Review! Writing Our Song (Our Song #1) by Emma South

 

For aspiring singer, Beatrice Hampton, the future used to be a sweet thing to look forward to, filled with the kind of joy you could write a song about. However, after losing her parents while still in high school, she is left crushed, alone, and harboring a bitter resentment towards the wealthier members of society, whom she partially blames for the destruction of her hopes and dreams. After years of lonely struggle, she can hardly remember the last time she felt happy.

That's when she literally stumbles into billionaire Jeremy Holt and things take another turn for the unexpected. Seeking only a temporary escape from the cold and grey confines of her life, Beatrice agrees to go with Jeremy on a short trip to New Zealand. On the surface Jeremy is the exact kind of man she promised herself she would never fall for but, after spending some time with him, she realises that maybe there's a lot more to the successful young entrepreneur than his money. Maybe he's the one person that can make her feel alive again.

Beatrice can't deny the spark, the chemistry, between the two of them but her past still haunts her. To be with Jeremy she must face the stresses of life in the public eye and the guilt of broken promises to herself and her parents. To be without him is almost too painful to bear. Will Beatrice and Jeremy get the chance to write the song of their love, or will they each be left with the memory of a beautiful but all too brief time when their lives intertwined?

My thoughts: I first heard about this book when I joined the blog tour for Remember Our Song, the second installment in the Our Song series.I was really curious to know how everything started.

In Writing Our Song we meet Beatrice as a teenager. She's almost 16 and dreaming of becoming a famous singer. Her passion for music comes from her father, and he's the one who's always encouraging and helping her. This part of the story (minus the music), hit a little to close to home. I could actually feel the bond and the love between Bea and her father because I have been blessed to have something like that with my dad, and just like her, I've lost him too. But let's step back a little.

After a small concert at the Seattle Days Festival, looks like Bea's dreams are finally coming true. They get more offers to sing at various events, even if the small ones, and the boy she's been crushing on finally asks her out.

Then, one night, fate decides to play one of its nasty tricks and Bea's father is killed in a car accident. And that is only the beginning of the end.

Her mother turns into a cold and vindictive person. She's never loved Beatrice and now, she let's it all out crushing her daughter's spirit and turning her into a frightened, helpless and wounded creature.

Bea gives up singing and shuts everyone out. School is not important anymore, and she spends her days hiding from her mother and trying to block out the pain.

Time passes, and soon after she turns 17, her mother abandons her.

To be honest, I think she did Bea a great service.

Her mother has always blamed her for not having a better life, for being stuck in the same town with the same people when all she wanted was to travel the world and have money.

For this reason, Bea was closer to her father. He'd always loved and supported her, and when he passed away, all that was left was a bitter woman's petty words and cruel behaviour.

I really liked Bea. She received blow after blow at such a young age but she still carried on. She took it all and stood tall even if her soul was crushed, picking herself up and doing the best she could to survive.

Then, one day, Jeremy Holt came into her life and made her rethink all the decisions she took and all the promises she'd made. He'd made her see beyond her prejudices and patiently coaxed her out of her shell.

This is a story about loss and pain, about finding hope and love when everything seems hopeless.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending.

You know what I really don't like? When the author starts kipping through time without giving us any indication on how the characters evolved and what brought them to where they are today. Especially when we're talking about years and the characters have issues to sort through. Annoying, really.

Other than that, I wish this book would have been longer. Can't wait to get my hands on Remember Our Song. Good job, Emma!

Happy Reading!