🎤🎧🎼💍💒 Marriage, Melodies, and Rewritten Conclusions" 💒💍🎼🎧🎤

MY REVIEW

Paperback: 324 pages
Publisher: Whitefire Publishing (October 19, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1946531766
ISBN-13: 978-1946531766
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“Kaylee McGrurd feels like life has left her behind. Her best friends have all moved out, married, or are in the process of matrimony. Meanwhile, she's lost another job, and her daily diet consists of noodles that are better suited to packing material.

Then Kaylee's ex, Gabe Sanders, enters the equation.

Gabe walked out on Kaylee without warning or explanation nine years earlier, but now he's been brought back to the area for the unforeseeable future. And he's in need of a new lead vocalist for his wedding band.

A dwindling account balance calls for desperate measures, and Kaylee reluctantly accepts Gabe's offer. While the former couple works together in the midst of happy marriages and heartfelt melodies, secrets and the need for forgiveness highlight the strife between them...and the hope that maybe God's rewriting the conclusion to their story.”

Thank you in advance to the author, V. Joy Palmer, for providing a complimentary review copy. A positive review was not required in any way, nor was it requested. All words are my own.

This is not the first I’ve read by the author, and it won’t be the last. I previously read Weddings, Willows, and Revised Expectations (WWARE). It was an interesting book and definitely one I will revisit when I get the first book – Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations (LLAMA). Wait, does that read LLAMA as in the animal? Cute!

Marriage, Melodies, and Rewritten Conclusions (MMARC) is the third (3^rd) book in an unnamed Christian Romance series of books that have cutesy, but long titles. Being that these are Christian Fiction there are some heavier than normal references to the bible, bible quotes, references to God, and characters rooted in their faith. These are a bit fundamental to the story. It is also a clean romance with not much more than kissing.

While MMARC could function as a standalone read, after reading the end of this, the first one (LLAMA) should be read, as well as WWARE to see how everything began.

The cover is “darker” than the other two, but definitely fits in line along with the typestyle of the title. I think I even voted for this cover back in May. Has it really been THAT long?

Anyway …

Right off, the first line grabbed me:

“When real life starts to mirror the first verse of any number of country breakup songs, you should expect it to get messy” ...

With that, I definitely was wondering what to expect.

This soon became the book I wanted to yell at, scream, pull my hair, throw it across the room, pick it up, hug it, and cry. So, emotional doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was tragic, sad, inspiring, beautiful to say the very least.

Since I had previously read Palmer’s WWARE, I was used to the quirky first (1^st) person “narrative” writing style for the ladies; and the third person style for the guys.

Speaking of …

Returning characters are Izze and Miles from LLAMA along with Apryl, Chance, Courtney, and Dallas from WWARE. Though the ladies are more featured than the guys in this. If you’ve read WWARE (and perhaps LLAMA), Lou also returns. These are definitely the sweet annoying friends you want around you. I know I identified with Kaylee due to the sometimes inappropriate and annoying DJ in the head.

Palmer’s descriptive, and at times hilarious, writing style draws the reader in. One incident was near the end with Kaylee’s “squeak-sob-honk” that made me laugh, almost to the point of tears.

This plot was a bit more sad, dramatic, and more serious than book #2. And, Palmer did a great job in being discrete, yet open about Gabe’s “addiction”. In a classy and informative way, the author delves into porn addiction. She slowly unravels Gabe’s history while leaving some hope between him and Kaylee.

There is also some drama with a character from the band – Natalya. I don’t know how many times I want to toss her out myself. There was one incident in which she accused Kaylee of throwing herself at Gabe and I wanted to throw Natalya.

The short, quick, and even paced chapters made this a pretty quick read, though I did stop for a moment to read another book (deadline related) during it. Usually, I don’t do that, but it was easy to climb right back into this. And, I honestly wanted to keep reading this without stopping, but … life.

There were SO many pop culture references in this book that I loved! “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (TWOK) with the “Kobayashi Maru” test; the ORIGINAL (and in my opinion, the best) “Battlestar Galactica”; “NCIS”; “The Empire Strikes Back” with the Lando Calrissian reference; in addition to the song from “Frozen” … “Let It Go”. Oh, and I forgot one – “Tradition!” from “Fiddler on the Roof”. We also get a Baby Yoda (now called Grogu) reference. This book definitely was my favorite with all those references.

And, there were also some good songs mentioned as well. Want to break my heart? Start with Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You”.

The events of LLAMA and WWARE have led Kaylee to some money issues, particularly paying her rent. And, due to another character’s family emergency, Kaylee finds herself out of a job. If you haven’t read those two books, sorry for the slight spoiler.

Enter Kaylee’s ex … Gabe Sanders, the man who left her at the altar for reasons unknown to her and it has stung since then.

He’s back in the area to help take care of his mom, and he needs a singer for his wedding band, how ironic. And, Kaylee ends up saying yes to the job. She really has no choice.

