Your rating:
It’s the duet of a lifetime when a rock star and his backup singer find a new kind of harmony off stage in this sensational contemporary romance. Clementine Clark isn’t looking for love. Growing up with a single mom who weeps over a new guy each week tends to have that effect on a girl. But Clementine doesn’t mind being the rational one—she’s even buried her musical dreams so deeply within herself that she hardly notices the hole it’s left in her life. That is until her best friend calls her with a life-changing opportunity: to join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Clementine wants to reject the offer, but the pay is enough to change her and her mom’s life. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas at the Happy Tortilla to belting high notes before a cheering crowd. But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran. Poet, introvert, and lyrical genius, Halloran quickly gets under Clementine’s skin. The two couldn’t see the world more differently. And yet, over the course of the next eight weeks on tour, the romantic rockstar might just strike an unforgettable chord in Clementine. But will it be enough for an encore?
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
BURY ME WITH THIS BOOK! Will I ever stop thinking about this? Probably not. Will I ever stop recommending it? NEVER.
It’s been almost a week since I finished an advanced reader’s copy of Kate Golden’s contemporary romance debut and I can without a doubt say this is one of the best books of 2025 and one of my new all-time favorites.
Love skeptic Clementine Clark has always lived in her small Texas town. She’s a waitress at a local Tex-Mex restaurant where she works for her ex-boyfriend and sometimes hook-up, Mike. She once had dreams of pursing a career in musical theater, and even got into Berklee College of Music along with her best friend, Everly. But life has a way of…getting in the way, and between Clementine’s mom’s fibromyalgia flare ups and endless string of bad boyfriends, Clementine sets it upon herself to stay here and take care of things.
Meanwhile, Everly is off living her dream, touring as backup vocals for musicians around the country. She’s already set to be one of the backup singers for Irish megastar Halloran’s latest tour when she hears from her agent that she got the gig to OPEN for one of pop music’s biggest acts. Who does she call to fill in on the Halloran tour for her? None other than our FMC, Clementine. With 48 hours of notice, Clementine is thrust into a whole new world and leaving her small town for the first time on the summer tour of a lifetime.
She quickly becomes part of the tour bus family with the rest of the band, but the elusive Halloran always seems to keep to himself, in his suite. It’s only by a chance late-night meeting in a hotel’s vending machine room, that Clementine can finally meet the real Tom Halloran.
From the start, Clementine is taken by Tom’s lyricism and humility, but life has taught her to hold back from anything resembling a deep emotional connection. Surely, one of the world’s greatest poets and musicians couldn’t really see something in a sheltered woman eight years younger than him…
But chance encounters keep popping up, and the pull Clementine feels for Tom is unlike anything she’s ever felt. This rockstar romance where he falls first is full of sneaking around, incredible build up, and a story that’ll make even the biggest skeptic believe in love. Do yourself a favor and pick this up on August 5, 2025!
Also, the author included a playlist at the end with one song for every chapter and it is *chef’s kiss*. I imported it into Apple Music if anyone wants to listen while they read: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/if-not-for-my-baby/pl.u-WabZ6lAceq84AGW
Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and Edelweiss for the chance to read this early!
0
© 2024 Pagebound