I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley.

Scarlett may play the right chords when on guitar, but not so much in real life. She struggles with her brother's death, falls for the bad boy (who by the way, I hated).

Can she put everything in perspective before she 's all tuned out?

I can't help it. When I think of this book I instantly see John Travolta and Olivia Newton John strutting around in the final scene of the movie 'Grease' singing, "You're the one that I want . . ." AND it's not even relevant. And the movie doesn't even have the same storyline. The only thing that they have in common is that they are both stories told through music, and I totally love that about this book. So, I'm sticking with my Grease imagery and that's that.

Set about six months after the MC's brother died due to a drug overdose brought some pangs of familiarity to me. They were tough to read. But at the same time, I really appreciated that the author took the time to show the grieving process and allowed readers to experience the sensation that life can still be happy despite losing someone so close to you. High five, Ms Deriso. I also liked that the family relationships were so awesomely portrayed. Seriously, it made me want to call my parents and schedule a cookie baking marathon or something. While its storming outside. And there's a fire burning in the fireplace. And Elvis is crooning in the background. Its totally going to happen.

The only thing this book was lacking was a bit of maturity from the MC, but I can't fault the book or the writing for this. It was entirely appropriate thinking for a 17-18 year old girl. Which I no longer am. So aside from that, I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of YA who like music, bands, and love stories, but who also want a quick and light summer read.

All the wrong chords is a sweet book about young love, family, and music. While reading you feel the families strong ties and struggles. Well written.

A beautiful story about loss, music, finding love and a lot of drama, this book is unputdownable. I had to bring my phone with me to the bathroom so I can continue reading. I like how the lyrics of the songs are written by the author herself having originality.

Our main character, Scarlett, is your average teenage girl which is great because she's relatable. Scarlett spends the summer at her grandpa's and I think it's so cute when grandparents spend time with their grandchildren. Then there' Zach, he's like the perfect son, friend, and lover. Zach's family is full of love, like love is in the air kind of thing, that it reminds me of Jenny Han novels. And then, there's Declan. He's hot but a jerk. I wanted to get to know more about him though.

I would recommend this for those going through a heartbreak whether those who have lost their loved ones through death or a break up.

If you like books by Jenny Han and Jay Asher, I think you'll enjoy All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso.

I liked this book. It was a short easy read, and kept my interest. I did feel at times the main character got a little winy but still she was ok. Our main character is dealing with the death of her older brother. She's spending the summer with her grandfather. She meets new people and plays some music. There wasn't really anything with the story that really stood out to me but I would recommend as a very easy to read contemporary.

Trigger Warning: gay character make comments that are offensive to straight ppl

Well I am joking of cuz. What's the fun in life living in trigger warnings. But yes I am definitely pissed when Varun the gay character said he had it worse than a straight white boy. Not something I usually get upset about but with the usual trend of bashing straight ppl for no other reason other than they are straight and white , I can't help being triggered.

My annoyance with the character doesn't impact my reading experience. I am very glad that I picked All the Wrong Chords. Our heroine Scarlett is spending her summer with her grandpa, what happened when she joined a band, have to juggle between 2 hot boys and band drama?

I enjoy the mystery vibe within the book. Scarlett got torn between 2 boys Zach and uhmm I can't rmb his name. These 2 boys are sending Scarlett mixed signals? What is the deal with them? What are they hiding? I rack my brain trying to guess

Aside from the romance, this book is just sooo heart warming and sweet. A perfect blend of Romance, Family, Friendship and Mystery

Name of blog where this review was published: Sue's Reading Corner
When this review was published: Friday June 30th, 2017

When I first saw it on NetGalley, it seemed to resonate with what I liked, mainly that it had to do with art and entertainment through music. And while I did enjoy reading it in the beginning, by midpoint, I wanted to move on from this story altogether.

Don't get me wrong; this book has so much potential. It starts off with Scarlett staying at her grandfather's house for the summer, where they seem to get along quite well. There's no awkwardness or reconnecting. Even though tragedy had struck their family, they were getting along they best they could. As the story progressed, I thought it would be more about her reconnecting with her brother through music, being part of a band again, her relationship with other family members (like her grandfather) with a light romance on the side. I had no idea how far she was going to go into lovesick mode. I just thought that there would be more development than that...

