Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Melody of the Heart 
SERIES: Melody
AUTHOR: Blake Allwood
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 303 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 27, 2022
BLURB:
Entrapped by his ex, life feels hopeless. Now, he has to teach a mechanic to play piano like a pro. As he fights to save his beloved Steinway, he never dreamed he might also save his heart.
No one could expect Jonas to survive the humiliation of messing up his piano solo, even if he was dumped right before his performance. Now, his need for cash has ensnared him with a challenge to teach a mechanic how to play classically. But, no matter how sexy the guy might be, or how much Jonas might want to make it happen, there’s no way he can teach a man with grease under his nails to compete against the world’s best piano players!
Orlando wants no part of the piano competition when the sexy musician storms into his shop demanding he learn to play classical music. Unfortunately, always a sucker for a man in distress, he finds saying no impossible.
As Jonas and Orlando become engrossed in new styles of music, their hearts soar with the melodies they create together. The question is, will either of them survive the loss when this relationship inevitably comes to an end?
In this opposites attract, hurt/comfort contemporary romance, Orlando and Jonas must accomplish the impossible, before both lose everything they’ve ever worked for.
REVIEW:
Both Jonas and Orlando have suffered loss and disappointment. Jonas has already lost almost everything when he arrives in Monongahela, West Virginia, with what little he still has of his old life in New York City. His mission is to train a promising pianist who wouldn’t have access to world class instruction to compete in Salzburg in one year. This has been his last ditch effort to save his reputation, his father’s Steinway and his career to some degree. He’s been betrayed by his boss/ex in sooooo many ways and it turns out that this contest is just one more way that the evil ex tries to manipulate Jonas in order to protect himself.
Orli has lost his family members who cared for him, but he does have his business and he has his piano students. When his student Ella, daughter of his best friends and found family, decides she doesn’t want to compete after all, Orli is the only choice or Jonas will lose everything. Orli decides to help Jonas and do the contest, but there are concessions from Jonas too.
As Jonas settles into Monongahela, things turn out to be much different than he thought they would be. He settles into the town and makes friends with the locals. Angela and Ray, Orli’s BFFs are a godsend and they support Jonas right from the start. It’s clear how much they care about Orli and they come to care about Jonas too. Orli and Jonas are clearly attracted and once they act on that attraction, this definitely spark.
Rodrigo, the evil ex, is like a bad penny. He just keeps showing up to do his best to provoke Jonas. He seems to thrive on undermining every success and forward step Jonas makes. Luckily the whole town has Jonas’s back and sometimes the truth wins out 😉
Despite the setbacks and interference, Jonas finally feels like maybe his new life in Monongahela is something like being happy. He and Orli just seem to work. There is a trust there that neither has really experienced before. And then there is the music. And the piano. And the kids at Monongahela Elementary. Even the music teacher, Ms. Phillips warms to him. But what about a future? Jonas hasn’t known a life beyond New York and the classical music world he was born into. Orli hasn’t ever thought he’d leave his town and his family. Neither man every really contemplated a settled future, but maybe, if they are lucky and the winds of fortune blow their way, they may find that together.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author. At first I really didn’t know what to expect because the beginning kind of threw me off. However, I soon became invested in Jonas and Orli and really the town of Monongahela. I LOVED these characters – with the exception of the crappy exes Rodrigo and Tommy. It is clear to see that the author loves both small town sensibilities and also music. As a passable pianist myself, I loved all the scenes of practice (which I never did love) and the way Jonas and Orli interact with each other and share their gifts. I really couldn’t get enough of their relationship and how well the worked together and just “got” each other. Plus there is the little healthy satisfaction that sometimes bad actors DO get what’s coming to them 😉 The secondary characters are wonderful! Ray and Angela, Orlando’s BFFs and their daughter Ella, Ms. Phillips, Mrs. Jenkins, the principal, Tatiana, Jonas’s friend working in Germany, and even Pastor James play a big part in this HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a pretty low angst read that has a few surprises, sexy times, opposites attract, second chances vibes with a well-earned HEA. I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring 🙂
RATING: 
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