It’s been a long time since a book hooked me so much that I literally stayed up all night reading until 4AM because I just couldn’t put it down. This was incredible. I believe this book is loosely inspired by Hozier, but other than enjoying his music I don’t know much about him. So I can’t say for sure, but I can see how this book could have been influenced by him.

The love story in this book felt so deep and all-encompassing. It wasn’t just about Clem and Tom falling for each other—it was about their shared passion for music, the creative process, and the emotional weight of making art. I felt so deeply for both of them and loved many of the side characters as well.

Tom was such a dreamy MMC—thoughtful, passionate, and the kind of artist who creates because he has to because the music is part of who he is. He understood Clem in a way that felt so genuine and he knew how to navigate her insecurities without making her feel small. Their connection was so tangible and I truly felt their love not just for each other but for the music they made.

I haven’t read Kate Golden’s other books yet but I’m about to pick them up immediately because this was amazing!

It’s never too late to make a dream come true. While Clementine is still young, her life has been centered around taking care of her mother, leaving her grounded in her small Texas town with her singing passion buried deep inside with only a small escape through a local venue. But when her friend offers her the chance of a lifetime to tour as a backup singer for an Irish musician, she takes it. The last thing Clementine ever expected was falling for the elusive yet handsomely charming lead singer, Tom Halloran. Kate Golden sure knows how to write a simply beautiful love story that brings all the feels. If Not for My Baby itself is a love song and the book develops perfectly around it, a duet in itself filled with chemistry that jumps off the pages.

I am probably going to come back and edit this review because I do not have enough words to share how much I loved this book and how Tom and Clem are my new favorite couple who will not live rent free in my head and heart.

OH MY GOD 🥹😍

This book is about to become my entire personality. The chemistry between these two was utter perfection! Apparently my new fav trope is introverted male musicians finding their muse. The fact that she's his backup singer and doesn't believe in love made it 100x better. I absolutely devoured this.

I also loved every single side character. The band was amazing! I was slightly worried about female drama and didn't need to be. I loved Clem's mom, she's so encouraging and supportive. Even Tom's family was adorable. Everything about this was a 10/10.

Forced proximity
He falls first
Rockstar & backup singer
Age gap

I can’t believe I received an ARC of this. My life is officially complete. Thank you so much Berkley! *this is my honest opinion*

It was so fun to go on this ride with Kate. I absolutely adored the found family in this book, and the tour scenery of this book. It felt like I was going on the Kingfisher tour with the band myself. This was my first ever rockstar romance book, and what a joy that I got to experience this genre with the my Irish hunk of a man, Tom Halloran. I cannot wait for you all to be able to enjoy this man yourselves because 🥵

What a piece of literature. I started and finished this within three hours. I couldn't put it down. The yearning, the romance, the tension, the chemistry, the seduction of the lyrics and long glances. This is a prime example of what romance as a genre and emotion is about. I loved the main characters Clementine and Tom. I really enjoyed them individually and together. I loved the cast of secondary and side characters. And I really, really enjoyed the writing. It was my first time reading a book by Kate Golden even though I've had her fantasy series on my TBR for the longest, and trust it will absolutely not be my last.

Reading this was absolutely magical. At first I thought it was slow in the beginning but once I saw some hints I really could not stop reading. This book is unstoppable. The things I liked the most were the musical emotion when Tom and Clem talk about music and the lyricism. I liked how tom is a hopeless romantic but Clem is a cynic (or so she claims). And I love how he falls first.
Both their characters have on point backstories that define each other but once they met they just had the chemistry, even if their differences were obvious. They just made sense. I like how Tom is this calm force to Clem’s dramatics. As for their love story, I liked how they both felt it at the same time but it takes them a bit to cave in. This book is incredible addictive and I cannot wait for it to release so I can buy ajd read it again.

*4.5 stars*

Do you ever read a book that feels like it's your kryptonite? Like it might not be the most perfect book but there is something about it that you just can't get enough of? That was this book for me. I have such a WEAKNESS for Rockstar romances and this one was so good. I couldn't get enough!!!! Like I feel like I wanted to just live inside it.

I,especially, love that it felt different than other rockstar romances. The rockstar isn't a tattooed, alpha, cocky, player type. It's not all about sex drugs and rock & roll. It's not crammed packed with stupid drama. (No, it's not another Daisy Jones and the Six minus it being about a band.)

