Review: American Love Songs

Title: American Love Songs
Author: Ashlyn Kane
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 31 December 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 251 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Jake Brenner has too many wild oats to sow to fall in love—or so he claims. Besides, he's much too busy with his band, the Wayward Sons, to go looking for romance. His reticence has nothing to do with his embarrassing crush on Chris, the band's lead singer and Jake's erstwhile best friend. But that was before enigmatic wanderer Parker McAvoy signed on as the band's new lead guitarist.

He can only deny his attraction to sweet, dorky Parker for so long before the urge to do something about it becomes impossible to ignore. The trouble is, Parker knows all about Jake's philandering ways—and oh, yeah, he's not gay. Or so Jake thinks until a string of related events provides encouraging new insight. Can he convince Parker to overlook his colorful past and give him a chance? Or will this love song fade out before it even begins?

Review:

Main Characters:
Jake is an easygoing guy, the mediator of his band of friends--and his friends in the band. He's a college dropout who hasn't looked back since he made the decision to pursue a career in music, a bit of a player, and completely oblivious to certain aspects of himself. He's a great, fun character, and one I came to adore as the story progressed.

Parker is much quieter and far more reserved, suffering from occasionally-crippling shyness. He is a musical genius with a gift for songwriting to go with his talents with instruments, and keeps secrets about his past close to his chest. He's downright adorable in his insecurities, and it's easy to root for him, especially as his past begins to come out.

Chemistry:
For much of the story, Jake and Parker are friends with no real inkling that they could be anything more. Their friendship is frankly sweet; I love the scene where Parker is dragged into bed by a sick Jake to play bedwarmer. Once they begin to recognize their attraction and act on it, though, things definitely sizzle. It's a slow progression, but a very appealing one; I found myself holding my breath each time they kissed, wondering if it would be that time they'd be carried away by it.

Secondary Characters:
The supporting cast is fairly large, including their bandmates, support staff, families, and other incidentals, but most are so well drawn that they're easy to keep track of despite the quantity. Several are stellar--I particularly liked Allanna and Mickey.

Story:
The story follows not only the development of Jake and Parker's relationship, but also the rise of their band from local notoriety to international glory. It was generally well-paced and engaging, but I found it lagged a little by the time Jake and Parker really started heating up; I found my attention wandering more than once toward the end.

Writing:
The writing was lovely, with engaging dialogue and lively prose. The prose was interspersed with occasional blog posts, which was interesting, and also sported the occasional footnote, for commentary by the characters.

Although I enjoyed the writing, the premise did throw me a little. It was presented as a story told to the fans, into which the blog posts and footnotes fit, but some of the things included that made sense in a traditional format didn't make sense as it was presented; would Parker really be comfortable with an account of him coming in his jeans being presented to the fans when he has to go onstage sans glasses to help control his nerves? I just couldn't quite equate the two.

Overall:
Likable characters and a fun story made this a pleasure to read. Although the premise still throws me, if you can move beyond that you'll certainly find plenty to like. I only wish it were possible to see more of Jake and Parker's growth together.