 It just didn't make sense to me that a girl who hasn't had a history falling for guys solely based on looks falls head over heels for this jerk who seems more interested in the unattainable. Nor did it make sense to everyone else around her, including herself. But it doesn't stop Scarlett from imagining herself with him in these superficial lovey-dovey scenarios, which really annoyed me. What also annoyed me was that once she moved on to a different guy, she went all in, focusing her attention on him as if her were her one and only. I know I'm not really invested in romance a lot of the time, but it felt like a bit too much with Scarlett focusing on guys in the band rather than the fact that she's in a band and doing what she loves... Overall, the book leaned toward romance as opposed to familial issues and healing more than I would have liked.

Well, that's all I have to say about All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso. I'm pretty sure that there is an audience for this book, but for me, I guess it just struck all the wrong chords (pun intended :D ).

Posted On: Goodreads & The Moon Who Listens
Review Post: August 2, 2017 (blog), it is already posted on Goodreads
**note: the full review will be posted on my blog


This started out pretty great okay. The ending touched my heart too.

But I had such a huge problem with the inconsistency of the plot, the characters and the theme of the story. I mean, Liam's death was suppose to be the focus of this book but it was gone completely by the middle of the book but revived again by the end. It turned more into a love story when I think the love story should just be a part of it and not the focus of everything all together. It made the book more generic and it really lost its potential rather than if the author just focused on how Scarlett gets over her brother and meets this one guy on the way or something. This book turned to be more on Scarlett getting over a guy she got romantically involved in. (she literally said she was going to get over him 4 times and she did the exact opposite of it and went out on a date with him and even made out with him and everything)


in a detailed conclusion. . .



What I liked:

- Z A C H
- initial idea of the book (Liam's death and Scarlett trying to get over it)
- Vadu, Vandaan, Vundan, . . . what?? well, that guy. he's cool.
- writing style
- other band members, except Declan
- Scarlett talking about Liam in the first and last chapters


What I did not like:

- that "out-of-nowhere-plot-twist" near the end (that was just so random, there was barely any explanation and it was never stated and explained how it fit into the plot)
- inconsistent theme
- Scarlett being a badass woman who doesn't need anybody one minute then having a complete 180 character change wherever Declan is involved
- (which reminds me) D E C L A N


Speaking of Scarlett, I was so annoyed of her character. I think this was a weak point of the book as well, the characters. I did not get hooked with them as I usually do and I think character connection to the readers is really what keeps the readers of a certain book hooked to the story.



this book also had some technical mistakes that might need fixing. the cover could be better. . . ? maybe changing the color scheme and some minor things could make it so much better.

I loved 'All the Wrong Chords' by Deriso Christine Hurley not just because it's about music, love and loss of the loved ones, but mostly because the characters involved in the book were normal, sensitive people who make mistakes like all of us. It was really easy to get engrossed in the book, I loved the way dealing with death was portrayed - in a really reasonable yet sensitive way. I found both main characters (Scarlett and Zach) amazing by spreading sense of humor and positive vibes.

I know this was a YA romance but this story and the characters just didn't add up for me. Scarlett the heroine was just to immature for me, the indecisive way she went about dealing with her relationships was really annoying and her ability to ignore some of the bad behaviors of one of the was seriously frustrating, I didn't like the chemistry between the characters and can't see why things turned out the way they did, it all just seemed so lukewarm.

I kind of requested this one on a whim, not sure what to expect. The premise sounds great and it's totally something I'm into, but I was a little worried about it being pulled off. I get super picky with my heartache-to-love stories.

Scarlett is a great character. She's young and ambitious and maybe a little naive about things. She falls hard for Declan, the lead singer of the Beastings even though there are warning signs all around her. It's been six months since her brother died of a drug overdose and it's also been that long since she's really "felt" anything but sadness.

Declan is a jerk, honestly. He's irresponsible and rude. And he's a huge player. You get about halfway through the book before Scarlett finally realizes it. It's not hard for you, as a reader, to see it but it takes Scarlett a little while.

What you do notice, is Zach. Sweet, kind of sad, Zach who helps Scarlett learn music, listens to her talk about her brother, and invites her to join the band in the first place.

You'll love Zach. *swoon*

This is a great little story about overcoming grief and finding your way again. It's also good to see a strong female character take charge and ignore the boy who treats her like crap. I really enjoyed this one and I hope that a little editing will go a long way. Some of the transitions were abrupt and there were some spelling issues, but all in all a good read.