Mary Rowen

Living by Ear is a wonderful story that is about a woman who strives to reestablish her music career and balance the needs of her family after getting a divorce. Set in Boston and told in the first person narrative, and alternating between the present and flashbacks to the 1990s, the reader follows the journey of Christine Daley as she rediscovers who she is and what she wants after being a suburban housewife for the past sixteen years.

Back in the 1990s, Christine Daley was a struggling Boston street musician who became a minor celebrity on a popular rock and roll station. Chris met local defense attorney Jon Wendt while performing on a street corner, he was interested in helping her pursue her music career. Mutual attraction led to them getting married, and Chris put her music dreams on hold in order to raise their family in the suburbs. Sixteen years later in September of 2010, Chris has filed for divorce and is making plans to restart her music career. This time there is nothing that will hold her back ... or so she thought. With time comes changes, especially in the music industry, and as Chris embarks on a journey of self-discovery, she soon discovers that finding her new place in life is anything but easy.

Author Mary Rowen weaves a realistic and moving tale that easily draws the reader into Chris's story. I found it easy to relate to Chris as she tries to recapture the life she once had while struggling to balance the daily responsibilities of meeting her families needs. As Chris tries to deal with the consequences of the choices that she made in her life, she always held onto her passion and desire to fulfill her musical dream, so she embarks on a journey of self-discovery where she can reconnect with her true self while finding balance in life. The reader gets to know Chris as her story unfolds through the alternating time periods. You can't help but feel for Chris as she struggles with the obstacles and hurdles along the journey, and cheer for her as she comes into her own.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the author does a wonderful job of providing a rich description of Boston's landmarks and the dynamics of the local "busking" street corner music scene.

Living by Ear is a poignant and enjoyable story about life, love, and finding one's true self.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2014/11/living-by-ear-by-mary-rowen-bo...… (mehr)

This is one of those books where I wasn't sure what to expect so I wasn't really sure what it was I was getting into or if i would even like it.

The best thing about this book, is the tragedy of the characters. They are horribly flawed, selfish characters and in all honesty I found them dislikable yet that was one of the things I liked most about the book. I couldn't relate to either of them, although Erin shared my fondness for pretty awesome music. Despite my not liking her, or Luke I found myself cheering for them, wanting them to do well and evolve which eventually seemed to happen.

The backdrop of this book, the music is truly awesome. I feel like I should've been reading it with a soundtrack in place.

The pacing was a little bit off, and I wasn't really sure about the flashbacks that kept shooting back and forth.… (mehr)