In theory The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce should have been a complete love match for me. I wanted to fall in love. I was ready, totally prepared. I thrive on quirky and when I think I’ve found it, that awkward little gem, I get unreasonably excited. I carve out a block of time I won’t be interrupted, get appropriate comfort food, comfortable favorite cozy clothes, put out the DND sign, and get ready for a total immersion literary experience. You know what I’m talking about. It’s a book lovers nirvana. Perhaps this was the problem, I built it up too much. The book is good, quite good, it’s just not a match for me. 3.5 *’s rounded up

Frank runs a music shop that is committed completely to vinyl records. He’s the music whisperer, matching just the right piece of music to each person. The location is used beautifully as a character in its own right. We have a cast of supporting characters who are quirky, and finally the love interest Ilsa. It took me a while to articulate what didn’t quite work for me. It’s leading the reader to conclusions that can makes things flat. There’s no discovery. As the book progresses we see a romance develop, Frank stand up to progress in the face of a failing business, all with the backdrop of amazing musical references. The music geek in me really appreciated this. For me it was too much, a lack of nuance, that didn’t allow me to really dive in. I think the book also suffers from comparison to Joyce’s other books which are absolutely exceptional. I’m a fan, and highly recommend this author. This simply isn’t my favorite book of hers.

I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from Random House through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.

A very long slow story about an old fashioned music shop that refused to modernize. The characters are likeable but the plot is mundane. It may be for some people but not for me. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

This book is, at times, brilliant, and at other times, quite dull. The neighborhood setting is quite convivial, and you sense how other characters root for Frank, the main character, who refuses to sell anything in his shop other than vinyl records, despite the changing times and technologies. A mysterious German woman faints outside of Frank's shop, and despite some awkward beginnings, becomes a pleasant part of his life. While circumstances separate them, Ilse later searches for Frank, and they are reunited in a heartwarming scene. That storyline feels a little bit like a Hallmark movie, but the other chapters, the ones written in Italics, are absolutely inspired. These are conversations Frank and his mother had before her death. The way she talks about music is unlike anything I've ever heard. I want to read more of that!

Romance
Adult
We who love to share books know all about “Read-Alikes” – lists of book suggestions for those who want ideas on what to read next, based on a title they adored. Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and others, has created the music shop equivalent to a read-alike list. Set in 1988 on down-at-its-heels Unity Street somewhere in England, Frank runs his store using the idea of what I might call “listen-alikes.” The records are organized, if you can call it that, to encourage serendipitous musical discovery – “If you like Genesis, trust me. You’ll love Mendelssohn.” Frank also uses music to help people, a kind of music therapy. When a customer with a broken heart comes in looking for Chopin, Frank convinces him to try Aretha Franklin’s Oh No Not My Baby. It’s exactly what he needed to hear. Life is pretty good for Frank – he lives above his shop and doesn’t make much money, but he is doing what he loves – sharing music, irritating salespeople by refusing to stock CDs, and with his fellow shopkeepers fighting against the deterioration of Unity Street. Until Ilse Brauchmann arrives, and upends his world. She’s German, she’s engaged, and, she tells the shocked Frank, she doesn’t listen to music. While technically, I suppose, this is a romance, it’s really about loss and grief, the importance of community, and about finding courage. I’ve come to anticipate Joyce’s great writing, and she doesn’t disappoint: “Music is about silence… the silence at the beginning of a piece of music is always different from the silence at the end… Because if you listen, the world changes.” And the music – oh, the music. Joyce includes an afterword thanking all those who helped with her research into music for this novel, inspiring Frank’s unlikely pairings (Puccini’s Tosca with Led Zep’s Stairway to Heaven!). Give yourself extra time to read this novel, because you’ll be pausing to play the music and really listen. Helpfully, there’s a Spotify playlist of all the music. A sweet novel that hits just the right notes as it celebrates music, independent business, and love against the odds, spanning decades from Frank’s early memories through to today’s world of iPhones and flash mobs. My thanks to Random House for the advance reading copy provided through NetGalley.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31869154

If you’re like me, you don’t like fluffy fic. And if you’re like me, you also prefer your romance fiction to be on the edgier, darker, angstier side.

Well you’re in luck. These books are anything but sweet and schmoopie, and I guarantee they’ll appeal to the anti-sappy reader in you.

Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro: In this tale of a thorny affair, Quatro has figured out how to combine mesh erotic love with the spiritual. Maggie, a writer, mother, and wife who finds herself yearning for a grand passion and a better understanding of God, begins a passionate extramarital relationship with James, a poet who has many of the same unsettling questions. Maggie will find herself on the edge of desire, betrayal and faith as she tangles between her feelings for James and her deep devotion for her family. Grove Atlantic

The Long Deception by Mary McCluskey:Are our memories of youth accurate? Or do we only remember the good and filter out the bad? In McCluskey’s story, Alison Eastlake is caught between her past and present when her childhood friend Sophie commits suicide. Obligated to go back home to face the many questions that arise, Alison must also confront the attraction she still feels for Sophie’s brother Matt, which pushes her closer towards a reckless affair. Little A/Amazon Publishing

The Days When Birds Come Back by Deborah Reed: Trying her best to stay sober while putting her life back together after a painful divorce, June returns to the place where she grew up, hoping that this connection with her childhood will help heal her wounds. When she meets Jameson, a man that is perhaps as broken as she is, June must decide if she dares risk her heart one more time. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Dreaming in Chocolate by Susan Bishop Crispell: Don’t let the smores-by-the-campfire title fool you. Bishop Crispell’s heroine Penelope Dalton hasn’t had it easy. Although running a lovely hot chocolate cafe in the company of her mother is close to idyllic, Penelope is afraid she won’t be able to give her daughter won’t she wants the most: her biological father who is in town for only a few days, and as it happens, has no idea he has a daughter. St. Martin’s Griffin

Between Me and You by Allison Winn Scotch: A charmed marriage is interrupted by ambition and fame in this Hollywood-set novel. Ben Livingston and Tatum Connelly meet unexpectedly while struggling with their careers as a screenwriter and actor. Years of a happy marriage lead to resentment and distance when Tatum’s star rises while Ben’s slowly slumps, making their relationship teeter on the edge of separation and remembering what brought them together all those years ago. Lake Union Publishing

My Last Love Story by Falguni Kothari: Desai’s novel will surely make you ponder the question: what would I do? Simi Desai’s life is upended when her husband is diagnosed with cancer. At only thirty Simi feels she’s losing the most important thing in her life, but is in for a shock when her husband tells her he has two last wishes in his final months: first, that she’ll have his baby so that a piece of him lives on, and second, that she’ll reconcile with her old flame, who just happens to be their mutual best friend. Over the course of their last summer together, Simi’s husband is determined to prove to Simi that it’s okay to move on without him, and even find love again. Graydon House

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce: The year is 1988, and on a run-down suburb in London there is a small music shop with records of every variety imaginable. Frank, the shop’s owner, knows exactly what music customers need as soon as they come into his store. But one day, Ilse Brauchmann enters his store and his life, and eventually asks Frank to teach her about music. Scared of any kind of connection, Frank doesn’t know whether to run or take a real risk, while Ilse is not really who she says she is. Will music bond them together, or fuel their fears instead? Random House

Say My Name by Allegra Huston: Eve has always settled for the safest option, afraid to experience the unknown. She’s married safely, has an ordinary life. But in the wake of a betrayal, she finds herself wanting more. When she one day goes antique hunting for a friend, she finds a rare instrument, carved with twining vines. This sets her on a journey, and into the path of a much younger man who happens to be the son of an old love. Eve is astounded when she finds herself deeply attracted to him, and is even more surprised when he pursues her with bold determination. But can a connection between two very different people last? And can she ever go back to she used to be? Will she even want to? Harlequin

#TheMusicShop by Rachel Joyce picks up on a formula often used in books. A shopkeeper with a special ability to find just the right thing for their customer slowly, in solving the concerns of other, manages to find their own path forward. Overall, the stories are feel good reads. The biggest "if" of the stories is the reader's ability to believe. Unfortunately for me, I never quite buy into the characters or this story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/02/the-music-shop.html

Reviewed for #NetGalley

Rachel Joyce’s The Music Shop is a tribute to music and its ability to move us. Fans of High Fidelity and The Rosie Project will fall in love with this quirky romance about a record store owner, his band of misfits, and a mysterious woman with eyes as black as vinyl.🎵

It’s 1988 and Frank’s music shop sits on a rundown street alongside a religious gift store, a bakery, a tattoo salon, and a funeral home. The shop owners form an unlikely tribe determined to persevere amidst changing times as developers encroach on their way of life. Frank only sells Vinyl and has an astounding ability to prescribe the exact record his customers need; ranging from Aretha to Vivaldi. 🎵

