Series: Forever First #1
Publication date: June 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Synopsis:
Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a frat party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.
Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.
Until it doesn't.
Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Graduation Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.
But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.
Days and months of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.
The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.
But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?
And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too.
My Review:
Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman is a story about love, healing and letting go.
I liked that Maddie gets tattoos to help with her pain. It’s a lot better than her doing drugs and or something else that could be worse. She only does it on the anniversary of her parent’s death because that is the particular day that is hardest for her to handle. It’s like she is wearing her battle scars on the outside and by doing so also letting them go. She is one tough kid; you can see some of her actions are based on the fact of the traumatic event she had to experience and from her sheltered life after the event. I like that she also has a therapist that is there to help her through some of her sticky moments. It makes her a little different than a lot of characters that are struggling with issues. Rather than it being like oh look she’s okay now she has love in her life, no it’s showing that her healing process is ongoing and can be for a long period of time.
Kyle is kind of interesting because there are many things that are alluded to about him but I’m not sure if he really confirms or denies them. He is a guy who remembers his first love, who misses her but did move on. He tried even though her ghost still haunts him. He has also had a tragedy and we get some insight of his home life growing up in flashbacks of his and Maddie’s relationship. I like Kyle and his not so perfectness.
Music is a coping mechanism for both Maddie and Kyle; it’s also what brings them together. They have to perform a duet for the Winter Gala. Maddie has no choice but to perform it, even with Kyle being her partner because it could insure her another full ride scholarship for the next year.
Evan....I don’t even want to talk about that guy.
I was a little bothered by Gina, Maddie’s roommate, there was potential with her character but at times she seemed to lack. I did like how midway through the book she seems to be there for Maddie more and I actually think she would almost be a fun roommate. I remember someone similar to her in College. There is an issue of rape that is very lightly addresses, along with the drug use. It’s one of those if you knew this happened to someone what would you do. Gina tells Maddie about some of it and then Maddie chooses to keep her secret rather than tell anyone. I think in reality it’s confusing to both girls about what to do in the situation. I wish it was expanded on a little more.
There were some things that come out in the end that I actually did not expect. We have to wade through the web of the reason her parents were murdered. It’s really an interesting plot. It’s what intrigued me about the book in the first place and I found myself needing to know why they were killed. So it does a good job of keeping your curiosity peaked. I wasn’t as much interested in how Maddie deals with college, which to me was a side thing but more about how the heck do you deal with why her and Kyle are apart. I keep wondering in my head what I would do.
RaShelle Workman is the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series ("Sleeping Roses" is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series. She's sold over two hundred thousand copies of her novels worldwide in the past year, including Japan, Canada, and Europe. You can find RaShelle all over the web, but the best place to start is on her blog: www.rashelleworkman.com.
Author links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Giveaway:
Grand Prize Giveaway
75$ Amazon GC (INTL)
