An honest review thanks to NetGalley. For some reason I could not get into this book, it felt monotonous and flat. I did think the author did a good job with the chemistry between Heather and Louie and I found myself skipping page after page to get to their interactions some more. These two actually made the book interesting but it felt like there were twenty plus pages of nothing between their interactions.

Very slow but not in an entirely negative way.

This book presented a couple of challenges for the characters and the reader. Partly it's the reality of the world that mainstream doesn't celebrate indie/diversity and in this case, let's just go with lesbians.

Then there's almost self loathing or lack of openess to who you are. It's real and it's partly the focus of this book with one of the main characters - Heather. Heather is quick to fall for Louis but is unable to do anything about it until she accepts herself or the risk to her job.

Louis completely accepts herself and falls for Heather in a similar way but it's not quite that simple. While her career is ready to lift off almost the second she arrives in Nashville, her love life is stuck fast.

There's definitely some sweetness and cute in this book.

Pretty standard for the genre. The chemistry was okay. I would be willing to read another book by this author. A solid 3 stars for me.

This book is a very good reminder that the longer you stay in the closet the scary it is to leave, because it’s hard to remember who you really are and not who you’ve pretended to be. Masks gradually penetrate your skin and become you. At the same time, being out and proud still isn’t easy and often compromises have to be made until you feel you are ready. This story is a lovely celebration of all of this. A good, heartwarming read for the new year.

This was just an okay read. I couldn't get myself to connect with the characters at all, so I'm sad to say I skimmed the last quarter of it.

Robyn Nyx is a excellent writer with solid novels in her belt. Characters were great and the story was good. Shows how Nashville can be homophobic and racist.

A big thank you to Net Galley for sending me this book to read.

Now this is a really hard one for me because I absolutely loved the story but I didn’t really connect with the characters...

Don’t get me wrong, I loved them, I loved Louie, Heather and Gabe but I found myself screaming through most of the book In frustration because I just wanted Heather to be true to herself!

There were a lot of strange stereotypes in this book such as apparently lesbians and threesomes is a very popular thing 🤷🏼‍♀️😂.

I don’t know, like I said I absolutely loved the story but there were just some things I couldn’t get over and couldn’t connect with..

Louie Frances dreams of being a Country songwriter to the stars and heads to Nashville. Heather King is an executive at one of the top Country music record labels. As both chicks follow their passions, their paths cross and their attraction is immediate. Louie is an openly out butch while Heather is a closeted femme.
This book is an interesting read in that it deals with the homophobic country music industry and is completely relatable in the real world. The main characters were well written but the side characters nearly stole the show particularly Gabe.
A nice read with contemporary issues addressed.

I really like Music City Dreamers. It's a great read, well-written with some good characters. I love the sensitive study of gender presentation and acknowledgement that sometimes, there is a fine line between being butch, or gender fluid, or transgender. The hardships that arise from hiding in the closet in a homophobic industry seem well portrayed. I learnt something about country music, something that would never be turned on in our house. And still won't be.
A small downside for me is that the story does seem a little rushed. So often, character development and storytelling is compromised in editing to fit a particular model, and this might be one case. A solid four-and-a-half stars.

This is a bit different style then we're used to from Robyn Nyx - a little on the lighter side but still deals with some serious topics. I'm not really a country music person so I have to admit I've never considered the racism and homophobia in the community, it was an eye opening read for sure. It was a really interesting view of a world I know nothing about.

After being dealt a couple of bad hands - Louie finally has enough money to move to Nashville and turn her life around. She's always dreamed of being a songwriter and she's ready to make her big break. Nothing in Nashville comes easy, particularly after sparks fly between her and Heather King, a producer and talent finder for one of the largest record companies in Nashville. Heather is determined to keep her sexuality under wraps, for fear it will ruin her career. Louie isn't about to go back into the closet for just anyone, but it isn't long before Heather means something more to her. Can the two women juggle their career and their budding relationship, or will one of those things crash and burn?

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were all unique and well developed. The dialogue was excellent. The world I know nothing about came to life on the page. Heather and Louie were so good together - their chemistry was tangible and the angst was so good.

I adored the friendship between Louie and Gabe - it's the kind of thing that makes the world go round! And the songs they wrote together came across as so powerful - the emotion really showed and really stole the show for me in this book.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been waiting for this book patiently since the teaser was posted on social media last year. I love country music, big fan of anything Nashville and when mixing them with a lesbian fiction romance I knew I was going to be on board straight away.

