The Street Singer

This is a very well written book that once you start reading you can't stop. It is written in such a way you feel like you are there. Kathleen Neely writes with so much emotion and paints the scenery with words. You will fall in love with the people in this book . I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes good, clean, christian fiction. Thank you Pelican Book Group via NetGalley for the free copy of this awesome book. This is my honest opinion.

A sweet inspirational story! Adda, a homeless street singer turns out to be Adaline, a well known singer from the past. Trisha is in her last year of law school, studying for the bar and engaged to a politician's son. Trisha, having just inherited her grandparent's home comes upon Adaline's old albums while cleaning out the house. Old memories of listening and dancing with her pap and her friend's sighting of Adeline prompts Trisha to search for her. Rusty, a young attorney and Trisha befriend Adda and help her right a wrong. I love the memory box that Adda kept and how it told her story. The characters and story was very believable and touching. Highly recommended!

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

The Street Singer by Kathleen Neeley is a wonderful story of caring for others and helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Trisha was raised by her grandparents after her parents died in a car crash. She grew up listening to the music of singer Adaline on the old phonograph and dancing with her grandfather. Her grandparents have passed away and left her the house along with all their collections. Her best friend, Julie helps her to sort through things and tells her she has seen Adaline singing on a street corner in downtown Asheville. A friend from her grandparents’ church named Jimmy helps her decide what to remodel in the house before selling it. Trisha’s fiancé in not happy when he discovers she is going downtown to listen to a singer named Adda Marks and also that she is fixing things in the house and not selling it as it is. Will their relationship survive? How much can she help Adda get back on her feet?
I loved this story! Wonderful characters with Christian ideals who want to help and support others whenever they can. The characters are so well written I felt I knew them and wanted all of them to get their heart’s desires. I give this book 45 of 5 stars and recommend it to everyone who enjoys a great read.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Street Singer is a fascinating and compelling story of abuse and injustice of the past, mitigated with love and hope for the future. It follows the story of two women, one a gifted but homeless street singer with a secret and surprising past, and the other a bright young woman just beginning to chart the course of her life. I enjoyed this book immensely and read it almost in a single sitting, unable to put it down. As it begins with the playing of a vinyl record, I thought back to times before CDs and digital music when the whirling turntable and the scratchy needle defined popular music. The street singer is Adda Marsh, now in her declining years, but once known as “Adeline,” a name to be reckoned with in the music industry, nominated for a Grammy, but left abandoned by both family and her agent/employer when her voice lost the beauty of youth. Her champion, Trish, is a young woman just graduating from law school and about to be married. On the tip of a friend, she finds Adda, a busker on the streets of Asheville, NC, and remembers her rich voice from the past, introduced to her by her grandfather, recently passed away, as he taught Trisha to dance to Adda’s music. The friendship of Trisha and Adda is at first tenuous and unlikely, but grows as Trisha’s loving actions touch Adda and she begins to reveal the prejudice and inequity which shaped her life, robbed her of her innocence and cheated her of a livelihood. I found the storyline fascinating, the characters genuine and compelling, and the resolution satisfying. Five solid stars from me!

I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Street Singer'. The character of Addy was poignantly rich and honest. Her friendship with Trisha, a young woman on the cusp of the prime of her life was at times heartbreaking and at times joyful, but always captivating. This story shows us that having great talent doesn't always equate to having it all. I could hardly put it down!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the story. I loved that it was set in the places i live snd visit. The characters were interesting and like-able for the most part. And i appreciated that it reminded me there are those with whom we share life who bring us greater blessing than we are able to give....in spite of their hardships.
However, i feel the author didn’t give enough time or development to the characters, plot, or setting. For instance, Trisha clearly wanted to go for a hike .... why didn’t that ever happen? What a marvelous opportunity to give the reader a chance to experience at least one of the many hiking trails in the state parks or along the blue ridge or even in Dupont state forest, all easily accessible from greenville and Asheville. Or describe in greater detail the sights visited in greenville. Liberty bridge is so much more than a suspension bridge downtown. It is beyond amazing in design and the view is pretty spectacular.
While i did enjoy the book, i feel it could have been a much richer experience had the author spent more time developing the characters, story, and setting.


I Was given a complimentary copy of this book from Pelican Group through Net Galley. All opinions expressed are my own.

THE STREET SINGER by KATHLEEN NEELY is a beautiful book. The story is bittersweet, with unforgettable characters, and it is one that will really stay with you. It is an emotional read, with a good Christian message, and a theme of restoration and "remembering" running throughout. I feel it brings to mind the story of the Good Samaritan and also the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.
Adda Mae and Trisha Mills have quite a bit in common. Both carry deep sorrow and loneliness from their past, and both are seen as socially inferior by the men in their lives. Ernie used Adda's talent and then left her penniless and alone, and Grant Ramsey, Trisha's fiancé, who comes from a moneyed and socially superior background, does not want the woman he is about to marry to sully the Ramsey name by associating with a poor street singer!
Enter attorney, Rusty Bergstrom, and life takes on new meaning for both Trisha and Adda. I am not going to tell you any more excepting to say that I cannot recommend the book highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from the Pelican Book Group. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Oh, my what an emotional read. As a music lover, I love reading books that have a strong theme centered around music. The story itself is well written. This is a new to me author and I am looking forward to reading more from them.

The Street Singer is a clean christian story. I read it one sitting and I must say I loved it! The writing is well thought out and the characters are well developed. It us an emotional story that is not soon forgitten
I am looking forward to more books by this author.