Woman Reading

Where to start, where to start...

I went into this read with excitement and a little trepidation. Jane's Melody has been on my to-read list for a long time now, since the original release and I'd stopped at it repeatedly, almost like it was calling out to me. Every time something kept me moving on. Likely it was because as much as the idea of this book intrigued me, I also distrusted it. The concept of a grieving mother and a young street musician sounds like the set up of something really beautiful, or it runs the risk of being overly sappy and contrived.

I'm happy to report that it was somewhere in the middle.

If you're like me and you've just been nervous about picking this up, feeling like all those glowing 5 star reviews are just a pitfall into a book that's all hype and no substance... well then this review is for you.

Jane's Melody was the type of book I like to call 'good enough'. Basically it's like this: If you're worried that the pain of Jane losing her daughter becomes overshadowed by the epic love story, I really never thought it did. I felt the painful vise on Jane's heart throughout the entire story. Through the majority of the book, thinking of my own daughter, I maintained a lump and a tickle in my throat. I'm confident that you can rest easy. On the flip side, if you worry that the book is too sad, and that the love story was secondary- a scenario I would prefer over the previous -you can also rest easy. There was plenty of romance and sexy time, but it was appropriate for the premise of the book. Ultimately, I can see why so many people were pleased with the story.

Which brings me to why I rated Jane's Melody only 3 stars, middle of the road, just 'good enough'. Basically, for me, what it comes down to is indulgence. There were just too many scenes describing 40 year old Jane's 'stunning beauty'. I found too many moments where the focus of the book was on how Jane could eat anything she wanted and never work out and yet she maintained the figure of a 19 year old. It's not that I don't believe that there are 40 year old women out there capable of doing this, I'm absolutely sure there are. It's that as a reader, a female reader, it felt indulgent. Very very few women over the age of 30 can maintain that figure without exercise and conscious eating, but fine that's the character of the book, perfectly beautiful with minimal effort. I may have been able to overlook it, except for the fact that Caleb (the musician) was 25 year old perfection also. There were just as many scenes describing the perfection of Caleb. The perfection of Caleb's abs. The perfection of Caleb's smile. The perfection of Caleb's eyes. And on and on and on. So basically we have a book about two perfect people, which I find a little boring.

Sure sure, if you pop over to my Goodreads shelves you'll find many a book about perfect people falling in love, and one may say that makes me a bit of a hypocrite. I would respond by saying, the line in the sand is how much it's stated. I've said it in reviews before, and I'll say it again here, subtlety goes a long way. I prefer to feel that the characters find their love interests beautiful, not have it stated over and over again.

So, there you go. The good and the bad. The reasons that I found it good enough, but not without flaw. A review that I think is realistic, not overly glowing and not scathing. Just my honest, undiluted thoughts.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing a review copy of this book.

Read this review and more at Badassbook Reviews.