The story begins with Louie working hard to make enough money to get to Nashville where she is certain her dream can come true. Heather is already in Nashville and while she failed at her attempt at being a country music star she is excelling in her job of finding the next big talent while she works for a prestigious music label. Heather’s main goal now is to make enough money so she can start her own label and finally come out the closet. When she meets Louie, all bet’s are off and she can’t help but want to break her celibacy to find out what there is between them but Louie is firmly out of the closet and has no intention of going back in. How can it possibly work? Especially when they now need to work together.

Firstly I want to mention this is the first book I have read by Robyn Nyx and what a way to start. I really enjoyed the slow pace of the book and while it could be considered a slow burn (and it was in many ways), the characters feelings for each other were evident from the moment they met. There was no uncertainty from either Heather or Louie, they both knew they wanted each other but it was the outside world that was the issue.

Heather was a great protagonist to get to know. She was so sure of her path and how she had to make her dream of having her own label that she never anticipated her feelings for Louie and that they could make her question everything. Her closeted sexuality was understandable in the world she worked and the city she lived. It actually made me sad and wonder how many of my favourite country stars might be hiding in the closet.

Louie was just the epitome of sexy. She’s butch, handsome, strong while sensitive, passionate but respectful and honestly, she is just amazing and everything that makes my heart go weak. The fact she writes country songs just made me fall even harder. Wow!

The chemistry between them both is so charged that at times it seeped from the page. There was a moment outside the BlueBird Café (Famous Nashville spot) where the tension and lust was so evident that it gave me chills.

The secondary characters in this book help to make it something really special. Gabe, Louie’s best friend and roommate stole my heart and I loved that he got so much page time. He reminded me so much of my best friend that I wanted to cuddle him so much. Other secondary characters included the country superstar, Savana and while she is a force to be reckoned with, she left me wondering what her story was for the future…

My only issue was that I felt the book ended a little too quickly and I really feel it needed an epilogue which would have definitely rounded it up to the 5 stars. However in saying this, if the book turns into a series, or gets a sequel then I will most definitely be changing to 5 stars.

This has definitely put Robyn Nyx on ‘one to watch’ list and I’ve already started eyeing up her back catalogue.

4 Stars

Fans of the show Nashville will love Music City Dreamers by Robyn Nyx, for its angsty drama involving megastars and aspiring singers, songwriters and record executives. This is also not the stereotypical Nashville of bros and whiskey you often see on CMT.

The attraction is instant between aspiring songwriter Louie Francis and talented record company employee Heather King when they meet at the famed Bluebird Café — as one must do in any Nashville story. But these two women are well aware that their relationship is best kept under wraps if they want to get ahead — especially when they're teamed up to work on the new album from star Savana Hayes.

Louie and Heather discover that finding someone to spark with is the easy part; the hard part is making a relationship work when you can't present your true self to the world without risking your livelihood or career dreams. For these two, it's worth the risk (but wouldn't it wonderful if it wasn't a risk?).

Robyn Nyx has a solid stable of enjoyable and compelling novels behind her; however, for me, this was a big disappointment. I was drawn to it because of the unusual Nashville setting and the diverse characters. The two main characters who became somewhat romantically involved were both lesbians, but that's where the similarities end. Louie is described as butch, Heather as petite and conventionally pretty. Louie is loud, proud and takes no prisoners when it comes to her sexuality, whereas Heather is in the closet about it all so as not to lose her hard-earned reputation as a record label mogul. They are chalk and cheese and it felt a little like Ms Nyx was playing to stereotypes in putting them together. Also, if I'm brutally honest, I found the whole narrative boring and slow-moving; not at all what I would expect from such a talented author.

I felt that there was a massive focus on pushing the sexualities of these people to the forefront of the reader's mind that it created characters whose personality traits were hugely lacking. Each of these things contributed to a forced and contrived feeling plot. That said, Nyx very adeptly and realistically portrayed the homophobia and racism that is sadly woven tightly into the fabric of our societies. We claim to be so forward-thinking, modern and accepting, but we are mere neanderthals.

Many thanks to Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for an ARC.

Sometimes there's no explanation for an instant attraction that defies all odds. When fem Heather, A country music scout meets Butch Louie a budding and hopeful Country song writer sparks fly. The connection between these two continues throughout most of the story in an almost erotic manner even though the two of them have never even kissed. Louie is a proud and out lesbian who has no tolerance for people who do not have the same philosophy. Heather on the other hand is very closeted and has no intention to even be seen talking two lesbian in public. The tension between these two characters builds throughout the story that enables the reader to become very engaged with the two of them.

