⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is one of the most fun, well-written exploration and
growth-of-character books.
Vix (Victoria Vincent) has a band named after herself. The
band is scheduled to tour in a couple of weeks and find themselves a fiddle
player short. They are auditioning for a new fiddle player and getting people
each one of whom is worse than the other. The final audition is of a girl,
Sawyer Bell, who looks too young and whispers self-consciously. That is, till
she starts plays. Turns out she is 21 and studying in Julliard.
Sawyer has had acceptance issues while in high school and is
currently hating Julliard – but cannot get herself to admit that. She
also suspects she is gay, but doesn’t know that for sure because she’s never
been with another woman. She nurses a kind of crush on the openly hyper-sexual,
bi, super-confident Vix.
The relationship between Vix and Sawyer is one of the most
fun ones we’ve read. The first time they have sex has a whole lot of talking,
joking and heat. Sawyer’s growth and coming into her own is excellently traced.
The inevitable conflict and break-up is brought in fairly
naturally – but at this point, Vix kinda gets shot. With some stretch we can
try to understand her, but it just seems like Vix has no intention or ability
to grow as a person.
However, we are left with some misgivings about the relationship
in the end. Vix seems to think that the relationship is bound to end. Getting
into a relationship with this attitude – especially when you’re ‘in love’ with
the person – seems to doom it in a self-fulfilling prophecy. That makes us
very, very uncomfortable because we loved Sawyer. (We also liked Vix
tremendously up to this point).
This seems to end in a HFN rather than HEA. Still, this is a
fun read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
