and Annie's story touches on all of it - it's a tear-jerking country song begging to be sung. I really liked that the author refrained from filling pages with sex, focusing instead on the heart of the characters in this story. It grabbed and held me - page after page, chapter after chapter, right through the end. You'd Be Mine is an emotional, heart touching journey that's well worth the ride! A Must Read!
You'd Be Mine is one of those books that I imagine would be perfect in the big screen. I love the 'hollywood' vibe. Everytime Annie and Clay perform, I could just imagine myself in the front row dancing and singing along. I most probably would have swooned too. And the lyrics. My gods the lyrics! They were heartfelt and soulful. I wished so bad I could listen to the songs.
I wasn't as sold with the chemistry as I would have liked though. It needed more foundation and basis. It bordered on insta-love and everyone who knows me knows I hate that just as much as love triangles. Having said that, I was still rooting for Annie and Clay. Seeing these two struggle with their pasts was heartbreaking. I wanted to give them both the biggest hugs and just hold their hand. Honestly I don't think I'll be as strong as them if I were in their positions at that age.
The rest of the characters were great! Fitz especially was my favorite. I would definitely read his book. I'm not sure about Jason. I kind of like him but I also kind of don't. If that makes sense? I wish there was more 'Under the Willows' scene. I love Kacey, Jason and Annie together. Their friendship felt authentic and I wanted more of it.
My biggest issue is how easily the conflicts were resolved. Even the ending seemed too perfect. I love an HEA as much as the next girl but in this case, I don't think that worked.
Overall I really enjoyed reading the book- every heart-wrenching, romantic and uplifting page of it.
This was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the characters, the backstory, and plot. I did, however, feel that the ending was a little unsatisfying and abrupt.