Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was about rediscovering yourself and breaking away from your comfort zone to take risks. I liked the musical themes tied into the story.

This was a cute read! Not my usual type of romance book but I did enjoy the single dad love story. The music touches were also really fun. Thank you for this opportunity!

Read an ARC.

Single dad meets his teenage rockstar crush, hijinks ensue. I absolutely loved the Baltimore bits and everything that seems to resonate from a positive non-nuclear family. The ability to co-parent without demonizing anyone? Sign me up.

Relatable characters except, without having ever been famous it's really difficult for me to imagine the motivation of a movie star ex husband and literally every time he was mentioned OR appeared it took me out of the story. Maybe too many secondary characters, could have spent more time with the two main characters instead.

Never really had deep feelings about any of the main characters in this book, except the city of Baltimore, and am very glad they made it to a baseball game!

3.5 stars
Billy and his son Caleb live above a cool music store named Charm City Rocks in Baltimore. After a funny incident, Caleb gets in contact with former famous rocker Margot Hammer, which serves as an impetus for her to visit their town. Then social media posts bring her back to popularity, and will Billy and Margot connect?

This story is cute and has the right beats (pun intended!). It makes me want to live, or even visit, Baltimore. It comes across as having a small town charm that I thought Baltimore was too metropolitan to have. I don’t often see the music scene as the setting for fiction, so that was a great element as well.

I wish we had learned more about Billy, our male main character. He loves the piano, wears cardigans (it’s mentioned so often that I think wearing cardigans is a personality feature), and has had a crush on Margot Hammer since he was young. Since Billy wasn’t fully developed, the love story didn’t click for me like I had hoped it would.

Some threads weren’t woven as well as I think they should have been. For example, the son Caleb is trying to decide between going to Johns Hopkins (close by) and Stanford (where he really wants to go but far away). Aside from the fact that this seems pretty low stakes (both are extremely good schools, just on different sides of the country), it wasn’t threaded through the novel. It was in a very early chapter and then at the end. Since it was the B or C plot, I think it should have been more throughout the book as the character(s) grappled with it.

Also, there weren’t often smooth chapter transitions. It felt sometimes that events were told more than shown. I think it needed some overall story integration. That being said, it was still a fun read.

There were a couple things that rang odd to me, and I’m pointing them out so I hope that they get fixed before publication. These are super easy fixes. 1) One of Caleb’s teachers calls their family structure “nontraditional.” A. Having a parent married to someone else is NOT nontraditional these days, or even 20 years ago. B. Educators would NOT say that. 2) You can’t get name brand shoes, like Vans, at Target. This one is a super small detail, but it took me out of the story. Just have Margot go to Famous Footwear instead.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Private Music teacher Billy has had a crush on rock drummer Margot for many years. After watching a Netflix documentary about the history of rock and roll bands with his teenage son Caleb, Caleb hatches a plan to get Margot and his dad to meet. The plan works, although not in the way Caleb planned and Billy and Margot begin to enjoy each others company. As time goes on, of course, we run into issues, and the interference of Margots ex, a handsome movie star, as well as her previous band mates.

I found this romance fun but very predictable, and felt I could have used a little more character development as I was never totally invested in any of our protagonists. I did feel that Baltimore and the small area of the city that the story took place was a strong character in itself making me want to go back and visit and get a pretzel from Gustov the pretzel man. This would be a great book to have a playlist to listen to while you read!

Thank you to net galley for a free copy of this book for an unbiased review.

What would happen if you had the opportunity to meet your rock star crush as an adult? And what if that rock star liked you back? For Baltimore native and well-loved music teacher Billy Perkins, this has become his reality. He is pleased with his job, apartment above a record shop, and teenage son. Billy is happy. However, his son thinks he needs a little push to start dating again. That push involves getting Margot Hammer, a former drummer for a once-famous band, to perform at Charm City Rocks. When Margot arrives in Baltimore, mistakes and missteps lead to an unexpected meet-cute and a lasting connection.

Author Matthew Norman has created a cast of relatable and likable characters with witty and realistic dialogue. The supporting characters were also well-developed and added depth to the story. The author did an excellent job of balancing the different plot elements of the story, from the romance to the music to the father-son relationship. The pacing was just right, and the ending was satisfying without being too predictable. Charm City Rocks is a delightful read and worth adding to your shelf.

