*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
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 fraternity 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 Winter 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.
Weeks 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.
I liked Touching Melody, except there were too many things I had an issue with.
Maddie is very contradicting. On the one hand you think she is a bit of a bad ass with the tattoos. She's been getting those tattoos since she was thirteen and it is to feel pain so she won't remember for one moment what has happened to her family. To me that seems like a form of self harm, she's just not doing the cutting herself.
On the other hand Maddie is extremely naive and very frustrating when it came to Kyle. She keeps going back and forth between loving him and hating him because his dad killed her parents. So I get the traumatic experience and that she is wary about him.
Still I don't think it is fair to judge someone by whom their parents are. Certainly when Maddie knew Kyly was getting regularly beaten by his father. That boy was stuck in a situation he didn't know how to get out of.
Kyle was sweet, even though he was kind of a bastard in the beginning of the book. That seven year separation really hurt him and because he didn't know what his dad has done, I can understand why he was mad. He was also a bit oblivious though when it came to all that and what his dad was up to. You think he would have a clue, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
There was one part which I had a big problem with. Maddie's roommate gets raped, which I already have big issues with on its own, but the situation barely gets talked about. The roommate doesn't want to go to the police, they have a big discussion and that is that. Pretty much the next day, the girl is in bed with another guy. That did not work at all for me.
The writing and plot was okay. It was build up really nice, just the ending felt a bit rushed, because there is suddenly a lot of action. Overall the book wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good.
Oh, wow! I would have definitely been unhappy with a rape that happens and is ignored. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction