I am not entirely sure how to rate this one. The audiobook sounded choppy and robotic, however, I believe this was at the fault of the Net Galley Self app. I couldn't get more than a chapter in since it kept glitching and skipping every few words. The few seconds I got hearing the narrator's actual voice were quite lovely.

3.5 stars

An opera singer in training falls for an enigmatic older man, & lots of drama ensues. This is a book with great characters & wonderful prose, & I enjoyed the setting in the performing arts world. Unfortunately I found the MC to be a pushover, & didn’t like the ending much. I will be looking out for future books from this writer, though!

[What I liked:]

•The writing is really nice. I especially liked how the writer talked about music & the performing arts. It was neat how in the scenes where the MC was performing on stage she narrated the (opera) character’s motivations & feelings in a relatable way. I thought that was creative & impactful.

•The characters are pretty top notch! In addition to Anna the MC, & Max who has some complexity (although, do we ever really get to know the real him?), many of the side characters are kind of hilarious in a realistically absurd way. The sharp observations about humans & their idiosyncrasies & contradictions are spot on. I particularly enjoyed the landlords & Laurie’s mum.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Anna, the MC, is kind of pathetic. She throws away important career opportunities, her own wants & needs, her basic sense of self—all to conform to the capricious desires of the man she’s sort-of-not-really dating. Then she blames him for it. And tbf, he doesn’t always treat her the best, though I don’t think he’s actually terrible (it’s kinda hard to tell), more that Anna takes his suggestions as commands & then tried to hold him accountable for her own choices & it’s pretty cringey.

•I kind of hate the ending. The MC starts having some personal growth, getting stronger, & things are resolving in a positive direction, & then all that is ruined with the last sentence. It’s a slightly ambiguous last scene, but I’m led to believe that in the end Anna stays rather pathetic.

CW: substance abuse

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]