When I was growing up, there was a store at the mall that was called Musicland. (Yes, I know this just dated me in about 4 ways). I always wanted to go in and check out the latest releases on cassette (hey - it could’ve been 8-track) or CD, because if you ask me what I am, I will say musician every time. Yes, I work at the library, but in my heart of hearts, I live in the world of music. So when I find good musical fiction, I’m here for it. These are my people and I would like to share them with you.

Former pop star Katie Rose (aka Kathleen Rosenberg) has a shot at Broadway because her best friend wrote a great musical. Unfortunately, it is being directed by her teenage crush. I really enjoyed this one. It was captivating and I felt like it was what would happen to Rachel Berry (see: Glee) after the show ended. I chose to listen to the audio book and I think I finished in a couple of days once I started it because I couldn’t stop listening. Highly recommend whether you do print or audio.

I originally checked this out because it was a Christmas book and because I like Tessa Bailey. I don’t think I even looked at the premise before I started listening to the audio. Turns out this one is about the children of famous rock star mothers whose world-famous band mysteriously split up 20 years ago. Now everyone is clamoring for them to reunite. Son Beat and daughter Melody (see what the moms did there) know that there is very little hope of their mothers getting back together, but in a last ditch attempt, they sign on for a reality show with the goal of the reunion on Christmas Eve in Madison Square Garden. I really enjoyed this one - even more than I thought I would. Right now, I think this is a standalone, which is sad because I would show up for Melody and Beat every time. (We got the beat, we got the beat, we got the beat…yeah, we got the beat! IYKY.) 

I’ve mentioned this one before because it was one of my favorite reads a few years ago. But it fits so well in this line-up that I can’t not mention it here. This is the behind the scenes story of the rise of pop superstar Daisy Jones. It seems to be loosely based on Fleetwood Mac with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Usually books written in an interview style bug me and I won’t read them, but for some reason I tried this one and couldn’t put it down. If you have Prime, they have made a 10-episode series based on the book (also called Daisy Jones and the Six). I haven’t had a chance to watch it. This book also turned me on to the brilliance of the author. I’ve read several other of her books (Malibu Rising, Carrie Soto is Back) and have enjoyed those as well. Highly recommend.

Aww man. I totally wish I’d written this one. It was so good. Riley Wynn is a singer-songwriter who just hit it big with her latest album full of breakup songs. When she gets her favorite ex-boyfriend to play the piano on the song she wrote about him, Riley thinks she’s got it made. But then her ex-husband shows up to grab all the acclaim and ruin everything. I want to be friends with Riley and I want to hear her songs. The authors dedicated this book to Taylor Swift and her Swifties, but I didn’t really get TayTay vibes from Riley. Sure both of them are singer-songwriters, but their attitudes seemed different. Either way, this is a great read that was good fun. I’m going to have to see if these authors have written anything else and check that out too.

So those are my best musical reads for now. Pick out some good tunes and settle in for some relaxing reads.

Happy music-ing in Music City…
:) Amanda