When Ilse Brauchmann faints outside of Frank’s shop his world tilts. “It was years since Frank had felt so naked and light. He had to lean against the door and breathe deeply.” 🎵

What follows is not only a romance, but a jubilant story about friendship, adversity, and the music that carries us through life. The Music Shop will make you want to put on your favorite album and listen with someone you never want to take for granted. Best paired with a Tartiflette “It’s an alpine dish” and an orange squash. Bonus pairing: The Music Shop playlist on Spotify.🎵

I loved this book. I had read others by the author before, and fully expected a feel-good little read, and I got that -
and more. The most unique thing about this novel is that it comes with a spotify playlist, so I was able to listen to each song (which provided the theme to each individual chapter) as I read it. This book would make an absolutely perfect gift for the music teacher or music lover in your life.

On a run-down street in England, there is a music shop. The owner Frank stubbornly continues to stock the shop with his beloved records, even as his reps tell him that time is almost over. Frank has a gift for knowing exactly what music people need. His shop is a beacon to his customers and the other people who live and work on the street--Frank's assistant Kit, a tattoo artist, a former priest, the baker, and a pair of brother undertakers. One day, a beautiful woman faints outside and the two strike up a friendship as Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. Their tentative lessons will help them both open up their hearts to other people and to music again.

The Music Shop is a love story on multiple levels. From the first time they meet, readers wonder if Frank and Ilse will be able to overcome their worries and love each other. But it is also a story of love for music, for a certain place and time, and for your community. Parts of the story are told in flashback, as Frank remembers his mother introducing him to the music of Bach and Beethoven and discovering Aretha Franklin and The Sex Pistols. Readers are also treated to a beautiful look at what it means to be a part of a neighborhood where you commiserate with your neighbors at the local bar, help them out in times of crisis, and fight gentrification alongside them.

Rachel Joyce clearly excels at writing about the lives of everyday people--no one in this story is going to become a millionaire or discover they are a member of the royal family. But we get to see the joys and tragedies of their lives and remember with the characters that a good friend and a good song can go a long way in carrying us through. This is a sweet book and there's never really any doubt that everyone will end up with a happy(ish) ending, but it's a delight to read while humming along the entire time.


The Music Shop
By Rachel Joyce
Random House January 2018
256 pages
Read via Netgalley

2.5 rounded up

A cast of quirky, misfits who are drawn to each other with Frank at the center in this neighborhood in Great Britain in 1988. You might call him the music whisperer with his knack for choosing songs that tend to elevate people depending on their circumstances. Frank owns a music store selling only vinyl records, refusing to go with the popular CD. His talent for knowing just what music will fix what ails other people is fun to watch as lonely, sad people listen to the music he chooses for them and then come to some realization of themselves. Sadly, while Frank can figure out what strangers need, he can’t quite deal with his own feelings. I don’t know enough about music to really know some of the classical or jazz titles but certainly recognized some of songs. This is an ode to music, a sentimental love story, a story of friendship. However, it just felt a little short for me.

