I was torn on whether or not I should read this book-- I've really enjoyed a whole bunch of Christina Lauren's work but heard mixed reviews on this one. It is much more of a "romance" novel than an erotica novel (which is how I would characterise the Beautiful series, personally), but it definitely wasn't as sweet or heart-felt as Autoboyography, which became an instant favourite for me.
The story gives us Holland, an MFA graduate with a serious bit of writer's block and a lack of direction in her life, and Calvin, an Irish man who came to study at Julliard years before and overstayed his student visa by four years. She hears him busking at a subway station and becomes transfixed by his music and makes stopping by to listen to him a regular thing-- and then he happens to be there the night that she's mugged at the platform. He doesn't do anything heroic or attempt to help her (in an effort to avoid the police and revealing his status) and all of this is fresh on her mind when her uncle's Broadway show (a hit that seems to be on par with Hamilton in the story) loses its leading violinist. Holland suggests that her uncle come to hear Calvin play music and they decide to hire him on as a guitarist for the production, before they become aware of his immigration status. Spurred on by a horrible boss who makes a reckless suggestion, Holland proposes a marriage of convenience so that Calvin can work for the production and because she, as it comes out in the story, is a "supporting character in her own life" (OUCH RIGHT). Anyway, romance, misunderstandings, mutual attraction, and immigration interviews ensue.
Things I Loved:
- Holland never tried to be anything other than what she was-- a privileged girl from a good background who had hook ups with people in high places and who was just... stuck. I feel like it was honest. Other readers seemed irritated by her character, calling her immature and irritating, but I didn't perceive her that way at all. Had she been whiny and *unaware*, I would have had a serious issue, but she was self-reflective and hated herself all the more for it.
- Holland and her relationship with her uncles. fantastic.
- Okay, her uncles are both fantastic. They're great characters and I really enjoyed their presence in the narrative and felt like it balanced the main relationship well.
- When they had problems, they TALKED. It may have taken a day, but characters actually freaking talked about active problems. There was plenty of angst and tension, but not over stupidly obvious stuff.
Things I Liked:
- Calvin was alright. He was less fleshed out at some points than I would have liked, but his passion and desire to do what he loved was a very good contrast for Holland (and a good sparking point) and Holland's access to means meant that the relationship was fairly well-balanced.
- It wasn't too steamy. I am still coming around on reading more physical intimacy, so the Beautiful series was... a lot for me. But this struck a nice middle ground.
Things I Didn't Like:
- I felt like Lulu was entirely unnecessary as a character from beginning to end. I literally didn't understand the point of her at all.
- The trope of "and now the characters need to give each other several months of space to figure stuff out" at the end is a thing Christina Lauren embraces and takes to an extreme and it drives me absolutely mad.
Overall, this was a cute, super fast read-- it was a good popcorn read. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of music or theatre or the arts in general and are looking for a swift, fluffy book between more intense books. If you're big into the Beautiful series, then this isn't going to live up to your standards.
Stars: 3.5/5
The story gives us Holland, an MFA graduate with a serious bit of writer's block and a lack of direction in her life, and Calvin, an Irish man who came to study at Julliard years before and overstayed his student visa by four years. She hears him busking at a subway station and becomes transfixed by his music and makes stopping by to listen to him a regular thing-- and then he happens to be there the night that she's mugged at the platform. He doesn't do anything heroic or attempt to help her (in an effort to avoid the police and revealing his status) and all of this is fresh on her mind when her uncle's Broadway show (a hit that seems to be on par with Hamilton in the story) loses its leading violinist. Holland suggests that her uncle come to hear Calvin play music and they decide to hire him on as a guitarist for the production, before they become aware of his immigration status. Spurred on by a horrible boss who makes a reckless suggestion, Holland proposes a marriage of convenience so that Calvin can work for the production and because she, as it comes out in the story, is a "supporting character in her own life" (OUCH RIGHT). Anyway, romance, misunderstandings, mutual attraction, and immigration interviews ensue.
Things I Loved:
- Holland never tried to be anything other than what she was-- a privileged girl from a good background who had hook ups with people in high places and who was just... stuck. I feel like it was honest. Other readers seemed irritated by her character, calling her immature and irritating, but I didn't perceive her that way at all. Had she been whiny and *unaware*, I would have had a serious issue, but she was self-reflective and hated herself all the more for it.
- Holland and her relationship with her uncles. fantastic.
- Okay, her uncles are both fantastic. They're great characters and I really enjoyed their presence in the narrative and felt like it balanced the main relationship well.
- When they had problems, they TALKED. It may have taken a day, but characters actually freaking talked about active problems. There was plenty of angst and tension, but not over stupidly obvious stuff.
Things I Liked:
- Calvin was alright. He was less fleshed out at some points than I would have liked, but his passion and desire to do what he loved was a very good contrast for Holland (and a good sparking point) and Holland's access to means meant that the relationship was fairly well-balanced.
- It wasn't too steamy. I am still coming around on reading more physical intimacy, so the Beautiful series was... a lot for me. But this struck a nice middle ground.
Things I Didn't Like:
- I felt like Lulu was entirely unnecessary as a character from beginning to end. I literally didn't understand the point of her at all.
- The trope of "and now the characters need to give each other several months of space to figure stuff out" at the end is a thing Christina Lauren embraces and takes to an extreme and it drives me absolutely mad.
Overall, this was a cute, super fast read-- it was a good popcorn read. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of music or theatre or the arts in general and are looking for a swift, fluffy book between more intense books. If you're big into the Beautiful series, then this isn't going to live up to your standards.
Stars: 3.5/5