Book Review: After the Music by Elena Goudelias

Genre ~ woman’s fiction, contemporary romance

Featuring ~ musician, small town, second chance, no steamage

POV ~ single 1st person

Series ~ Oak Plains #1

Release date ~ February 2, 2023

Page count ~ 254

My rating ~ 4.25⭐

My review:

A tragedy caused Bailey to flee Oak Plains and stop singing 6 years ago and she hasn’t picked up her guitar since. Still in the music industry, she works for a record label finding new talent. Now that job brings her back to her hometown where she stays with her sister, Cassidy, while she tries to find someone to perform at the annual summer concert.

Dustin Dustin Dustin ~ what a sweet man. Unbeknownst to Bailey, he has harbored a crush on her since high school. When he saw her again I could just feel his light shine again ~ I don’t even know if that even makes sense really, since that was the first time us readers met him.

The whole town, especially Cassidy and Dustin, helps Bailey realize the stage is where she belongs. Her journey there was a bigger portion of the story, more so than the budding romance.

Overall, a lovely, well written story about finding your passion again and a little something else along the way that you weren’t expecting….love.

Side note ~ the picture I included was my grandpa’s guitar. He carved in it how much he loved my grandma. He’s been gone for 30 years and my grandma 3, so it’s just a little something special I have to remember them 💕

*Thanks to Elena Goudelias for sending me a paperback. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

Perfect for music-loving fans of Nicholas Sparks’ Dreamland and Lucy Score’s Things We Never Got Over, author Elena Goudelias delivers a small-town contemporary romance that is vibrant, addictive, and heartwarming. Vividly set and full of lovable characters, After the Music is the perfect feel-good hometown romance for anyone seeking hope and inspiration.

At twenty-two, Bailey Flynn learned a hard lesson: no good thing is meant to last. If it were, she would be releasing new country music and enjoying her life in the peaceful Pennsylvania countryside. Instead, she is still reeling from a family tragedy that nearly destroyed everything, and she hasn’t been able to pick up her beloved guitar since.

Six years later, twenty-eight-year-old Bailey returns to her rural hometown of Oak Plains. When Bailey sees a familiar face from high school during a visit to the local hardware store, she finds herself revisiting the past in a new light. Dustin Cooper is one of the few people who truly understand what she’s been through, and his unflagging patience and compassion toward her are almost overwhelming. Their instant chemistry and shared history are addictively comforting, and suddenly Bailey finds herself falling for him faster than she ever has before.

When Bailey’s family begs her to return to the stage and sing at the town’s annual summer concert, Bailey realizes her old wounds are far from healed. Facing another major disappointment is almost too much to bear.

Can she find the courage to let hope return to her heart, heal from her tragic past, and fall back in love with country music along the way?

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