The premise of this seemed really intriguing, but it turned out to be a disappointing read.
I found that the pacing was far too slow and I would put this down largely to the overly descriptive writing style. I’m all for beautiful and rich descriptions, but this book felt like that it was filled with unnecessary descriptions of the most mundane things. Despite the emotional nature of the premise, I really struggled in forming any emotional connections with the characters as they all felt bland and empty.

This book held a lot of promise but, for me, it fell flat and ended up being a tad boring.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The Trumpet Lesson by Diane Romaine is a poignant story of love, loss, repercussions, and redemption.

Set in a colorful, artsy community in Mexico, the story unfolds of a woman desperately trying to avoid facing past mistakes in her life.

Callie tries so hard to isolate herself from life, but her ever expanding circle of friends simply do not allow her that luxury. From her best friend, Armando to her mother and aunt, the minor characters add depth to the story.

Just when the pace begins to slow, the author adds a twist that has you turning pages once more.

The setting is so well described, it is nearly a character itself.

The Trumpet Lesson should appeal to all fiction readers, book club participants, as well as readers who can relate to the 1960’s generation.

I received a review copy from Net Galley and She Writes Press. This is my unbiased opinion.

Callie Quinn is a woman who has left Chicago for Guanajuato in the hopes that she can forget her past, come to terms with the pregnancy she had 15 years prior. She is a translator and she can work from home which is perfect for Callie. Until she meets Pamela Fischer, the new trumpeter in the local orchestra.

Callie wants to get a lesson from Pamela and her friend Armando convinces her that is what she should do. Along with her search for her daughter, whom she has never met, she tries to convince Armando to come out of the closet. As Callie tries to hide her past but still tries to find her daughter, she comes across some colorful characters, such as Callie's Aunt Ida and Pamela's mother.

At first, I didn't think I would like the characters or even the story as a whole, but I usually give a book 100 pages before I put it aside. That said, I stuck with it I ultimately really did enjoy it. The writing was really good, enough to let the reader know the deep parts of the character but not as to get bogged down with the complexities of their pasts! I highly recommend it! Great story from a different time!

I received a free electronic copy on August 16, 2019, of this excellent modern novel from Netgalley, Dianne Romain, and SheWrites Press. Thank you all, for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Trumpet Lesson of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest, personal opinion of this work. This is a novel I can happily recommend to friends and family and is an excellent YA or teen read. It is a novel to savor on a rainy day or as the snow fills in the hills.

Dianne Romain brings us a novel set for the most part in the small Mexican town of Guanajuato. It is the tale of young men and women evolving into the well-rounded adults they need to become to thrive in this complicated modern world we now live in. We see their lives from the perspective of Callie Quinn, an in-demand translator to and from English-Spanish-French.

Callie is a Chicago girl transplanted to Guanajuato in an effort to isolate herself in hopes she can come to terms with the secrets that have kept her single and in pain since high school. All of these young people live with the aching guilt of secrets they feel they can't share with anyone. Pamela Fischer, the new trumpeter in the local orchestra, is the catalyst that begins bringing to the surface the hidden lives of the protagonists of this fine novel. The arrival of the mothers of Callie and Pamela and Callies' Aunt Ida bring to a head the complexities that keep these young adults enclosed in their secrets and guilt.

I wanted to like this book but ultimately for me it failed to engage my interest. I think it was due to the fact that the story began at a point when a lot of the action had taken place and the author presented the characters without their back story. I found myself disinterested in the plot as a result. When that happens, for me, that is fatal. Sorry I cannot recommend.

An interesting character study but I found the plot slow and the book hard to get into
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

I found this book to be slow and uninteresting. I was hoping for a lot more about Callie's past and the racial tensions surrounding her pregnancy with a young black man, however it was mostly everyday details of her routine and day to day life. It reminded me of Hemingway where the author gives a lot of details describing the scenes, for example there's a lot about Jehovah's Witnesses in the book to the point where it got annoying. I was not a fan of this book and could not get into it, finding myself speeding through the last 50 pages just for the sake of finishing.

An interesting literary exploration - I recommend The Trumpet Lesson for any reader looking for character-driven and developed fiction.