Summary
After a fallout back home, Colby Grant decides to leave his family’s farm, determined to show his father he’s more than just a wanna-be country singer. With his All-American good looks, it doesn’t take long for girls in his new town to focus their eyes on him. But things aren’t what they appear from the outside, and it isn’t long until Colby feels he doesn’t fit into the perfect world that so quickly embraced him.
A chance encounter places Hensley in Colby’s path, but it isn’t her natural beauty that first captures his attention – it’s her voice.
When love and music mix, will the combination blossom into a beautiful melody or wither into a heart-wrenching tune?
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000026_00031]](https://fairestofallbookreviews.blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/intothelyrics.jpg)
Review
***Arc was provided by author in exchange for an honest review***
Country music is about heartbreak, loss, and ultimately, redemption. These themes are perfect for the main characters, Hensley Bradley and Colby Grant, of Nacole Stayton’s In the Lyrics.
For as long as Hensley can remember, her focus has been on getting a recording contract. Her mom’s dreams of being a singer were left aside when she got pregnant with Hensley, so Hensley feels like she needs to achieve this dream not only for herself but also her mother. Because her life has revolved around music, she has very few friends and has never been in a relationship – she doesn’t want anything to prevent her from leaving her small town behind. She doesn’t regret her choices until Colby walks into her life.
Colby heads to Tennessee to pursue a music career, but he also leaves his family farm to escape his alcoholic father and the loss of his brother. He promised Levi that he would make him proud and follow his dreams and that is what he intends to do. As soon as Colby hears Hensley’s voice, he’s hooked, and his attraction for her only intensifies when he sees her feisty side. He wants her, but he’s going to have to tear down her walls and make her see beyond a career in music.
Despite miscommunications and jealousy, Hensley and Colby do fall in love until one decision ruins everything and separates them for almost a year. When a devastating loss brings them back together, only they can decide if too much time has passed. Will Colby get his “Sunshine” back or will the light go out on their relationship for good?
I really enjoyed In the Lyrics. It’s told through alternating POVs, which is probably my favorite way to read a story because as a reader, you get to know what both the hero and heroine are thinking and feeling. I really enjoyed the first 60% of the book; as a reader, we get to experience all of Hensley and Colby’s firsts. We get to see how their love for each other began and how they grew together by the work that they did and the music that they wrote and played. Where I started having difficulties with the story is when Hensley starts listening to her mother and becomes a person I never thought she would be. It’s hard to believe that someone who seemed so completely grounded could change so easily. Hensley and Colby’s problem communicating also is a sore spot for me – so much could have been prevented if they would have been honest from the beginning. But, both do redeem themselves in the end, which is what I needed to see happen. I’d love to see Rusty get his own story – he was a great supporting character, and I’d love to get a behind the scenes look into his life.
Hensley and Colby’s story is just like a country song – there’s love and loss as well as jealousy and betrayal, but fortunately, unlike most country songs, their HEA happens!
4 poison apples!
Excerpt
“Hey, y’all! We really appreciate you coming down and seeing us tonight,” I holler into the microphone and the crowd cheers. “My name’s Colby, and this is my beautiful talented girlfriend, Hensley, and our kick ass friend, Dusty, over there on the keyboard, and we’re Chasing Strings!”
Hensley strums her guitar, and the sound fills the air around us. The audience goes silent. Glancing around the room, I see the faces of many of our peers from campus and a few new people. All of which are standing, waiting for her voice to make its presence.
“I never knew,” she pauses.
“I never knew… how much I could love you.
You held me in place, marking me, without a second glance.
You claimed me. You made me yours, and I never knew…how much I could possibly love you,” Hensley sings with her eyes shut, sitting on the corner of a stool, guitar resting on her lap. Dusty starts to play in the background, and opens me up for my solo.
“You say you didn’t know…you claim you were taken off guard.
I beg to differ, because I’ve never fallen so hard.
Baby, you knew. You’ve known all along.
You were made for me and I was made for you.”
Hensley starts to play as I walk closer to her. We take turns singing into the microphone that rests between us. There’s no doubt that our performance showcases our love, our chemistry, the seemingly innocent ways our hands brush against one another’s, stealing and savoring the feeling. It’s all real, and the best part is knowing it myself and then making the crowd believe it.
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