Beautiful book that I loved everything

The characters were perfect, the storyline was interesting

I read a lot of books, averaging one book per day and a half. Luckily, I take notes while reading to help me when writing reviews. Songs for Cricket had a great story line, but a less than amazing execution. While I would read the book again if asked to, I found there to be too much going on in it. From the start you are introduced to a handful of characters. I strongly believe that aspects of the story and/or characters could be eliminated and it would make the book an easier and more intriguing read. While not everyone introduced plays a large role in the book they are connected to each other, which is why I highly recommend taking notes while reading this book. The ending left a lot to be desired. August's story was left unresolved, which frustrates me the most. It felt rushed and had other plot points been eliminated I believe there would have been more focus on the more important sub-stories throughout. All in all, it is a good book, but lacking what it needs to become unforgettable.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are solely those of my own.

Shepard and Finley’s story is brutal: brutally twisted, brutally thrilling and brutally emotional. I was a wreck after I finished reading it.
It made me gasp and groan out in frustration and horror not only once… sometimes because of the stubbornness of both main protagonists, sometimes because of the unexpected twists and turns and sometimes just because I felt like it.

Both characters should get an award for their stubbornness; it is not only once that I wanted to shake them and knock some common sense into them, and make them talk to each other and stop them assuming they knew what the other one thought. There are so many misunderstandings between them that it felt like a horror trip to read about them. And their lack of the right timing is just as horrible! Sometimes I wanted to throw a pity party for them or throw my kindle across the room… I cold not decide which one, lol!
But the bumps that this evil genius Terri E. Laine throws into their way kind of made up for their stubbornness because, honestly, they made their live so much more miserable that now and then I wanted to make Ms. Laine re-write their story.

This book truly is an emotional rollercoaster ride par excellence and Ms. Laine surpassed herself once again! I LOVED IT!

I really enjoyed this coming of age, forbidden romance. When the Farrow triplets head off for college along with their best friend, Shepard Connelly, they see a new world of possibilities. Finley wants to start a new life where her father doesn't hold her back in favor of her brothers and to get over her crush on Shepard as well. She wants to find new friends and to make the football team. She is independent, competitive, and determined to prove herself on and off the field. Shepard is a poetic soul, but needs his football scholarship to pay for school. He has loved his best friends sister for a long time but doesn't feel worthy of her because of his meager and shameful family history. The chemistry between Shepard and Finley was palpable, but they didn't know how to navigate their relationship from friends to lovers without hurting her brothers, August and Cooper. College life brings all the complications and challenges that make Shepard, Finley, and her brothers grow from all their mistakes and successes. This is a sweet, steamy, and angsty romance, with several twists and turns that kept me totally engaged. This is a good start to this new series and I can't wait for August and Cooper Farrows story!

3 1/2 Stars.

Shepard has been in love with Finley since they were kids, but she has always been off limits because she is his best friend’s sister. Finley has always loved Shepard, but she believes she’s only a tomboy in his eyes. But when they head off to college, everything changes as Finley tries out for the college football team ... and makes it. Shepard has to make his move before he looses her forever to a teammate.

This is a sweet romance with a good storyline, but there were no surprises ... everything was predictable. I didn’t fall in love with the main characters, but they were okay. I thought that Finley’s brothers (August and Cooper) were very interesting and I hope they get their own stories.

I received an early copy courtesy of EverAfter Romance through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

„Together was my destiny
Forever is my goal”


Oh, how much I would love for Shep to write me a song and sing it in my ear... Unfortunately this boy has his sweetheart and she will listen to his serenades. Songs for Cricket is a touching story in New Adult genre, which contains perfectly measured doses of romance and drama. Because without a bit of drama it would be boring, right?

I love everything in this story! We have here from friends to lovers trope, as well as brother's best friend theme. Both characters are afraid to confess their feelings because this way they can not only risk their friendship, but also relationship between Shep and Fin’s brother.
In addition to the obvious romance the author also raises an important topic, which is to fulfill your own dreams, not the expectations of others. And also how unpleasant it is when you are judged by the actions of people to whom you are related.

The perfect mix! Young love, a pile of misunderstandings, angsty moments and all of this mitigated by a romantic note, which are songs written for a loved one. I totally recommend!

There isn't one thing that Terri writes that doesn't touch my heart in so many places and has me wanting more. Her books are a must read! She writes with her whole heart and soul bringing us beautiful characters and their stories.