Louie and her mother have a remarkable relationship that is not only loving and honest but incredibly supportive. It's because of this relationship Louie is able to make deep and meaningful connections to people in her life including Gabe, a young man hoping to make it big in the country music scene and working in the café where he meets Louie. The relationship between these two characters is something that all of us hope to have at some point in our life.

Thrown into this mix is Savana country music star who wants to work with Heather exclusively on the new album and hires Louie to write the songs for her new album. The head of the music company is a homophobic and racist man who causes havoc in the lives of the people in the story.

The author throws in so much in this story that keeps the reader interested page after page because she builds so it's fascinating and likable characters that you want to see have a happy ending despite all the craziness that is happening around them . I highly recommend this book it is well written, interesting, and shows how being open and honest in your life is the only way to go.

Strong characters trying to follow thier dreams through music.

Realistic story of how Country music doesn't encourage diversity in the packaging of their stars

Lovely read. I got excited for her at the end. too dramatic but not much to the point of getting annoyed. Good character development, good writing. tho the author I feel exaggerated in certain parts "specially if she was they or she was a she".I read it in 3 days so it's pretty easy fast read did not get bored

I was giving a free copy in exchange of Honest opinion

3.25 Stars. I have some really mixed emotions about this book. On one hand I thought it was very readable and much better than the only other Nyx book I’ve read Never Enough. On the other hand there were definitely some things that didn’t work for me so this is giving me mixed feelings to say the least.

I’m not really a country music fan. However, I do like past artists like Cash and Dolly and I know enough about county to know it’s not very diverse. I wasn’t surprised by the sexism, racism, and homophobia in this book. But I must admit I was disappointed that Nyx didn’t seem to capture more of the magic of Nashville. I wanted the music and setting to shine a bit more.

When it came to the characters is where I had some real struggles. I really liked Louie and her friend Gabe, but I had trouble with just about everyone else. I felt most of the secondary characters felt cartoonish and too stereotypical, not fully fleshed out people. Besides Louie, the other main was Heather. Again I had big issues with her. This is more of a personal thing but I cannot stand spineless characters. It just irks me and honestly it made me have some real trouble believing in the potential romance.

This romance is very slow to build. In fact it was too slow for me. Besides a bit of flirting, nothing and I mean nothing happens until the last quarter of the book. I really needed something more to believe there was a possibility of a HEA for this potential couple. They started to seem better off just friends to me. And I have to agree with Dee’s review, the sex scene felt smooshed into the book. I actually thought it would have been better not to have one and I never admit to that.

I just did a lot of complaining. I do want to make clear this book wasn’t bad. In fact my score is on the slightly better than okay scale. This book is very readable. I only put it down once and picked it back up right away. Even though I didn’t agree with a lot of Nyx writing choices, the actual writing was good. Another plus was Louie and her friendship with Gabe. I mentioned this briefly but this was a highlight for me. I really wish we had gotten to see more of what happened to Gabe at the end. And Louie herself shined enough to help distract me from some of my grievances.

I think if you are a county music fan, you might want to give this a go. There are not many lesfic books with Nashville as a setting. This book wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I didn’t mind reading it and I don’t feel my time was wasted.

This book is a very good reminder that the longer you stay in the closet the scary it is to leave, because it’s hard to remember who you really are and not who you’ve pretended to be. Masks gradually penetrate your skin and become you. At the same time, being out and proud still isn’t easy and often compromises have to be made until you feel you are ready. This story is a lovely celebration of all of this. A good, heartwarming read for the new year.

This is my first time reading a book by Robin Nyx so I went in with zero expectations.

The two main characters are Louie and Heather. Louie has had a rough life and it does help that her ex-girlfriend cleaned out their bank account upon leaving her. Louie is confidant about who she is and travels to Nashville to become a Country song writer. She knows of the homophobia in the country industry, but is not going to change who she is because of it. Heather on the other hand is and exec at one of the Country music record labels. She has worked hard to get where she is and feels that she must stay in the closet to be successful until she is able to open her own record label. There are some other supporting characters (Gabe and Savana) that help shape the book but for this review it's not necessary to mention details about them

Overall i felt the first half of the book was boring. The second half became better for me and saved this romance. During the first half of the book, there was lots of details given out about the past and it made the book move slowly. The second part of the book is where I saw better interaction between the MC's. I could see where the MC's could make a better couple. I enjoyed the theme of the books, it just wasn't enough for me to keep me interested in the entire book.

I rate this one 2.75 so will round to 3.

Loved it!!! I am all about love and music. Very well written my first from Robyn Nyx but won't be my last.