Tag: Erin Hahn

This Chick Read: Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

Lorelei Jones was a Country superstar when she chose to sing a song at a concert that offended the country music industry and her fans and fiancéturned against her. The only person who stood by her side was her friend Craig Boseman, ex-bassist for her ex-fiancé. Craig “Huckleberry” Boseman had always had a soft spot for Lorelei especially after their one night together. After a five year absence, Lorelei comes back to Nashville and asks her friend Huck, now a music producer, to listen to some of her new songs and they reconnect in life and love.

I’ve always enjoyed novels by Erin Hahn. Her writing is so easy to read, the rhythm and flow of her words totally appealing, especially in a book with music at its center. Lorelei was a character who was also very easy to like. She and I have the same politics, so that helps, but she’s also someone who took a stand even though she lost everything by doing that. Craig or “Huckleberry” as Lorelei calls him, is just an average guy with a lot of talent for writing hit songs. He was one of Lorelei’s best friends and it was easy for them to pick up where they left off, but both of them had feelings for each other that couldn’t be ignored. Their transition from friends to lovers was not without its hiccups but it too had an easy flow that fit with the style of writing by Ms. Hahn.

Living in Nashville and reading novels set in Nashville are always kind of fun. It’s interesting to see someone’s take on my city and in this case I think the author viewed downtown through slightly roses tinted glasses, but you could tell she loved what she was writing and I really appreciated that. I also really loved the romance that was told through lyrics a wonderful way of styling this novel and really making it feel authentic. I really didn’t find a note wrong with this novel and if I could sing a lick, I’d be howling at the moon. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Friends Don’t Fall In Love

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Built to Last by Erin Hahn

Child superstar Shelby Springfield left her stardom behind when she moved back to Michigan. Flipping houses with her dad, she’s approached by her ex, now a producer, to star in a home makeover show with her childhood co-star and friend Cameron Riggs. Cam was her first love and the guy she always turns to when she needs help… and he always gives her that helping hand. This time is no different despite having his own thriving career at Nat. Geo. Will the two of them finally have time to commit to each other?

This was such a great story! Cam and Shelby were two of three child stars on a popular tv series and the producer of their show, Lyle, was the third. Lyle is the perfect evil foil to making Cam the good guy in this story but in Shelby’s eyes Cam was always in that good guy role. When Cam commits to doing the pilot with Shelby their friendship takes center stage. You can feel how close they are and how much they mean to each other, even all these years later. You can also feel the chemistry through their flirtations and it was totally fun to read.

Both Shelby and Cam had issues from their childhood that needed to be faced in this novel for their relationship to move towards commitment. Shelby had a stage mom that was in it for the money, selling out her only daughter creating a story filled with lies, just so she could capitalize on it and make a buck. Cam lived on the west coast with his mom when he was acting and never had a great relationship with his father and brother. Moving back to Michigan is the chance for them to revisit these relationships and hopefully come out the other side with a healthier outlook. Of course, not everything goes as planned.

I loved this poignant look back at first love. Cam and Shelby’s chance at redemption was a wonderfully fun story but their was also a lot of depth in both these and other characters in the novel. In my mind the best novels are filled with heart and this stories heart was overflowing emotionally. I really enjoyed reading this novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Built to Last

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn

Finding out her entire life is a lie, Meg Hennessey leaves the safety of the town she has grown up with to take a trip up north to meet the family she never knew she had. On her first day in town she meets Micah Allen, son of an ex-pastor who is now in prison. The two strike up a friendship having more in common than first thought. Both are struggling to find themselves and reconnect with their faith that they feel betrayed them. Instead they find a connection that helps them find solace at the same time makes them question the ways they were brought up even more.

Never Saw You Coming is an apt title for a story that I truly did not see coming. Equal parts YA Contemporary and Christian fiction Meg and Micah’s story opened my eyes to a community that was supposed to be about support but instead seemed restrictive, especially towards women. Meg was brought up in a strictly religious household. Her church taught their girls to not catch the eye of a boy, wear clothing that covered their skin, and to keep themselves pure for God and their future husband. When she found out her mother got pregnant when she was a teenager with someone she met from youth group (who died shortly after) and her “father” was her mom’s best friend, all of that strict upbringing seemed totally hypocritical. Instead of taking her gap year like she had decided Meg drives upstate to visit her real dad’s family and see if she can make a connection to them and to her lost faith.

I don’t usually read Christian fiction. Well, I don’t go looking for it anyway but have been pleasantly surprised by a few novels in the past. Never Saw You Coming hit me like a freight train. Meg had this innocence from her sheltered upbringing that brought a joy to the decisions she made when she got to Marquette. When she meets her great-grandmother and uncle she brings to their lives that same joy, and it’s not surprising that she wants to delve into that relationship a bit more. Meg was also homeschooled and didn’t have a ton of friends so is pleased that she seems to have no trouble making friends in Marquette. Especially making friends with Micah who she shyly finds attractive.

Meg and Micah are both secure in their relationship with God, but they aren’t as secure in the way that faith seems to be addressed through Church. This is a topic that is deeply explored in this novel and which, truthfully, opened my eyes. I found this look into their faith fascinating and was really pleased with how the characters explored their questions, rejecting some attitudes, and accepting others. It seemed a realistic viewpoint and although I was a little horrified at how this religion treated Meg, I was pleased with how the men in her life stepped forward claiming that treatment unacceptable. (Thank goodness!)

As with other Erin Hahn novels, I really enjoyed this story! She is a truly talented author and while this topic isn’t my usual I could tell that it meant something to the author and I’m glad she told this story as I think it needed to be told. I’m a bit older than her target demographic but I think this is a message that was well told and needs to be heard. I will definitely be keeping an eye for this author’s next novel as she is quickly becoming a go to author for me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase!* Never Saw You Coming: A Novel

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

Vada Carsewell’s music knowledge serves her well working at the Loud Lizard and writing her reviews of bands on their music blog. What she really wants is to get into Berkeley’s music program and become a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. Luke Greenly, podcaster and son of an aging punk rocker, doesn’t factor into her life until they get paired up on an assignment at school and she finds out they share a love for lyrics and music trivia. When his brother releases one of Luke’s songs on their podcast, and it goes viral, she can’t help but dream that the song is about her, but is it?

When I read this author’s debut novel, You’d Be Mine, I knew I was going to keep an eye out for her next release. I wrote in that review about “my love for the poetry in her lyrics” and she again captures those same emotions with her lyrics in More Than Maybe. However, More Than Maybe has a completely different tone and got to the heart of the love story sooner which made me love it just a tad bit more.

What can I say about these characters? I can’t help but start with their names. Vada Carsewell and Luke Greenly sound like they should be the hero’s in a Cassandra Clare novel wielding magical swords, instead of magical lyrics. Despite those otherworldly names, I found these characters very down to earth. Vada’s vast knowledge of music and lyrics was fascinating to a woman (me) who can’t remember the titles of her favorite songs. I loved how she and Luke used song titles and lyrics to hint at their emotions and level up the tension to their romance. Luke’s shy charm and interest in composing rather than performing only made him an even more perfect fit for Vada. They were a very easy pair to fall for and from their first text exchange I was all in.

The title ‘More Than Maybe‘ coincidentally was exactly how I felt as I settled into this novel. I had medium expectations from having read Erin Hahn’s first novel and some hesitations over whether she could follow up such a great debut with another hit. My hope for a ‘More Than Maybe’ story quickly changed as I got caught up in this music themed YA novel. Maybe this author should re-title the book ‘Better Than Good’? Or Much Greater Than Average? Just kidding, the title is more than apropos for what happens in the story, but my feelings upon finishing it were “Much Greater Than Expected” and I was very pleased with that discovery. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* More Than Maybe: A Novel

Copyright 2020 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase this novel through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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Friday YA: You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn

Annie Mathers is the daughter of two country music stars who had a tragic ending. Living outside the stage lights of Nashville, Annie tried to ignore her calling but she was born to write and sing. After she releases a couple of songs on YouTube her star starts rising. Clay Coolidge is one of the country’s hottest young stars, but he’s going down the path her parents took. After another drunk bar fight he’s told that he has to go to Michigan to talk Annie into opening for his summer concert tour. With his record deal on the line, Clay convinces Annie and her band to join them. Even though they are complete opposites, she the good girl and he the bad boy, they strike sparks both on stage and off.

You’d be Mine had a lot of the things I look for in a YA contemporary novel, great character growth, a simmering love story, and a great hook. What I wasn’t expecting was the magical poetry this author wrote for their music lyrics and the gritty feel to the story. Annie was an easy character to like. I’ll admit that she walked a fine line between being a “good girl” and kind of a prude, but it fit her back story and gave her the heart and soul she’d need to sell the reader on her chemistry for leading man Clay.

Clay also had a great back story. A brother who is a fallen war hero and a line of people who want to ride his coattails, making his bad choices pretty realistic. If there was one fault with his part of the story I’d say his demon battling went on just a touch too long. I wanted the story to speed up and it lagged just a tad in the middle. The supporting characters were loyal, funny, and charming and I adored all of their antics and support. Even though this was a story about music and love, at it’s heart it was about family and these characters gave the reader a solid base line on what family should look like.

I mentioned above my love for the poetry in the music lyrics. You could tell this author has a feel for writing lyrically and if she hasn’t done so already, she should think about her own songwriting career! They were pretty special and the story itself? Good, very, very good. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given a free ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“You’d Be Mine is a cute little contemporary romance that reminded me a bit of the television show Nashville. This has all the ins and outs, the ups and downs and intrigue of the behind the scenes of the music business. The characters were likable and fun to root for and the story felt as if heading right out on tour along with them giving all the emotion of their journey along the way.” Carrie’s Book Reviews

“This was a fun story about the lives of these two talented performers. I am not a big country music fan, but I found myself cheering for these young country stars. I would definitely recommend this young adult book!” Welcome to our Campfire

Click this link to purchase!* You’d Be Mine: A Novel

Copyright Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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