Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 Seventeen year old Carmen Bianchi is an award winning violinist. She is on the verge of competing in the prestigious Guarneri competition against Jeremy King; one of Europe's most talented young violinists. 
 After a not-so-chance encounter with Jeremy, Carmen is infuriated. Jeremy seems like nothing more than an ostentatious, arrogant jerk. After a few email interactions, Carmen finds herself at one of Jeremy's shows. As she watches him from her box seat, things begin to change. After the show, the two young musicians share a pizza and as they talk, Carmen comes to the realization that somewhere along the way, music has changed for her. Playing the violin has become something she does for others - such as her mother (who is also her manager), her strict violin teacher, and everyone else around her. At some point she stopped feeling it. She stopped doing it for the joy it made her feel; she stopped doing it for herself. 
 Carmen's mother warns her against Jeremy, and even forbids her to see him. In a rare act of rebellion, Carmen does the opposite. She sees him more. Then, just as Carmen begins to trust that Jeremy isn't out to sabotage her... he tells her why he's really been spending time with her. 
 That's when things begin to fall apart for Carmen. 
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 Okay, to quote the synopsis - "She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction." 
 This is very misleading. Carmen didn't need the pills, nor was it her idea to take them. Carmen's mother is domineering and quite frankly, terrible. She pretty much forces Inderal (an anxiety drug, which I had to Google to find out since the author never actually tells us what it is for) on her daughter so she doesn't get nervous during performances. She is making her daughter become dependent on a drug. Disgusting. Carmen decides on her own to stop taking it (and her mother acts like she has committed a murder over it) and merely craves it a few times after going cold-turkey. Really? No. While this is but one element in this story, it's not a necessary one. It was like the author forced it into the storyline just for the sake of it. It could have been completely left out and been just as good - if not better. Instead, there it was, being pointless and irritating. I kept waiting for there to be a point to it, and there just wasn't one. 
 Likes: 
 The characters were extremely well written! Each personality was clear and precise. They seemed like real people to me. I would assume that's difficult when writing about a child 'prodigy' or 'celebrity'. Jessica Martinez didn't create characters who seemed older than they actually were (which is something I feared going into this book). Carmen and Jeremy both had moments of immaturity and teen angst to go along with their musical genius. 
 The big issue that kept me from adding this to my to-read list for so long was that I wasn't quite sure I would like or understand a book about a violinist. I don't listen to classical music and I know absolutely nothing about it. Something made me give in though. I saw it at the library and decided on a whim to just try it out. I'm glad I did, because the musical aspect was written in a way that anyone could understand and feel connected to. I didn't feel bored or confused by any of the terms or lingo used. I would imagine as someone who has played the violin herself since age 3, Jessica Martinez could have written a novel that average folks like me would stare blankly at while a huge question mark hovered above our heads. Not the case, and I applaud her for that. 
 Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book! It was a pleasant surprise for me. The flow of the story was beautiful. I enjoyed the writing and the pace. There weren't any lulls in the plot. It was light and fun, but intense and emotional at the same time. I think the characters are easy to connect with. The romance wasn't overly done. This was an insanely fast read. 5 hours and I was finished. There is a message in this story, and it's a good one. I would recommend this to readers of all types. It's clean; age appropriate. Definitely worth your time! 
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 Book source: My lovely local library 
 Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster