I just finished my new favorite Erin Bartels novel! This was such a creative and thoughtful read. She shared in her author's notes that it was a joy to write. It was a joy to read, also! I loved this story so much! ( )

This one isn't for me. While the writing style is fairly approachable, I personally can't stand first person narrative. Unless it is plot relevant. i also didn't think it made any sense for the chapters to be referred to as tracks since the book isn't written in song/verse.

I really loved this book! It's the story of a young romance, but so much more. Michael is down-on-his-luck, and Natalie is blind. Also, her mother is dying. Yet somehow, the story manages to be very uplifting and life-affirming. There are plenty of musical references as well. A truly lovely story! Nominated for one of my top 10 books of the year! ( )

This is a very hard book to categorize because it is partly a teeny bopper kinda book but I would also qualify this as a “beach read” with some heavier parts. Overall, this was one of my favorite books received as part of the Early Reviewers program and it warmed my heart a bit. ( )

This is my second book by Erin Bartels. Again, I found it ok. The writing is solid but not spectacular. The plot might be a bit slow. But the characters! She can develop such strong nuanced characters that I want to keep reading as I come to be very interested in them. In this book, I also like the way she used "tracks" instead of chapters and "sides" instead of parts to complement the musical theme of the story.

This is a book about second chances, believing in yourself, and forgiveness. I love the way one character speaks of this: "No one deserves to be forgiven. The very nature of forgiveness is that we don't deserve it"

A word on the "Christian Fiction" label. Maybe this is Christian fiction and maybe it isn't. There are characters who pray and talk about God. It's not about faith....it's about people who have faith (and some who don't or at least don't talk about it.) ( )