Instead, it's a rockstar that is actually so sensitive and sweet. He's got this sexy, professor look PLUS HE'S FRECKIN' IRISH!!! I was drooling over him the instant he entered the scene. I mean he's almost too perfect! *Almost.* I LOVED him so much. He's a romantic, poet and the type to fall first. I wish we got even more of Tom. Like I would have loved his POV to get his voice more.

Our main character, Clementine, feels very real. She's not perfect. She's just an ordinary girl that happens to get thrown into a very epic situation! I want to be her, if only I could sing. While there were times she frustrated me (especially towards the end) I really enjoyed rooting for her and being along with her on this journey.

The romantic connection with them was HOT and it had a good build. It's not necessary a super slowburn like I usually prefer but it had enough tension, (especially sexual tension.) I was so nervous this was would be over "sexified" and lust filled like a lot of books can be and don't get me wrong it's got some STEAM 🔥 (the door is WIDE open my friends) which I didn't actually mind for the first time in a while. (It wasn't over done thankfully.) I felt like they had such good chemistry!!!

There was something about this writing and the characters that I just devoured. It was so easy for me to get sucked into and didn't want to stop. It was my drug. I will say the "conflict" kind of brought it down for me a bit because it was so cliche and unnecessary. I wish she would have just talked things out BUT I know an author usually has to add some type of issue to bring the ending together. But it just felt unnecessary and then drawn out with too much word fill. I am glad it wasn't too painful tho.

However, other than that I was just so in love with this book and our hella sexy, kind hearted rockstar Tom! I wish his songs were real and that he was real. This is a book I could easily reread!! It just felt so euphoric and addictive! If you're like me and love a good rockstar romance, you gotta give this one a try! So far I've really enjoyed this authors writing style and hope she keeps doing more like this!

*Thank you to the publishers for my gifted copy!*

I am positively FOAMING at the mouth for this book, the easiest 6 stars I’ve ever given! Male yearning is criminally underrated and coupled with the slow burn of the romance?? My god. So good. I am truly obsessed.

4.5/5 Stars! I was HOOKED! Once the mmc started talking, I could not put this book down. I also was listening to Hozier on repeat in my head as I was reading bc the mmc was totally inspire by him and I am obsessed. I LOVED the mmc. The Irish accent, the sweet and calming composition and the insanely talented singer???? It was all just perfection. I loved all of the characters and how they formed such a bond on tour. The love story was so good. I was honestly waiting for every moment they interacted because the yearning was INCREDIBLE. I only wish it had more of them.

“I get it.. You’re a hopeless romantic”. His eyes warm on mine. “I’ll concede I’m susceptible to lovesickness. And, perhaps, the errant bout of excruciating yearning. And you?"

If Not for My Baby is a Hozier inspired romance novel that’s elevated than your typical musician romance novel. It’s hands down one of my top reads of 2025 (and it’s only February, eek!). Clementine a Broadway musical lover, cautious around love and romance, hesitantly leaves her hometown to join the tour of renowned singer Halloran (also known as Tom). Moody, mysterious, and soulful Halloran takes an interest in his new backup singer. As they are crammed in a tour bus with fellow band mates they grow inexplicably closer and peel back their emotional layers. Alas, falling in love.

I have to point this out: the tension in this book is perfectly timed. It's a luxurious push and pull between Clementine and Tom (aka Halloran). It builds and flexes that the pay off is done with such ease. It doesn't feel forced at all. The lyricism and artistic awareness, is astounding. Kate is an author that appreciates music. I must tip my hat to the concert scenes. They were set entirely in their own ambience that you felt in the moment. I could totally picture myself swaying in time to a song I’ve never heard before and basking in the talent of a fictional musician. Also, songwriting is 100% in this author’s wheelhouse, like damn:the lyrics felt ripe and earthy.

To bring this to a close, I'm hopeful that some seeds were planted for a future book based on some other characters. But for now I’m pinching myself that I got to read this book early. Now I have to hold onto my excitement until August 2025. I think it's pretty obvious this is a 5 STAR.

Thank you so much Berkley Romance and Berkley Publishing for the digital arc.

First off big thank you to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for providing me an arc to read and review. This was one of my most anticipated romance books of 2025. I fell in love with Kate Golden after reading her debut Romantasy series- The Sacred Stones. I knew Kate was already a master of writing great romance and spice in a fantasy element. I was excited to see her tackle it in a traditional romcom environment. And let me tell you folks it did not disappoint.

I will admit I was a little bit nervous starting the book off. I’m not the hugest fan of singers/band romance trope. However, I enjoyed this much more than I expected myself to. I know everyone was saying they were picturing Hozier while reading this. But for me I kept picturing Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from a Star is Born. PS - yes I know the ages don’t match up for these characters at all, but hey it’s what my head picked so let me have it.