Billy is a music teacher. When his son, Caleb, finds out his dad had a crush on Margot Hammer in his teens, he decides to trick her into coming to Baltimore. Billy has no idea what Caleb has done. Caleb is mortified when Margot comes, and he has to admit what he has done. Angry, Margot stomps off to the bar across the street for a beer. Billy follows her and before long she is asked to join the band playing the drums for which she is famous. Margot misses playing in a band but not the attention she gets from social media. Margot goes back home to New York but before long she is back to spend some time with Billy. I loved this book! It was creative as the story unfolds to include Margot’s sexy, actor husband, Caleb’s mom and her husband, Aaron, the neighbors on the street, and Billy’s music students. I could picture Margot and Billy sitting at his Steinway playing music. Margot could play many instruments and write songs. I enjoyed Billy’s crush on Margot both as a teen and now as an adult. Caleb loves his family and all he wants is to see them happy. This book is full of love, an eclectic group of characters, and much laughter.

I really adored this story right from the beginning. The whole journey was so fun. Every character really had their own personality and was pretty well rounded. It's a cute, but not at all simple, love story.

There is SO MUCH Baltimore weaved through this story, it's not just "oh it takes place in Baltimore" THEY GO TO ORIOLES GAMES! And walk through fells and the inner harbor. As someone who lived in Baltimore City for a bit, it was really awesome to read this.

I took one star away because of the lack of resolution for a few storylines I had become invested in. The ending was just a bit lackluster. By the end, there were so many characters that I cared about, I expected to get the answers to /what happened/ for each of the characters, and that just wasn't the case.

This book is funny and charming. I just wanted a little more action. I was not glued to these pages and could easily put the book down. Overall, not a bad story especially if you love a story with a rock and roll theme. This story moved quickly, but sometimes it felt a little too quick.

A love story for aging millennials who have never given up that dream that they will end up their rock star crush. I loved this charming story and felt that the story and characters were so relatable. This book is a reminder that it's never too late!

This book lives up to its name, and is a real charmer. If you love music, and if you know Baltimore, you will especially enjoy this book. Margot Hammer is a famous drummer who scandalously blew up her band. Billy Perkins has loved her for decades as a far from afar. A totally ridiculous and adorable twist of fate (with the help of Billy's son Caleb) brings them together. So much of this plot seems improbable, but these characters are so funny and likable that you really enjoy going along for the ride. Caleb's mom Robyn and her husband Aaron also play a big role, as does Margot's famous actor ex-husband Lawson. The perspectives in the novel switch, and keep you on your feet. I just couldn't stop reading because I really wanted to know how all these disparate and different people were going to end up, and the finale of the book doesn't disappoint. I can already see this being made into a movie or limited series.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

This was a great story! I really enjoyed that the main characters were older and finding their love. It was an interesting read that combined romance music.

Billy Perkins is happy to be a piano teacher living above a record store in Baltimore and seeing his son Caleb for alternating weeks. One night, Caleb is up late after listening to Billy's favorite drummer Margot Hammer and finds some gummy candy hiding near the cereal. He eats the THC laced gummies by accident and become inspired to write to Margot via her publisher and invite her to Baltimore under the guise that he is a young (female) drummer who is inspired by her. In NYC, Margot has been a recluse since the breakup of her band and concurrent breakup of her marriage to famous actor Lawson. Her PR company finds the email from Caleb and whisks her down to Baltimore. This was a strange meet-cute but Margot finds her musical spark again and she and Billy eventually hit it off. A lot of complications ensue-their exes, their geographical distance, their career paths, Caleb's imminent departure for college, etc. This story was heartwarming with a lot of fun secondary characters. Lawson was my favorite -his narcissistic POV was hysterical. I also loved how everyone kept mentioning Billy's cardigans-I felt like they were a physical representation of his personality.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review.