Songs for Cricket is the next generation in the house that Sawyer, Ashton and their friends from the Chasing Butterflies series all shared at Layton University. You do not need to read that series for this book. Finley is the only girl that makes up the triplets in her family. She has always been part of the group with her brothers and their best friend Shepard and now they are all off to college. Finley hopes she can make the football team and also deal with feelings she has for Shepard. Will Shepard make his feelings known once he sees her getting attention from the quarterback? Will it be too late? My heart felt it all for these two. It's a beautiful story with all the heartbreak, misunderstandings, decisions and love that young people go through. I was not able to put this slow burn friends to lovers story down!!!

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

2 1/2 stars

A Your-Mileage-May-Vary (YMMV) Review
With sports and music in the same novel, I thought I’d finally found a New Adult novel that I could come away liking. Unfortunately, Songs for Cricket isn’t going to be that novel.

Songs for Cricket is told in first person POVs of Finley, the young woman who wants to make her college football team, and Shepard, her brother’s best friend who she’s crushed on forever. And this is problematic because the narrative is extremely stingy in providing details regarding other characters, environment, etc.

The first chapter dumps the reader into a narration of how Finley has always been with August, Cooper, and Shepard, but doesn’t take the time to point out that August and Cooper and her are triplets until a few paragraphs down. And as for Shepard, we get a clumsy sentence like: “However, I didn’t share DNA with only one of them.” And, then we’re expected to know who Finn (no relation to Finley), Sawyer, Ash, and Chance are (they all appeared in previous novels). Frankly, I was so confused by this first chapter that Songs for Cricket almost became a DNF right there.

Like many novels in the subgenre, Songs for Cricket excels at sex, angst, and drama. Where it shines, from my perspective, is when it finds something to focus on rather than the repetitive character drama. Such as when there are football games or Finley attends her architecture class and researches her project. I loved the kick competition between Finley and Bryant, the other kicker, as well as the scrimmage when Finley, her brothers, and Shepard get a chance to show off. That was good fun in a novel where there’s not much fun.

If you follow my reviews, you know music is one of my favorite subjects. Here it was a bit of a let-down. I would have loved it if we were shown that Shepard was absorbed in and by his music but no. I expected there to be some tension between him fulfilling the requirements of his scholarship (which were totally disregarded here, by the way) and chasing his dream of music but, again, nothing.

The writing itself is frequently uneven and cliche driven. Characterization is minimal with both August and Shepard demonstrating Neanderthal testosterone levels by wanting to punch anyone who looks at Finley, and, of course, there are actual punches thrown. Eyeroll.

However, and this is where YMMV comes in, I know that many readers love the angsty drama-laden, testosterone-driven romance that is Songs for Cricket and they won’t be bothered by the elements that bother me because they’ll be far too caught up in the story of Finley and Shepard. And that, my friends, is why there are different strokes for different folks. Or, rather, books for every reader.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This was an enjoyable read. My favorite part was Finley being a football player. That was always a dream of mine as a little girl and I liked reading about a heroine who went after that dream. I thought this story dealt with some important issues that college students are really facing, but I also felt that these topics could have been handled better. I thought the romance between Finley and Shepard was great and I also liked how the characters were navigating this whole new stage of their lives.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

I liked this book, but I'm a sucker for New Adult novels. This book had drama, a strong female character, solid supporting cast. Overall I recommend for those who are fans of the new adult genre.

Songs For Cricket by Terri Laine is a falling for your brother's best friend / friends to lovers romance. And I LOVE these type of romances!!

Finley, Shepard, August and Cooper. Head off to college together. And while Shepard has secretly been in love with his best friends August, and Cooper's sister, she's been secretly in love with him. Now that they are off to college all living together will the secrets be revealed? And what happens to the friendships? I really liked both Shepard and Finley's characters, however at times both made very poor choices and caused a lot of unnecessary drama.

I really enjoyed this book. And while I haven't read any if the previous books about the people before this, I can honestly say I wasn't lost. I really enjoyed the characters, and the storyline, although at times I felt it was predictable, and lots of unnecessary drama. I am looking forward to the next book in the series! I'm intrigued by August and Cooper!

The next generation of the Chasing Butterflies series continues in Songs For Cricket. Although it is a standalone, the heroine is Finley, the little sister of Ashton, and is set at the same college where the other books took place.

