Hello again!

I was given an ecopy of this wonderful book by the author for an honest review. I will also be posting a YouTube video review, but I wanted to spread the word about how much I loved this book, so here is a written review too! 😊 There are some spoilers in this review, so be warned! Also, this book does contain some fairly graphic sexual scenes. They are written very tastefully, but just a warning to younger readers. You know what you can handle. 

First off, I loved Emerson’s personality. She is the main character and wasn’t one of those prissy or unexperienced women that is seen a lot in young adult fiction. She had a lot of depth and I really understood her struggle, trying to please both her self and her dreams while also pleasing her father. I think she would be a really easy character for a lot of readers to empathize with because I think everyone to a degree deals with that struggle of wanting to chase your own dreams while also trying to honor what your parents have carved out for you. I thought it was really fantastic how she wanted to honor her father’s wishes and how she tried to deal with running her father’s music company. The fact that she really rocked it even though she didn’t want to do it was perfect. So, it’s not that she couldn’t be the CEO of a major music label, she just didn’t want to be. She was such a powerful character and I really appreciate that about her.
How do I describe Maddox? At the beginning I was a little skeptical of him, of course, because he’s painted as an extreme playboy and there’s no doubt about that. But I also was intrigued by him for the same reasons Emerson was intrigued by him. He seems super sexy and confident and like there’s a lot more under the surface than what he allows most women to see. At first I thought he might be one of those characters you hate to love because you’re wondering, “where is this love story going to go?”. Is it just going to be one of those predictable stories where boy meets girl, she changes him, and he becomes the good guy? Because I’ve read that before. And while some aspects of the story are a little predictable, there were definitely things that I did not expect that really made the story feel fresh to me. But overall, I thought Maddox was awesome and definitely book boyfriend material. He had a lot of creativity and passion for his work which I think is awesome to include, because it inspires the readers to just take their passion and do something with it. Plus, what girl doesn’t want a man who is passionate about something? 😉I think Maddox awakens a part of Emerson she didn’t really realize she had. I think some of the best relationships are when you complement each other and bring out something special in the other person. So, like, relationship goals. 😂

Things I loved 
I think of all the characters, Hollis was probably my favorite. He is Emerson’s best friend and roommate. I thought he was super funny and some of his jokes made me laugh out loud. He was witty and the perfect colorful best friend while also being a real center of wisdom. Plus, how refreshing for the female lead to have a male BFF that doesn’t become a love interest? I also like his character development. As the story begins, you just think of him as just another random guy living in New York and then as the book goes along you realize he’s actually super loaded off family money but he still wants to work as Emerson’s assistant and live in a lame apartment. He doesn’t want to be just another another typical rich New Yorker. You definitely get a sense of that the most when Emerson and Maddox hang out with him and meet some of his “friends”, because his friends are so snobby and horrible, I just kind of want to bitch slap all of them 😂.

I like the role reversal in power versus a lot of books that you read because Emerson, when she takes over her dad’s company, is actually Maddox’s boss. Girl power, guys.

I actually did not expect the twist at the end of this book at all. I won’t say too much because I don’t want this to be a full spoiler review, but I will say that while it wasn’t the most original twist that it ever read, I like what it did for the characters and for the story. It kind of comes at the perfect time because you’re in this book and you’re in this love story and you’re thinking everything is going so well and it’s so perfect and you’re really beginning to trust both of the characters. Then you’re wondering why is there so many pages left? What’s going to happen? And then when it happens you’re like, “holy crap I didn’t expect that!”.
Another thing I really appreciated was after “this” happens  and Emerson and Maddox break up, it’s not pages full of self-pity like  a lot of books. Emerson doesn’t wallow for months. She takes an appropriate amount of time to mourn her relationship. Then she  moves on from what she didn’t really want in her life by quitting her father’s company and she takes control by doing something that she really wants to do. She is a rockstar of being a music producer, and instead of just dreaming about this she decides she’s going to do it. So she buys a studio apartment, she converts it with the money that she’s earned,  she gets in contact with some awesome musicians, and they make a bang up record.

Things that were “eh”
One of the only issues I have with this book was how easily it felt like Emerson forgave the twist I mentioned before. Maybe she’s just a better person than I am. 😂 She did have a lot of time to adjust into the reality of the situation. But I feel like if I had been in the position Emerson is in, I wouldn’t have forgiven Maddox so easily. But I think that’s more about personal preference then an actual issue with the story, and in the end I was really happy with it. I thought it came to a nice closing point and I am just happy to have read this book. I have read from Cynthia’s Facebook page that she is thinking of writing a few companion novels about smaller characters in this book, and I’m psyched about that.

So there you have it!  Definitely recommends this book to anyone looking for a new adult romance and anyone who appreciated the power of music, and the power of fate too 😊.
Cheers!