About the book:
A split-time romance from an award-winning author
When a choral composer and conductor falls victim to creative block, he resorts to his fallback plan of teaching high school choir. Callum Knight's goal at Peterson High is rediscover his muse, extract himself from teaching, and get back to Boston as quickly as possible.
As the long-suffering accompanist at the high school, Peterson-native Blair Emerson has watched the revolving door of choir directors and their negative impact on her choirs over the last few years. She is less than impressed when a disheveled Callum stumbles in on his first day.
But then they discover an unsigned, unfinished, and handwritten choral composition by a clear musical genius. Blair recalls rumors of Iris, a Peterson student from the 1970s who composed music but was found dead during her senior year. Blair and Callum work to determine if the piece is hers, and the truth they uncover shakes both of them to the core.
With rhythm and flair, Amanda Wen takes readers on an unexpected journey into the depths of a small town's history in this riveting first book in the Melodies and Memories duology.
When a choral composer and conductor falls victim to creative block, he resorts to his fallback plan of teaching high school choir. Callum Knight's goal at Peterson High is rediscover his muse, extract himself from teaching, and get back to Boston as quickly as possible.
As the long-suffering accompanist at the high school, Peterson-native Blair Emerson has watched the revolving door of choir directors and their negative impact on her choirs over the last few years. She is less than impressed when a disheveled Callum stumbles in on his first day.
But then they discover an unsigned, unfinished, and handwritten choral composition by a clear musical genius. Blair recalls rumors of Iris, a Peterson student from the 1970s who composed music but was found dead during her senior year. Blair and Callum work to determine if the piece is hers, and the truth they uncover shakes both of them to the core.
With rhythm and flair, Amanda Wen takes readers on an unexpected journey into the depths of a small town's history in this riveting first book in the Melodies and Memories duology.
My review:
This was another wonderful story by Amanda Wen! This was a new world to me, that of choir directors and composers and it was interesting to see. I especially liked the enemies to more trope as it was amusing to see Blair and Callum not get along at first before they started finding common ground and discovering an attraction to each other. I love split time stories as we get two stories in one! We got to see what was happening in 1969-70 with a girl named Iris who supposedly committed suicide and Blair and Callum's investigation as they tried to figure out if the composition they discovered was hers and what really happened to her back then. I really liked the mystery and suspense elements to the story. I did suspect something early on but there was also a twist so I liked that unpredictability. The romance was sweet and Blair and Callum were believers, though struggling with their respective faiths. The story also dealt with the difficult topics of suicide and mental health as Callum's fiance had committed suicide and they believed Iris had as well. Wen also mentioned in her author's note about a character displaying covert narcissism and I had recognized that in the story; it was difficult to see someone getting manipulated by them I don't want to reveal any spoilers so won't say who it was. Overall, while there were some sad and difficult things discussed, they weren't dwelt on and the story felt hopeful, not despairing. I highly recommend this wonderful book!
I received a complimentary Kindle copy from the author. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.
