Nocturne Blog Tour Stop!! ~ Crystal's Many Reviewers

Nocturne, by Andrea Randall and Charles Sheehan-Miles

The Blurb:

From the bestselling authors of In The Stillness and The Last Hour, a new story of forbidden love and second chances.

Savannah Marshall is a gifted flutist and daughter of musical royalty when she enrolls in the elite New England Conservatory of Music. Brilliant, eclectic and passionate, she lives music, but struggles with her plans for the future.

Gregory Fitzgerald is one of the most renowned cellists of his generation. A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and professor at the Conservatory, he is laser focused on his career to the exclusion of friends, family and especially romance.

When Gregory and Savannah's paths cross in the classroom, it threatens to challenge more than their wildly differing beliefs on music. Friendships, ethics, and careers are put on the line as Gregory and Savannah play a symphony of passion and heartbreak.

In the final movement, Gregory and Savannah are handed their greatest challenge, as the loss of absolutely everything they've held as truths hangs in the balance.

I have been waiting for this book for a while, and I had lofty expectations. I mean, independently these two authors have blown my mind. It’s not a secret they are some of my favorites. But together, writing a book? Surely there would there be a shift in the space/time continuum if that occurred? A disturbance in the force? Well, I’m no Stephen Hawking, but I definitely felt a shudder. This book was astronomically good. As I mentioned, I had high expectations, but it managed to exceed all of them.

This is the story of Savannah and Gregory. And oh…it’s so angsty! Savannah is a student at the New England Conservatory, and Gregory is an instructor there. Not her instructor, but an instructor nonetheless. They have electric chemistry, but it starts out as a distaste for each other…which in itself is quite delicious. I mean, with stories like this, you just know it’s going to go someplace gooood. But I digress. Gregory is a huge jerk. I mean, ginormous. Savannah sums him up pretty well when she says “He was an arrogant, snobby musical stereotype of the worst kind”. He always thinks he’s right, and he is single-minded in his pursuit to be the best in his craft as a cellist. I have to say, though, I think it takes a lot of talent as a writer to create a character that the reader is going to hate and invest the reader in that character. Gregory’s transformation throughout the book happens so subtly, by the end I loved him and I’m not sure how I actually arrived there. They totally got me! Savannah, on the other hand, is so bright, so talented and so headstrong that you can’t help but to admire her. She’s conflicted about so many things in her life, and through the course of the book you, as well as Savannah, come to find that her world isn’t exactly what it seems. She’s forced to make choices that I, as a reader, am not sure I could make. She has a quiet dignity and resolve that draws you to her. She is one of my favorite heroines in a book so far this year, by far.

I think what really struck me about this story is that it isn’t just a romance, and it isn’t just a drama. It’s an exploration of two people’s transformation with music as the catalyst, but in different ways for both of them. Savannah must learn to embrace, and Gregory must learn to let go, but in the end, they end up with what they both need in their grasp. Music is another character in this story. It has its own life, and undergoes its own transformation tempered the lives of these two people. As Savannah says “Music spoke the language of the human spirit for all to hear and understand”. I don’t know much about music and its mechanics, but it definitely spoke to me in this book and made me want to go pick up the flute I haven’t played since 8^th grade band.

I read this book in about 6 hours; I simply could not put it down. I stayed up until 2am reading this, and I had a total book hangover, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. That hasn’t happened in a long time! I also haven’t read a book that was a collaborative effort by two authors, well, ever. Having read books by both of these authors, I thought for sure that I’d be able to tell, at least in subtle ways, which did what. I have to say, however, that they brought their styles together seamlessly. The character development, pacing, plot…everything…was basically perfect. I think it rare that you come across a story this well-crafted and well told, and so I’m left with no choice but to give this book 5 stars.

Currently 4.99 on Amazon

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Meet the Authors:

Andrea Randall:

I started writing poetry long before writing fiction. I firmly believe Poetry is a solid foundation for all other forms of writing. It taught me that a single word can make or break the world.

I write fiction because my characters have a story and they want me to tell it.

I hope you enjoy the pieces of my soul that I share with you.

Charles Sheehan-Miles:

Sheehan-Miles has been a soldier, computer programmer, short-order cook and non-profit executive, and is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, including the indie bestsellers Just Remember to Breathe and Republic: A Novel of America's Future.