What a pleasant surprise! This a novel about an almost extinct species, a truly nice and happy man. Billy is a forty-something music teacher living in Baltimore. He is the father of Caleb, a very tall 18 year old son. He shares custody with Robyn, Caleb’s mother, who is a vice-president of financial company.
You don’t really need to know about music (or Rock and Roll) to enjoy the theme here. Since he was very young, Billy has had a crush on Margot Hammer, the drummer in a female rock band. And when he meets her, through a series of unlikely events, watch for the black-and-white film to become rainbow-hued. What I guess I’m saying is that this is a fairy tale in the age of social media. Everything that happens is seen, recorded and seen on the internet. And that affects the plot.
Keeping the fairy tale idea in mind, just go ahead and enjoy the characters: The vinyl record store owner, the pretzel vendor (really? Flavored frosted pretzel toppings?), the Baltimore Ravens star and father of a piano prodigy, the Academy Award Nominated Black British actor formerly married to Margot, and a young boy who plays drums in the street on a set of Home Depot garbage cans.
It’s a very sweet love story whose ending leaves you with a sense of satisfaction with the novel, kind of like the taste of that fresh pretzel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC copy to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.
What a pleasant surprise! This a novel about an almost extinct species, a truly nice and happy man. Billy is a forty-something music teacher living in Baltimore. He is the father of Caleb, a very tall 18 year old son. He shares custody with Robyn, Caleb’s mother, who is a vice-president of financial company.
You don’t really need to know about music (or Rock and Roll) to enjoy the theme here. Since he was very young, Billy has had a crush on Margot Hammer, the drummer in a female rock band. And when he meets her, through a series of unlikely events, watch for the black-and-white film to become rainbow-hued. What I guess I’m saying is that this is a fairy tale in the age of social media. Everything that happens is seen, recorded and seen on the internet. And that affects the plot.
Keeping the fairy tale idea in mind, just go ahead and enjoy the characters: The vinyl record store owner, the pretzel vendor (really? Flavored frosted pretzel toppings?), the Baltimore Ravens star and father of a piano prodigy, the Academy Award Nominated Black British actor formerly married to Margot, and a young boy who plays drums in the street on a set of Home Depot garbage cans.
It’s a very sweet love story whose ending leaves you with a sense of satisfaction with the novel, kind of like the taste of that fresh pretzel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC copy to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.
What a pleasant surprise! This a novel about an almost extinct species, a truly nice and happy man. Billy is a forty-something music teacher living in Baltimore. He is the father of Caleb, a very tall 18 year old son. He shares custody with Robyn, Caleb’s mother, who is a vice-president of financial company.
You don’t really need to know about music (or Rock and Roll) to enjoy the theme here. Since he was very young, Billy has had a crush on Margot Hammer, the drummer in a female rock band. And when he meets her, through a series of unlikely events, watch for the black-and-white film to become rainbow-hued. What I guess I’m saying is that this is a fairy tale in the age of social media. Everything that happens is seen, recorded and seen on the internet. And that affects the plot.
Keeping the fairy tale idea in mind, just go ahead and enjoy the characters: The vinyl record store owner, the pretzel vendor (really? Flavored frosted pretzel toppings?), the Baltimore Ravens star and father of a piano prodigy, the Academy Award Nominated Black British actor formerly married to Margot, and a young boy who plays drums in the street on a set of Home Depot garbage cans.
It’s a very sweet love story whose ending leaves you with a sense of satisfaction with the novel, kind of like the taste of that fresh pretzel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC copy to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.
What a pleasant surprise! This a novel about an almost extinct species, a truly nice and happy man. Billy is a forty-something music teacher living in Baltimore. He is the father of Caleb, a very tall 18 year old son. He shares custody with Robyn, Caleb’s mother, who is a vice-president of financial company.
You don’t really need to know about music (or Rock and Roll) to enjoy the theme here. Since he was very young, Billy has had a crush on Margot Hammer, the drummer in a female rock band. And when he meets her, through a series of unlikely events, watch for the black-and-white film to become rainbow-hued. What I guess I’m saying is that this is a fairy tale in the age of social media. Everything that happens is seen, recorded and seen on the internet. And that affects the plot.
Keeping the fairy tale idea in mind, just go ahead and enjoy the characters: The vinyl record store owner, the pretzel vendor (really? Flavored frosted pretzel toppings?), the Baltimore Ravens star and father of a piano prodigy, the Academy Award Nominated Black British actor formerly married to Margot, and a young boy who plays drums in the street on a set of Home Depot garbage cans.
It’s a very sweet love story whose ending leaves you with a sense of satisfaction with the novel, kind of like the taste of that fresh pretzel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC copy to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.
What a pleasant surprise! This a novel about an almost extinct species, a truly nice and happy man. Billy is a forty-something music teacher living in Baltimore. He is the father of Caleb, a very tall 18 year old son. He shares custody with Robyn, Caleb’s mother, who is a vice-president of financial company.
You don’t really need to know about music (or Rock and Roll) to enjoy the theme here. Since he was very young, Billy has had a crush on Margot Hammer, the drummer in a female rock band. And when he meets her, through a series of unlikely events, watch for the black-and-white film to become rainbow-hued. What I guess I’m saying is that this is a fairy tale in the age of social media. Everything that happens is witnessed, recorded and seen on the internet. And that affects the plot.

