REVIEWED by JAY V.
TITLE: Small Town Sonata
AUTHOR: Jamie Fessenden
SERIES: Dreamspun Desires
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 260 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 6, 2019
BLURB:
Can the trusted town handyman rebuild a broken pianist’s heart? When a freak accident ends Aiden’s career as a world-renowned classical pianist, he retreats to his New Hampshire hometown, where he finds the boy he liked growing up is even more appealing as a man. Dean Cooper’s life as handyman to the people of Springhaven might not be glamorous, but he’s well-liked and happy. When Aiden drifts back into town, Dean is surprised to find the bond between them as strong as ever. But Aiden is distraught over the loss of his career and determined to get back on the international stage. Seventeen years ago Dean made a sacrifice and let Aiden walk away. Now, with their romance rekindling, he knows he’ll have to make the sacrifice all over again. This time it may be more than he can bear.
REVIEW:
Your childhood home. Can you really return to it? After an accident that injures Aiden’s hand and his ability to play piano, he returns to his parents home to regroup and figure out his life. He unexpectedly runs in to his childhood friend, Dean, who’s relationship was cut short due to Aiden’s need to progress in his budding music career taking him out of the small town. There’s been so many years and different paths, but the spark might still be there – can they survive all the ups and downs again?
If there’s a book about music, I’m instantly drawn to it since I’m a classical musician myself (though not professionally like Aiden). I also had a similar situation to this book, unbeknownst to me when I picked it up that the topic would be a central part to the story. I had injured my elbow preparing for a concert at Carnegie Hall. A good year of therapy and I still will never get back to 100%. So when I started reading about Aiden’s hand injuries, it hit really close to home. My career does not rely on my music like Aiden but I can certainly emphasize with the angst he’s going through, trying to figure out what to do now. A large part of his identity is taken and he’s struggling to find a new direction.
With meeting Dean again after all these years, reignited feelings come to the front and they work at re-connecting. What could have a been a story mired in past history, the book smartly lets them get to be reacquainted with each other as adults and only alludes to some of their past. They struggle with where they now stand with each other and what the future will hold. The journey is so well written, giving a realistic tone to the story without making it pedestrian. Both characters are well fleshed out and you don’t get a one-sided story but get a sense of each of the MCs feelings and thoughts. Sometimes the Desire stories can feel a bit short, truncating the story lines, but this novel is well paced and tells the story of maturing and finding your place in the world. The sections on music were realistic and the descriptions of practicing and performing are true to form. Overall, a really interesting and dynamic story.
RATING: .
BUY LINKS:
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon