Melody’s Key Review
Love
That’s the first thing that came to my mind after finishing the story. It’s aimed towards the Young Adult/New Adult scene and definitely towards females. I found it hard to rate this book. On the one hand, I quite liked the story and the characters. On the contrary, I found the romance a bit too sloppy at times and the pacing a little odd here and there. But if you are one for books on love, then definitely continue with the review.
Characters
There were two main characters in the book, but we followed the protagonist, Tegan. We find ourselves in her chaotic household that she shares with her big family and quite a few guests. Tegan is a shy girl, but is beautiful and can do everything (well not everything… but you can see how it could get on a reader’s nerves). She can sing, she can play the piano, and she can paint. We do learn the reason why she is the way she is, eventually.
The second character we learn about is Mason, a pop star (kind of like Justin Bieber), who needs to take a break from life and let himself and his world slow down. Mason is not your usual pop star, but a relatively down-to-earth guy who is willing to fight for his love. We learn how he was broken and who controls him and why.
Themes
The first and biggest theme is the first subtitle of this piece, love. I like that I read this in winter, where I could come home to my wife, and cuddle with her like Tegan and Mason do over the summer. We see how love can be both healing and destructive as we learn about the past relationships and baggage that both Tegan and Mason carry with them into their relationship.
A second theme is the long term effects of a moment of weakness. Spoiler ahead. Warning ahead for those reading, it contains strong words and textual images. So, now that the warnings are done I can talk about it. In Melody’s Key, Coryell writes about rape and suicide. Well, he mentions them, he doesn’t describe the actual acts. What I found fascinating was the long-term effects and the mental barriers people create when this happens. Here, we read about Tegan’s wariness of all men and Mason’s hidden shame. But, as we read more, we see they’re accepted for who they are. You can heal. You don’t need to be ashamed.
Recommendation
While I did find it an interesting read, I don’t know if Young Adult romance is my particular cup of tea. I found it just a little too soppy for me. However, it was nicely paced and pretty well written, so if you’re interested in this sort of genre, I say go ahead and try it out.
Note about this review
I received a copy of the book from the author for an honest review. I always try my best to balance the reviews and not favour any one person (though I may be a bit subjective when it comes to the genre).