Keeping the fairy tale idea in mind, just go ahead and enjoy the characters: The vinyl record store owner, the pretzel vendor (really? Flavored frosting pretzel toppings?), the Baltimore Ravens star and father of a piano prodigy, the Academy Award Nominated Black British actor formerly married to Margot, and a young boy who plays drums in the street on a set of Home Depot garbage cans.

Matthew Norman's novel is a very sweet love story whose ending leaves you with a sense of satisfaction with a sense of satisfaction, kind of like the taste of that fresh pretzel?

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC copy to enjoy in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story with a fun premise, I read it in one night!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This is a fun one! The rock star/non-celebrity trope works. Fantastic characters and an entirely engaging storyline. I found it easy and fun to visualize the scenes unfolding. Lots of swearing, but a clean romance. Pub date is June 2023 and will be a fun beach read!

Thank you #NetGalley and #DellPublishing for the ARC e-book!

A cute novel about falling in and out of love with a rock and roll twist. Billy is a single dad who teaches music and lives a simple and happy life. One day his son who is ready to go off to college is worried that his dad is lonely so he reaches out to his dad's old crush, Margot Hammer. Margot was a famous drummer but her band broke up many years ago. Margot and Billy meet and sparks fly but old flames threaten to derail the budding romance.

There were some good moments in this book but overall this book lacked a wow factor. Baltimore was the setting and I liked how the author brought the city to life. I just wanted a little more action. I was not glued to these pages and could easily put the book down. Overall, not a bad story especially if you love a story with a rock and roll theme.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this arc.

This book seems very charming and cute, from what I can tell, people really liked it. I did not finish it, however, this book is just not my brand of romance novels. That being said, the characters were well written, the second chance romance was a good plot line. I’d tell others to give this book a chance!

I received an Advanced Reader copy from Netgalley for my honest review. I was hooked from the beginning. I remember working in the record section of a store in the 70s. Music playing and the Carly Simon album No Secrets lined the walls. When music is a fIber of your being, it is as basic as breathing. Billy is a genuine happy guy with an unconventional family. His 18 yr old son Caleb goes between Billy’s home in Fells Point and his mother and stepfather’s house in Roland Park. Caleb uses a ruse to get former rock star Margot to come to the record store to meet his dad. Margot’s ex is a famous movie star. Things get complicated with love and work relationships. The Fells Point neighborhood bars and street vendors entice the reader to visit Baltimore. Read Charm City Rocks, put on your favorite songs, and escape with Billy and Margot.

Here’s what I liked about “Charm City Rocks” by Matthew Norman - it’s a really sweet story. It’s about a really sweet guy, Billy, who just seems like one of those guys you want to be friends with - he’s happy, he’s content, he enjoys his life, he likes his friends, he has his routine, and he’s fine. He likes his kid (soon to be going off to college), he not only is able to co-parent with his ex-girlfriend but also has an okay relationship with her husband so they all can parent the kid. This book wasn’t a steamy romance - it also wasn’t about teenage first love angst - instead it was about adults trying to figure out their lives (and wants) yet also being realistic about those wants in their lives. I cannot say that I was too thrilled by the secondary characters popping in, but they did add some depth (and confusion) for the main characters to deal with - and clarify life with. Overall, this was an enjoyable story … and “you go, guy in the cardigan!”