More Than Music by Elizabeth Briggs Series: Chasing the Dream #1
Publisher: Self-Published on June 17, 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Pages: 303
Format: eBook
Source: Review Request
Purchase: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads
Rating:
Music major Maddie Taylor just finished her junior year of college and has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, yet every night she practices guitar and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars. That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.
Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation – and that he’s just as big a geek as she is. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single they’re forced to keep their relationship secret.
As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.
At A Glance
Fun and interesting, but not the best read ever.
The Good
I have to be honest, I might have liked this book more than most because A) my obsession with rock star romances and B) I loved seeing a possible version of what it’s like behind the scenes of shows like The Voice or X Factor. It was crazy!!! I would hate dealing with all that drama and cattiness, so I am happy I got to experience it through Maddie’s eyes.
Maddie is a music and comic book geek who gets pulled into a band and then a reality show in a matter of a few days. It all happens so fast for her. She is not a rocker, but she LOVES music. So she easily fits in with the rest of her new band, the Villain Complex. But her major crush for Jared, the lead singer, gets complicated. I loved how down to earth and sweet Maddie was. She was so damn endearing. I wanted to protect her from all the drama of the show, but I was happy to see it made her a strong person.
Jared was a perfect match for her because he too loves music with a passion and is all geeky with his comic book obsession. He isn’t the typical rocker. He’s sweet and approachable, though still smoking hot. But the fame does get to him a bit. His focus is winning the show and getting the contract, which added a lot of drama.
So much shit goes down in this musical reality show. The people working for the show don’t care and are manipulative. The competition is cruel and aggressive. The mentors care more about themselves than the bands they are suppose to me helping out. But there are a few good people sprinkled throughout.
I like how the book ended, but I can’t say anything else without spoiling it.
The Bad
I didn’t like Jared as a love interest for the majority of the time. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good guy, but his image means too much to him for him to be a good boyfriend. I was sad to see Maddie keep running after him after he embarrassed her quite often. And this was for the majority of the book.
I expected something more. It felt rushed, then the end came so fast I was disappointed that not more was resolved or at least mentioned.
The Snuggly
Jared pissed me off a lot with his resistance to acknowledge Maddie as his love interest just because of his image, so it was hard to love them as a couple. I just felt okay with them overall. There is some sex but nothing overdone.
Final Thoughts
Not the best book ever written but it was fun to read and I liked all the drama and most of the characters. Recommended.
Quotes
“I’d lost myself in the show, in Jared, in the impossible dream and the beautiful lie.”
“But when will the act end?” I asked. “When the show is over? What about the tour? What if we win? When will I be good enough to not be a secret anymore?”
“I didn’t know what would happen with the band, but I knew we’d get through it. Because what we had together was more than music. It was love.”
Lekeisha
Not sure about this one. You know how I love your reviews, but this one is not my cup of tea. The last book I read about music was not good. I’m steering clear of them at the moment.
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, sometimes I need a break from certain concepts when a bad book taints it for a bit.
kindlemom1
Sounds like Maddie was a great character but Jared wasn’t always. Sorry the ending didn’t have that extra umph to really make it great.
Wonderful thought out review!!
Jennifer Bielman
Hey, I still enjoyed it, so at least the bad wasn’t too bad.
Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf
I get that it was a fun read despite some issues…I’d love to see what goes on behind the scenes as well!
Jennifer Bielman
It was so interesting. It would be sad if it were true though.
Kristin
Great review. I haven’t read this one yet but I recently read the second book More Than Comics and loved it. I will have to grab a copy of this because I am interested in what happened during the show. It was talked about a lot in the second book and I’m curious what went on.
Jennifer Bielman
I am going to read More Than Comics soon. so excited. happy it was good.
Christy
Rocker geeks! Sweet! Poor Maddie. Sounds like she had it rough. And not the good kind of rough.
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, no, not the good kind of rough. Rocker geeks are yum though.
kimbacaffeinate
My youngest would love this for the behind the scenes aspect alone. Wonderful review Jennifer
Jennifer Bielman
It was sooooo cool.
Melliane
I confess that I haven’t read a music book yet or I don’t think so but I should, it sounds nice! thanks for the review.
Jennifer Bielman
I love books that mix music in them somehow.
Benish
I agree with your review on this one, I liked Maddie’s character the most xD Jared annoyed me most of the time unfortunately as well – lovely review.
Jennifer Bielman
It’s like I wanted to like him because he had good moments, but, just, no!
alreem
sound like a great read, I will add it to my TBR 😀
Jennifer Bielman
🙂 awesome.
Jaclyn Canada
Being a huge fan of The Voice, I think this one would be fun to read simply for that insider’s look into the possible workings of a show like it. It sounds realistic to how things could go down, and that would be very interesting!
Jennifer Bielman
It seems a bit extreme but I could totally see it happening that way.
Red Iza
As much as I love rock musician in particular, and music in general, I’m not a fan of those shows, so I’m not sure I’d like to read about it. Maddie looks like a good character, but I’m not sure I would like Jared. You made very good points in your review 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, I think if you liked those kind of shows you would like this better. Though I don’t watch The Voice, so who knows.
anna (herding cats & burning soup)
I’ve really enjoyed the rock star ones as well. A behind the scenes is always interesting. I had one recently that the hero kept embarrassing the heroine and she kept coming back for more. I ended up loving the book (and the hero) by the end but man I would NOT have that kind of patience or endurance if I was the heroine. lol
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, sometimes we can hate characters and love them later, just like real people!
ailyn
i prefer it if it has audio of the songs they play *haha* if the audiobooks provide that I might consider it
Jennifer Bielman
Oooh, that would be awesome.