I had the opportunity to read an early copy of this book (thanks Netgalley) and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
It's not a new story - two damaged individuals trying to figure out how to love one another without allowing their demons to destroy them - but felt fresher and newer than this story should have.
Clay Coolidge is on top of the world, at least from the outside. He's headlining a country music tour around the country, selling out massive venues everywhere he goes. Onstage he's cocky, charming and sexy as hell. Backstage he's drinking too much, getting into fights and barely managing to hold himself together.
Annie Mather is the daughter of two of country music's greatest stars, a couple who burned brightly, but burned out quickly. Terrified of ending up a casualty of the business like her parents, Annie has resisted playing music for audiences despite loving it more than anything else. When Clay Coolidge shows up at her door begging her to join his tour as opening act, her passion for performing wins and she reluctantly agrees.
Thrown together on the road, Clay and Annie get to know each other. Their bands get to know each other. And before too long there is some definite smoldering between Clay and Annie. But both being insecure, the smallest slights lead to public declarations and songs written for revenge.
And as Annie's career begins to skyrocket, Clay's begins spiraling out of control.
I know very little about country music, but at this level, it seems very similar to the rock music world I know very well. The pressures and temptations are the same. The highs and lows are the same. The isolation of traveling the country in a bus with the same people day in and day out are the same.
So I identified with Annie and Clay and the struggles they faced on the road and enjoyed their company as they tried to figure out how to overcome their pasts and just be together in the moment. It isn't a very deep book and it isn't telling a new story, but it's an easy, fun read that will definitely engage you for the few hours you spend in its world.
But don't just take my word for it. Here's the blurb:
Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.
But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.
Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.
Erin Hahn’s thrilling debut, You’d Be Mine, asks: can the right song and the perfect summer on the road make two broken hearts whole?
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