I love rockstar romances! It is one of my favorite sub-genres of Romance. So, when Dove Cavanaugh King asked if I wanted an early copy of her upcoming release, Songbird, I jumped at the chance. Honestly, I would have driven through midday Atlanta traffic, flown across the country, entered Canada illegally, and took my chances with the Mounties just to get to that book!
Thankfully, I just had to open an email and download it, instead.
Obviously, Dove cares about her readers' well-being! 😂 So, there I was in the middle of packing for an upcoming move, worrying over my own impending release (two days before Dove's) and I said - "What responsibilities?" and dove headfirst into a beautiful love story that was full of grit, turmoil, and a realness wrapped so tightly around the fiction that I became a part of that world while immersed in the pages.
Let's start with the tropes in this book.
First and foremost, because I know people will ask, the age gap was only seven years. So if huge age gaps bother you, this wasn't that. It was enough to be a no-go distance when Wren first contacts Hawk, but luckily, they don't actually meet until after she hits the age of majority.
The slow burn was delicious!
Secret baby - one of my favorite tropes - and this one was perfect because the female main character was not trying to hide it. Other factors kept Hawk from knowing.
The second chance romance felt like a continuation of what had already started because of how everything played out. It didn't feel like it's own new relationship, it felt akin to not speaking to a loved one for ages and then picking up the phone and picking up where you left off without all the awkward crap in the middle. There was drama in the mix, for sure, but the chemistry never dimmed for Hawk and Wren. You truly are left believing that if other factors hadn't kept them apart, they would have been happy together all along.
*Songbird releases on May 4, 2024! You can preorder your copy by clicking this link: RESERVE YOUR COPY!
I am going to try to review this without spoilers (since the book hasn't released yet)!
THINGS I LOVED:
ONE: The gritty realness of the characters was a chef's kiss.
Hawk is a musician who was thrown into the ugly underbelly of the business at a young age. He struggles with the vices readily available to him, a creeptastic label exec and his predatory daughter (the other woman issues from her will have OW drama lovers' tongues wagging). Hawk struggles with needing something real in his life - something or someone that isn't fake and after whatever he can do for/give to them. He is losing himself to the machine and, at some points, it shows in his music.
Wren is a teenager when we are first introduced to her, and she is burdened with helping her family survive and being an outcast because of the actions of her father. Wren is repeatedly let down by the people in her life and the one thing that gets her through is her passion for music and the unwillingness to compromise who she is simply to fit in. I absolutely adored Wren. The way she stuck to her convictions, her strength of character, and even watching as she struggled after a lifetime of being beaten down by everyone... It was an amazing journey to take as Wren grew into adulthood and heading up close to middle-age.
TWO: The lifetime coverage. The best stories, for me, are the ones that cover a lot of ground in the characters' lives. When I can watch a story play out over the span of 20-30 years or more, I never want to come out of it - even knowing that it has to end at some point.
THREE: The character growth - you see changes in the characters over time as they age, and their development feels real, genuine, and even has lapses into past behaviors that are true to real life struggles. I am not a fan of overnight/sudden changes of personality in characters because of X event that made them instantly reform. I like to be a part of the change, to feel it happen in the little moments along the way. Dove takes these characters there. Hawk's journey s ongoing until the end and you believe it because he does have lapses and he does question himself and try to figure out where he went wrong so it can be fixed. You get to see the real version of him versus the stage mask he wears for the industry.
FOUR: The Other woman drama - I think readers who love this in their books will absolutely adore where this book goes and how it is handled. For the record: THERE IS NO CHEATING BY MAIN CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK! I won't go into detail about who, what, where, when, why, and how with the women this applies to, because I'm not doing spoilers, but the Karma dropped on those who deserve is brilliant!
FIVE: I left the book feeling at peace with the ending while simultaneously wanting to dive right back in for an instant re-read.
SIX: The steam - There was just the right mix of sexy times to steam things up on page while not feeling overdone and unnecessary.
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE:
I don't have a single complaint about this story. It ticked all my boxes for everything I want to read from the slow burn, to the intrigue, the drama, the growth, and the happy ever after.
My recommendation:
This is a must read, even if rockstar romance isn't your go-to subgenera of romance, I think the beautiful story, the character growth, and how they come into one another's lives again are all worth diving into this book and hanging out with Hawk, Wren, Cooper, and the rest of the gang for awhile. You won't regret it! FIVE BRILLIANTLY GLOWING STARS for Songbird by Dove Cavanaugh King.
Find her here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dovecavanaugh.king
And when you're done with Songbird (or while you wait for May 4th), you need to check out Dove's other books as well. They are all fantastic reads!
(*note - I do not get a commission from the link posted above - it is a direct to Amazon link. I am doing this purely out of the kindness of my heart because Dove wrote an amazing book and I think EVERYONE needs to read it!)
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