Harold Frye and Queenie Hennessy, characters I loved from Joyce’s previous novels were the reasons I decided to read this book . But this book just didn’t grab me in the same way and neither did the characters. Chalk it up to expectations that were too high. It’s a quick read with a predictable ending. I rounded up since it turned out to be a feel good story that we all can use once in a while. There are many who have loved this story and rated it higher. I recommend that you read those reviews as well.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through NetGalley.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is part love story, part social commentary (on modern life), part music and part music commentary. It is a delicate and powerful combination. Set in 1988 England, it follows Frank, a record shop owner who will only sell vinyl when CDs are the “in” thing to buy. Frank isn’t just a record store owner, however, he is someone who has a rare gift for putting just the right piece of music into the hands of someone who is undergoing emotional or psychological angst.
Frank’s shop is located on Unity Street—a street which is anything but. The street is shabby and contains an odd collection of shops and shop owners that time seems to have passed by. It is under pressure from a group that wants to buy up the street and tear everything down. The following sentence from the novel beautifully expresses this: “Frank might have cut a lonely figure but this did not make him unusual on Unity Street, where many people had once been alone.” Into this assortment of eccentric people walks Ilse Brauchmann, a mysterious woman from Germany, who faints outside Frank’s shop.
Through flashbacks to Frank’s childhood, and lessons about music that Frank begins to give Ilse, my favorite part of the novel evolves—a commentary about various types and pieces of music. This commentary is so eloquently written, that It slowed down my reading of the book in a good way. I was inspired to find those artists and pieces of music online and listen to them. Here is the first example: ““Music is about silence,” she said in the white house by the sea.
“Yes, Peg.” He never called her Mother.
A box of new Long Players stood on the table, this month’s delivery from the subscription club. She pulled out the first one and unwrapped the paper. Beethoven. Symphony No. 5.
“Music comes out of silence and at the end it goes back to it. It’s a journey. You see?”
“Yes, Peg,” Though he didn’t see. Not yet. He was only six.
Easing the new record from its sleeve, she raised it towards the window. She tipped it this way, that way. Black as licorice and twice as shiny. He breathed in the beautiful smell.
“And of course the silence at the beginning of a piece of music is always different from the silence at the end.”
“Why, Peg?”
“Because if you listen, the world changes. It’s like falling in love. Only no one gets hurt.” She gave a throaty laugh and reached for a cigarette. “Now then. Would you open the Dansette?” Frank walked slowly towards the gramophone. This was the superior model—the Dansette Major—with a gray leatherette finish and a deep red trim. When he twisted the top dial, the gramophone woke with a low buzzy growl. He lifted the lid open and eased it back on its hinges.
“Ready?”
“Yes, Peg.”
She lowered the disc onto the spindle and he held his breath as the tone arm jerked to life.
“Brace yourself,” she said. “Here come the most famous four notes in history.”
Da da da dum. The sound crept out of the silence like a great beast emerging from the sea. Da da da dum.
“Hear that?”
She lifted the needle.
“What, Peg?”
“You heard the little pause in the middle?”
“Yes.”
“You see? You see what Beethoven’s doing? There is silence inside music, too. It’s like reaching a hole. You don’t know what will happen next.”
Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of this novel and for allowing me to review it.

I loved this book! A man with a knack for knowing what music someone needs, not what they asked for. A forgotten town in England during the 1980s. Store owners/friends who look out for each other. A mysterious new woman in town. I want to visit this town and shop in the vinyl only music store. Frank learned about music from his eccentric mother, and he uses this knowledge in his record store to help customers select the perfect music for their current situation. Ilse, a German woman from out of town, passes out in front of his store, and instantly Frank is infatuated with her, A developer wants to buy the music store and the other businesses on the block, but Frank and his fellow shop owners stand strong against being forced out. I loved the bond formed among these shop owners, Frank's strong will to only sell records, and especially the colorful descriptions of some very famous pieces of music.

I always love a Rachel Joyce book. She has such a descriptive way of writing that you really feel you are in the story. She makes you fall in love with her characters. They always seem to be broken but in a way that makes you love them even more.

3.5 Stars* (rounded down).

A quirky, sweet, easy read.

Frank has always loved music, it was a gift from Peg, his mother. He is a music shop owner who only sells Vinyl records. The year is 1988. Everyone under the sun wants him to start selling CD’s but Frank refuses. For him, Vinyl is where its at. Frank has a gift - he can feel what music a person needs to hear. The person could be a stranger or a friend. They might come in asking for a specific record or just asking for a song or a type of music. Regardless, Frank will pick out what he knows they need to hear. And he is always right. Music is his life. Always has been. Frank imagines that it always will be, as he is terrified of actually living.

One day a woman in a green coat passes by his shop and then she faints. Frank takes care of her, with all of his friends and neighbors looking on. The woman, Ilse, comes to and Frank gives her a record, “The Four Seasons” even though she claims not to like or listen to music of any kind. Thereafter, Ilse asks for music lessons and Frank provides Ilse with a window into his soul.

“The Music Shop” by Rachel Joyce is both a sweet, endearing novel and a character study about a group of misfits who are quite lovely together. The characters were full of life and quite interesting! In addition, “The Music Shop” was a quick easy read and it made me feel good inside.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group – Random House and Rachel Joyce for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon on 1.28.18

The Music Shop is British author Rachel Joyce’s fifth novel but the first that I’ve read (it won’t be my last). Joyce’s debut novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, was on the longlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize and she was awarded the "New Writer of the Year" award by the National Book Awards for the same novel. Guess I’ll be adding that one to my TBR list.

The Music Shop is a sweet heart-warming love story! Uplifting, funny and charming … filled with quirky endearing characters. Sort of a modern day fairy tale. Joyce has a vivid imagination and a knack for creating loveable unique characters. Plus this book had me turning to iTunes to check out all the music referenced. Bonus!!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the review copy. I really enjoyed this one!

This was a little deeper than it appeared at first. Not just a love story, but also a commentary on city life, economics and music. Lots of music. Nice!

