Review: Heartstrings by Amy Knupp

Title: Heartstrings
Author: Amy Knupp
Release: June 5, 2018
Source: ARC from Author


Synopsis:
Country music is singer-songwriter Tucker Steele’s lifeblood. When his band’s record label smacks them with a setback, Tucker’s strategy is to hit the studio hard and create the best album of their career. Problem is, the songs are coming out shallow and uninspired, no matter what he tries…until he meets a girl named Gin who has a way with music.

Cello virtuoso Gin Verdinelli recently dropped out of a prestigious music conservatory, walking away from everything she’d worked toward for most of her life. After a move to Nashville, she yearns to build a “normal” life, one where she—and others—can discover who she is outside of music. Catching a country singer’s attention is far from normal, but she can’t resist being drawn into Tucker’s world.

Tucker can’t afford a distraction, can’t afford to notice anything but Gin’s talent, but the more he spends time with her, the more time he wants to spend with her…until the band suffers a devastating blow. Can he give the band the dedication it requires and still be the man Gin deserves?

Heartstrings is a stand-alone novel in the Hale Street series.

REVIEW

Heartstrings sucked me in from the first page, I was drawn to Tucker and Gin and the undeniable connection between them.   From the start, I was curious to know more about Gin, to understand who she was and how music was a part of her and why she wasn't letting that part of her out completely.  I was enamored by Tucker and his heart torn in two - the band he loved, the music that fulfilled him and what was happening between him and Gin. 

Amy Knupp did a great job of building up the tension between these two, of adding just the right amount of angst to keep you guessing if things would work out or not.  Gin wanted nothing more than to find a "normal" in Nashville and Tucker wants to get things back on track with his band, neither is looking for love,  but somehow Love finds them anyways as happens in the real world.  

These two have such a unique bond between them, a perfect fit if you will but that doesn't mean their path isn't without it's problems.  Knupp handled that with vivid writing and characters who not only feel real - they are relatable. There's a clear connection to be made between reader and characters which only adds to the emotions the story brings out.  

With a cast of fun side characters, Hale Street always feels like joining a family and becoming a part of the intricate lives of it's residents.