I loved our main characters Tom & Clem. Tom was such a heartthrob from the beginning, especially with that Irish accent 😉 He was also so down to earth and I loved watching him call Clem out on her bolting BS. Speaking of Clem don’t get me wrong I love her. She’s witty and genuinely cares for everyone she meets. I also loved watching her grow and develop. But my only minor complaint was she kept giving the same argument over and over. So I fully applauded Tom when he made Clem put in her big girl pants and gave her fears.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this story and I cannot recommend it enough. Can’t wait to get my trophy copy when it comes out later this August.

This was SO good. I’m a sucker for a musician in a book. Add a rockstar, a band, a tour, and the backup singer? I’m foaming at the mouth!!!!!!! I absolutely loved all of the discussion around music in this book, the lyrics, behind the scenes of a tour and the concerts and the tour bus. It was just so much fun to read. The romance was also 👌🏼 and her writing!!!! This is my first book by Kate Golden and I can’t get over some of the quotes in this book. I’ll leave you with one of them to encourage you to read it
“He’s already indelible ink scribbled across the fabric of me.” HUH?????? Insane!!!!
Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the arc!!!

This book was fun to read but unfortunately not my favorite. I did enjoy the premise of the book and thought it was fun to follow along the storyline, however, I did not connect with the romance as much as I typically do when reading!

I struggled with the chemistry between the characters, I think it would’ve been even better if Tom and Clem had some more solo time outside of the tour to connect and get to know each other. I also have to note that the hozier inspired is definitely more intense than I thought it would be but overall I loved Tom’s character and the music element!!

Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, I still urge others to try it out themselves! (especially if you were/are a fanfiction girl)

Wow! My first Kate Golden book and it will not be my last. This story was so fun! The music, the lyrics, the yearning!!! I had so much fun reading this book. Can’t wait to recommend it to others!

This is an extremely romantic story about with just the right amount of (very large) spice. The writing is sharp and witty and it immediately sucked me in. Clementine’s humor made me laugh out loud over and over and Tom’s way with words had me swooooooooning. I love the whole found family and how they are this crazy mix of personalities but they mesh together perfectly. I legitimately cared about every character… except Jen, she’s the worst.

This book is everything—I absolutely loved it! The chemistry between Clementine and Thomas is electric, and their journey from the stage to unexpected romance is so captivating. I couldn’t get enough of Clementine’s strong yet vulnerable character, and Thomas? A total poet-rockstar dreamboat. The way they clash and grow together over the course of the tour had me hooked every page. And honestly, a Hozier-inspired novel? Perfection. This was the ultimate fangirl dream come true.

I’m not usually a musician romance girlie but I do love me the dulcet tones and the ethereal nature imagery of a certain Irish singer songwriter and this totally delivered on what it set out to do.

I was kicking my feet giddy reading this. I think I’ll put me on a romance trend for the next couple of weeks because Ill be chasing the rush of all this second hand yearning between halloran and clementine.

I can’t say it was the *best* romance I’ve read. But I simply had too good of a time to care. I would be curious what the experience would be for reading not aware of the lore and/or said Irish singer songwriters aesthetic/appeal. So YMMV.

This one was written for the women who have dreamed of having a song written about them by Hozier.

This was ROMANTIC. The meet-cute was everything. Although, at times I was annoyed by Clementine & her denying herself of so much… it felt real. & her first love in her early twenties, while dramatic at times, also felt more real because of it.

Tom was… well, everything. Between the lyrics of his song & his overall personality… I am just so in love with yet another fictional man.

I thought the writing flowed smoothly, great succession of events. The imagery was also incredible & appropriate given how magical the story felt throughout.

A+ rockstar romance. The slow burn. The yearning. It's just SO GOOD. I honestly didn't know that this premise was missing from my life, but I am so happy to have discovered it. Obtaining a print copy might be the only thing to make 2025 worth living through. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more contemporary romance from Kate Golden in the future.

Kate Golden writing this book was 10000% the move. If you like swoony romance about two musicians that takes you on a tour throughout the states while they maybe… probably… definitely fall in love— then you’ll def want to add this one to your TBR!! Kate combined charm and wit and emotional complexities so beautifully in this story about a woman with a once in a million lifetimes opportunity to perform on the world’s stage alongside a mega star. INFMB has so many of my fav tropes—he falls first, sneaking around, and a found family (to name a few lol). It’s going to leave you starry-eyed and desperately wanting to go listen to some live music!