Gabe needs her help in more than one way, band-mates Natalya and Summer need a place to stay as well as the band needing rehearsal space – so, that’s right, poor Kaylee. Though, Gabe and Kaylee working together is a stretch and challenge for them.

It is clear that Gabe has had another relationship since leaving her, but it is over. Well, over on his end. I don’t think readers will be surprised to see who it was either. And, the reader can definitely feel the tension. Palmer makes sure to balance out the serious and the fun.

The songs she chooses are poignant, telling, and emotional. Lifehouse’s “You and Me” always gets to me and it is clear – things are not definitely not over between Gabe and Kaylee but they don’t know how to proceed forward, where to go, or how to be just friends.

The reader isn’t the only one to see this – someone else does as well. It doesn’t come as a surprise when Natalya steps up and wants “more”. In fact, I’m surprised she didn’t start off with the request.

Through the novel, the author takes Gabe and Kaylee on the journey of finding each other again and through the drama of trying to work together. Thus proving one point in it that “God is bigger than us”. It isn’t until about two-thirds (2/3) that the reader gets any romance action.

And, it is soon after that Kaylee discovers the truth about Gabe’s last relationship. But, it isn’t her or Gabe that is holding him back from being better – he sees his father whose behavior adds fuel to his doubts about himself. He wants to fight to be better, but can’t.

But, after a talk with “Lou”, Gabe eventually decides to fight for Kaylee and especially after he learned about a bigger betrayal and lie thanks to his least likely advocate.

I was definitely sad to see the stories end, but what an ending! Palmer did a great job wrapping up the stories from the very first book through. She gave quite the epilogue for the characters, including Courtney and Apryl’s grandmother from the previous book. This isn’t all happy endings, but they are realistic.

Despite the more serious angle, there were moments of absolute hilarity. In one scene Kaylee calls Gabe a deranged clod which had me laughing out loud. Another incident was where Kaylee refers to Gabe’s writing as a chicken writing with his foot which is on fire. I think we all know “that” person – the poor handwriting that is.

One theme I love and that Palmer took a chance on was the old “forgive and forget” – many people do not realize we’re only asked to forgive, nowhere in the bible are we asked to forget though. I really wanted to cheer Izze (as well as the author) on for this one. It really brought it all home.

As of this blog, I now have the first book (LLAMA) in my possession and am going to try to read it in the New Year.

Fans of the author, genre, and the previous two books will no doubt enjoy this read. Although, I was pretty sad to say goodbye to these characters, I honestly can’t wait to see what V. Joy Palmer does next and meet her next group of friends.

RATING:

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub

5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)

Previous Books in the Series:

Paperback: 300 pages

Publisher: Whitefire Publishing (June 15, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1939023750

ISBN-13: 978-1939023759

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“Isabel Izze Vez, bridal consultant extraordinaire, has been helping brides find their perfect wedding gowns for years. All the happy endings are starting to grate on her. How many wedding dresses does Izze have to help other brides find before she actually gets to wear one herself? After experiencing a failed romance several years earlier, Izze begins barraging God: When will it be her turn?

When James Miles Clayton walks into her life, a fragile relationship is formed, but will their rocky start and a misunderstanding at work destroy everything? More importantly, will Izze let go of her shattered dreams, and trust God for a beautiful future?”

Paperback: 334 pages

Publisher: Whitefire Publishing (February 14, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1946531146

ISBN-13: 978–1946531146

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“Seventeen years after being orphaned, Apryl Burns and her twin sister Courtney have their own expectations for life. While Courtney continues to shine at everything, Apryl holds fast to the mantra that as long as her potato chip stash remains intact, then she'll be fine.

But when their beloved grandmother ends up injured and unable to manage her struggling antique store, Courtney makes it their mission to revamp the business and save what's left of their family's legacy. Despite rampant doubts in her abilities, Apryl finds herself trapped under the weight of family loyalty as they transition to a wedding venue decorating service. Soon shes forced to ask (translation: blackmail) their grandmother's renter/handyman, Chance McFarland, for help, an arrangement that is made even worse by the fact that Chance is her former (ahem, and current) crush.

Chance knows a few dozen things about family loyalty, which is why he begrudgingly agrees to Apryl's insane plan. While Apryl claims they're archenemies, the girl Chance only glimpsed in their teens starts to emerge, stealing what remains of his heart.

But expectations are a powerful thing. Amidst the glamorous weddings and swaying willows, can those old expectations be revised into something new?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

V. Joy Palmer loves to write romantic and comedic stories that proclaim God’s deep love for us. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and an avid blogger. In her spare time, Joy loves to sing (especially Disney songs), drink large quantities of coffee, and take flowery photos for Bookstagram. When Joy isn’t fighting with fictional people, she’s hanging out with her husband and their adorable little girl. Connect with Joy via www.vjoypalmer.com!

You can follow her on the following social media accounts:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VJoyPalmer/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vjoypalmer_author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VJoyPalmer

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