What a great concept about a quirky music store where the owner will only sell records, and he knows exactly what song a customer needs to hear. It took me longer to read this book than normal, which means the middle dragged slightly for me. But it was worth it to get to the end, which I loved. (Thank you netgalley.com for the review copy.)

“Music is about silence…Music comes out of silence and at the end it goes back to it. It’s a Journey….the silence at the beginning of a piece is always different from the silence at the end…Because if you listen, the world changes. It’s like falling in love. Only no one gets hurt.”

In 1988, the world is changing rapidly in so many ways and nowhere more than on Unity Street. Although situated in a rundown part of London, the street is aptly named. It is more than just a bunch of individual shops; it’s more like a family – granted, a family of mostly eccentric and quirky shopkeepers and their customers but a family all the same and Frank is one of its most loved members. A big bear of a man, music is his passion and, not surprisingly, he runs a record shop but, at a time when CDs are taking over the music business, he refuses to carry anything but vinyl. He is a patient man who listens carefully to people and, as a result, he can tell his customers exactly what music they need whether it is Johann Sebastian Bach or James Brown.

But once a thriving local business area, Unity is now threatened not only by an economic downturn and by the fact that the street and shops are in dire need of repairs leading the city to threaten to close them but by a development corporation that is offering to buy up all the buildings so that it can tear them down and build luxury apartments. Then one day, among all these worries, a young German woman in a green coat faints outside Frank’s shop – a seemingly small incident that will have a huge impact not only on the street but most especially on Frank.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is a charming insightful story about average people facing a changing world but who are able to face it with the support and help of others. Most of all, this is a love story, love between friends, between two people, of music. The story is interspersed with tales of Frank’s childhood with his mom, Peg, the woman who taught him about music and the people who made it. And, as in music, it is about the silences between words, silences that lead to confusion, misread signals and lost opportunities for both speaker and listener but also hope and possibilities.

I have read other reviews that point out that the ending seems too much like an old ‘40s musical or perhaps a Frank Capra movie and there is certainly truth to this. But, for me, that was a plus– I love those old movies. In many ways, Joyce’s writing, although set in a much later time, suits that period and those movies with its deceptive simplicity and lyricism, its optimism, its hidden depths, and its rooting for the little guy against the odds.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

My review can be seen at RT Book Reviews

Imagine if someone would give you exactly what you needed, even if you didn’t know what that was.

Frank, owner of a messy, jam-packed vinyl record shop had this gift. Author Rachel Joyce’s gifts are the heartfelt novels she shares with the world. Told as 4 sides of a 2 record set, The Music Shop sings of a rundown British neighborhood and its quirky characters in 1988, then jumps to 2009 on Side D.

We learn about Frank through flashbacks to his childhood and his eccentric mother. He hopes that “without the complications of love or ties – if he could put everything into serving ordinary people and avoid receiving anything in return – he might just get by.” And he does, until a foreign woman with black eyes peers into his shop.

I love Joyce’s deep and honest descriptions of music. “Music was like a garden – it sowed seeds in far-flung places. People would miss out on so many wonderful things if they only stuck with what they knew.” “Music comes out of silence and at the end it goes back to it. It’s a journey… And of course the silence at the beginning of a piece of music is always different from the silence at the end… Because if you listen, the world changes. It’s like falling in love. Only no one gets hurt.” “The more he listened, the more he understood. Silence could be exciting, it could be scary, it could be like flying, or even a really good joke.” Years later, Frank hears the final pause in a Beatle’s song – “the one that gave just enough time to breathe before the last chord fell like a piece of furniture from the sky – and he would dance with joy at the sheer audacity of it.”

Joyce’s lyrical descriptions made me remember and cherish details of my vinyl records. “We need lovely things we can see ad hold. Yes, vinyl can be a pain. It’s not convenient. It gets scratched. (You have to flip it over.) But that’s the point. We are acknowledging the importance of music and beauty in our lives. You don’t get that if you’re not prepared to make an effort.”

Chapter titles are often cleverly named after songs. Composer’s lives are illuminated with vivid and touching detail. The quirky neighborhood characters root for each other and plan an event to save Frank’s life.
Some of the music I knew, ranging from Bach to Beatles, Miles, Aretha, Duke. Some I’m looking forward to discovering, like an old Icelandic hymn that melted me. (Make sure you look at the author’s website for samples of ‘music that saved her.’)

May you always find someone who gives you what you need. Thank you Ms. Joyce for giving me that gift in The Music Room.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.