Shephard is the best friend of Finley's triplet brothers, Cooper and August, and grew up with the siblings like he was another family member. He is carrying around some major baggage as a result of his felon father, and while he's been in love with her for as long as he can remember, doesn't feel that he's deserving or worthy enough. She's had feelings for him probably just as long, but it's not until they get to college that either of them act on it. But amidst the coming-of-age story, Shephard is falsely accused of a crime that threatens to not only tear them apart, but ruin the rest of his life.

I liked this story, but I just didn't fall in love with it the way I had with some of the earlier books in this world. There were too many unanswered questions in the story that left me feeling unsatisfied by the end. And the false accusation and how it was resolved/the outcome left a bitter taste in my mouth. Date rape is a hot-button topic and I thought it could have been handled better here. Still,iIt was a fun wink to readers to see the appearances by characters from the other books: Sawyer, Ashton, etc. And like the first set of books, there are seeds planted for future books for this gang, like Cooper and August.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

Finley and Shepard fought their feelings for each other for years and hid it from each other also. But others have seen it and was wondering when they will stop hiding. Except for her brother August. He didn’t know about their feelings until later on and he wasn’t happy that his best friend and sister got together.

But before all that these two were back and forth, drama and they were annoying at times with not seeing each other’s feelings. Then after all the hardship they got together but then there was an incident that tries to separate them. Shepard had a bad upbringing and Finley was from a wealthy family. At times he felt like he wasn’t good enough for her and when that incident occurred he started feeling like she deserved better but she wasn’t having it. Shepard went thru a lot but Finley was there with him every step of the way.

These characters reminded me about characters from other series of which two make a cameo and it brought a smile to my face. I can’t wait to read more on the others. And I think there is still more to Shepard and Finley.

This is a college romance, best friend romance. This story was never dull that’s for sure.

Finley is in love with Shepard, he doesn’t know. Shepard is in love with Finley, she doesn’t know. He’s her brothers best friend.

This story was quite entertaining and never had a dull moment. Full of drama and angst. Characters that really that stood out and were perfectly created. Beautifully written with a great storyline.

Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I recommend this story.

This was a fantastic book with heartfelt moments that traverse the landscape we live in. Great book.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book (given by Netgalley)...

3.75 stars

Although this book is a spin-off from the Chasing Butterflies series, you don’t need to the previous to read this book; I’m sure if you did, you would enjoy it better since previous characters are mentioned and make appearances.

This is friends to lovers steamy read.

I have to say I enjoyed this book, the connection between Shepard and Finley was very deep; however, this didn’t stop them from making annoying assumptions about each other. The time old problem of the two characters wanting to be together, but constantly making assumptions about each other and never discussing their problems. Unfortunately this lasted about 50% of the book which made the book a little be of struggle to read in the beginning. However, the whole Lacey situation did bring a lot of drama to their lives.

I did love the fact that Finley was allowed to play football with the guys; of course, it wasn’t easy for her at first but she never gave up. I really thought the Billy situation would have had more attention, but we don’t get much about him afterwards. I also would have liked to have known what happened with Shepard’s father since some events where mentioned.

I want to know more about Finn, I hope he gets his own book, I’m sure it will be interesting.

I wanted shake August because there is obviously something major going on with him and possibly Emily.

I would love to know more about Cooper and maybe Tori.

What a great surprise read. Loved it so much. The characters were well developed and the story line was so good

Songs for cricket is a brothers best friend, college, and sports and music romance in one. Finley is used to being one of the guys. She is one of triplets and the other two? Their boys. Add in her older brothers best friend Shep and they have been together forever. Now they are off to school and away from the parents. Maybe now she can tell Shep about her feelings?

Shep knows he’s not good enough but he has been in love with Finley forever. He and her brothers are on the football team but his real love his music. When she decides to try out for the team he isn’t al that surprised and does what he can to support her.

They almost get it figured out multiple times but life isn’t easy and these two will have a lot to over come in order to survive college let alone the first female on the team and some changes to life. Great read!

Loved this book! As difficult as it was during some parts I powered through. Dealing with accusations is so damaging to a person’s character that your emotions are hard to keep down. I love that this book had the angst and one of my favorite tropes, best friend’s sister! I thoroughly enjoy reading Terri E. Laine books. She always manages to surprise me and gives great stories about characters you want to read about again.