Review by janinewesterweel -- Music to My Ears (Pre-Rele...

janinewesterweel · Post by **janinewesterweel** » 20 Aug 2019, 06:15

[Following is a volunteer review of "Music to My Ears (Pre-Release Beta Edition)" by Heidi M. Simone.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Sophia has had problems feeling comfortable at night for as long as she can remember. Doctors have always told her parents that she is simply dehydrated. And the only thing that does seem to help her is in fact to have a refreshing drink of water. When her grandfather finally suggests one night putting a humidifier in her room, that seems to solve her problem. But a few years later, her restless nights and recurring nightmares return. It’s always the same dream, remembering a day at the beach as a child when she almost caused someone to drown. This confuses her, she doesn’t remember the details and doesn’t know what she did or why.
Years later, as an accomplished flautist and singer/songwriter Sophia lands the job of writing a song for a movie in New York. Working on this with the charming and enigmatic Dante, she believes all her dreams have come true. As they work closely together on the movie score, their relationship quickly deepens into a very strong bond and almost a soulmate tie. But Dante begins revealing things about Sophia that she never knew. Things that could ultimately get her killed…

Music to My Ears by Heidi M. Simone is the first of a trilogy known as The Siren Series. This is also the author’s first published novel. If this is an example of what’s to come, I eagerly await the next two! What an intriguing storyline; one of the most interesting I’ve read. By halfway through this book I was so hooked, I could not stop reading when I had a million other things to get done!

The author uses a very clever build-up before dropping the bombshell explaining Sophia’s disturbing nightmares, the mysterious events in her past and her inexplicably restless nights where she sometimes can’t even breathe. I was baffled about why the main character seemed to obsess so much over having water. Then it suddenly all fell into place and was one of those “ah, of course!” moments.

Although this book is classified in the young adult genre, I feel it would appeal to a broad audience - not just young adults and not just readers who enjoy fantasy. For me, it had the right touch of fantasy added to reality to make it truly interesting. For that exact reason the only disappointing aspect, in my opinion, was the epilogue. I felt this took things to the limits and spoiled the feeling that the story might just be possible.

It was very well edited as I found only three minor errors. At 11% (chapter 3), the type becomes completely distorted for a few pages until the beginning of chapter 4. This frustrated me a bit as I have a feeling I missed out on some important things.

Despite these minor issues, I rate Music to My Ears a solid 4 out of 4 stars. I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone looking for a bit of fantasy/mystery/intrigue and there is no specific type of reader who would not enjoy this story.

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Music to My Ears (Pre-Release Beta Edition)
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Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 21 Aug 2019, 11:26

Thanks for this great review. I love that, for a while at least, having a humidifier in the room helped Sophia sleep. It's a great bit of foreshadowing.

janinewesterweel · Post by **janinewesterweel** » 22 Aug 2019, 05:55

esp1975 wrote: ↑21 Aug 2019, 11:26 Thanks for this great review. I love that, for a while at least, having a humidifier in the room helped Sophia sleep. It's a great bit of foreshadowing.

Yes, it is! I loved the way the author did this so cleverly. It gets you really curious and wondering, "why on earth...?" until the final reveal. Thanks for your lovely comment esp1975!