Unfortunately I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to. I had issues with all the jealousy in this book, that stem from my own relationship to romance. That is no fault of the author. It's just not for me. I also am not typically a huge fan of musician romances, so that is also on me. I really did like how their relationship started. That was great. But the second half really lost me.

This book explores the issue of a bisexual woman building a relationship with with the woman who never had sex with another woman. It explores the issues of bisexuality and the mythical binary gender roles which I found very interesting. The main story revolves around Vic a singer and songwriter who has a small band about to go on Tour throughout the country and is in need of a fiddle player. After many failed auditions in walked a young woman, Molly, who had mastery skills in playing a fiddle since she studied three years at Juilliard. Molly somehow fits with this rough group of rock musicians who will be living out of the van and traveling the country to play gigs. Of course Molly‘s parents believe she is in Europe playing classical music somewhere. Next line there was a lot of interesting background on what it’s like to be a performer traveling and performing in different venues when you’re not quite a hit or popular entity in the music world. There’s a lot of interesting dialogue between Vic and Molly as they explore a physical relationship . The sex scenes between these two are not only hot but they are very funny and I appreciated this in a book.

I would have given this book a five star review if it had ended with the last chapter however the Encore ,for me , really ruined the story .That being said I did enjoy this book especially exploring sex with the bisexual character.

I'm really happy at finding some genuinely enjoyable f/f fiction lately.

This book also had a trope that I utterly adore, that being the rockstar and relatively normal person falling in love with each other. Except, Avon Gale tweaked that just a little bit and made it even more enjoyable, given that the normal person was a Julliard student. OMG I love movies that are set in Julliard.

Anyway, so these two also went to high school together once upon a time, although there were a couple of years between them. Sawyer and Vix share PoV throughout this story and the way that their completely distinct characters shone through was one of my favourite parts of this book.

Also my favourite was the bisexual character of Jax (who gets his own book next in this series!!) and the mention of the poorly behaved Noah Greer who will be his love interest in the same book.

Avon Gale has managed to create a world and characters that I am completely already invested in.

The writing itself is good. I wanted to start off by saying that, because the rest of my thoughts don't have anything to do with the authors talent. It was a more juvenile book/romance than I prefer so I couldn't really relate to it. The characters are young, so that makes sense, and it's why it's more my problem than the author's.

The relationship was cute, but not deep. Again, this could just be because they talked to each other like they were 20, but I have read other books with young characters that I felt were more full of substance. Most of the guys all sounded like one dimensional horn-dogs. Musicians I guess?

Lots of talk on bisexuality and figuring out you're a lesbian. This will be helpful and a nice read for some. It was also nice that the band wasn't this hugely famous group, but rather just a normal touring band that's scrapping by but loves what they do. I thought that was refreshing.

Overall, it was just one of those books that I didn't connect with but I'd love to see what the author can do moving forward.

3.5 Stars. I wasn’t blown away by this book but it was a fun weekend read. This book is a re-release for June under a new publisher. According to Gale not much has changed from the original story. While I have never read Gale before, I have heard of her name since she is pretty big in the M/M world. I think it’s nice to see authors like Alexis Hall, KJ Charles, and Gale, write lesfic so I finally have a chance to try their books.

I almost always enjoy books about musician or artists. I have no musical talent myself and to this day, I completely blame my parents. I had dreams of being a drummer in a rock band, but they would not let me play the drums because it would “make too much noise” so I was forced to take piano lessons by a slightly scary woman with horrible breath. Needless to say I enjoy a book like this where I can live vicariously through the characters.

The character of Sawyer for me was the star of this book. She is a young 21, trying to find her confidence and place in this world and it was fun watching her character grow. The other character Vix for me wasn’t quite as substantial. I think Gale spent more time having to defend her bisexuality, than actually building up her character. I get there is plenty of biphobia out there, I just would have liked for Vix to be able to be bi and for it not to be a constant discussion. I think if being bi is treated more as the norm, it will hopefully just become more of the norm. I hope I’m making sense here.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much humor this book had. It wasn’t laugh out loud humor, but witty humor that made me smile all throughout the book. Gale even chose to give the sex scenes a little humor. And to me it actually worked. I don’t recall a romance where an author added a little humor to intimate scenes before. For me it made the characters seem more real. And the sex scenes didn’t feel like they were there just so a book could have sex scenes, they were there to make the characters connect and grow closer which is something I always appreciate.

I also want to mention I have a little bit of a pet peeve when it comes to reading lyrics of made up songs in books. I just don’t like it and I find it to be almost uncomfortable. The lyrics are almost always super cheesy. I must say it was nice that there were no pages filled with fake song lyrics in this book. The characters would sing and play there instruments but as a reader you interpret what kind of lyrics. The characters would sometimes write down one-liners that they wanted to use as a title or song lyric, but that was it. It was really refreshing for a change.

Overall, I enjoyed this read. It didn’t blow me away, but it was fun going on the road with a semi popular rock band. The romance was sweet and Sawyer was a great character. The next book in this series has a lead male character, so it’s not one I’m interested in at this time, but if Gale tries to write lesfic again, I would read it.

Overall I thought this one was sweet. It's a cute romance about Victoria aka Vix Vincent who is the lead singer in a up and coming band. She meets Sawyer Bell when they need a new fiddle player. Sawyer is on summer break from Julliard and hates it there. Sawyer is then hired to tour with the band because she has a ton of talent.

It's really a story about young love and the growing pains that happen. Sawyer is 21 and Vix is 25. They have a few misunderstandings which seems to be typical when it comes to two people getting to know one another. There communication with each other is good and I liked the honesty of both characters. There is some angst in this one, but it is not overly done. I thought the book was written well and the story line works well. There really wasn't much I disliked about this one.

I rate this one 3.25 because it was just a cute little love story and it sort of reminded more of a YA book than a mature romance (and I typically don't read YA because I can't relate to the characters.)

Sawyer Bell deserves all the love songs.

Vix is the lead singer in an alt-rock/americana band. They are out a fiddle player and need to find a replacement. Sawyer is a Julliard level violinist who auditions for the spot. They embark on a tour which takes them through many cities, across thousands of miles, and many venues.

The banter between Vix and Sawyer is what I loved the most about this book. These two main characters seemed to really like each other and have fun together. Whether it was late night driving or late night hotel activities, they just fit.

There was a lot packed into this book. Fear of failure and disappointment. Coming to terms with sexuality. Bi phobia. Hookups vs. Relationships. Discovering purpose. Finding happiness. Being brave. Loyalty. Family.

But overall, I SUPER loved Sawyer Bell. A glowup from high school but still shy and unsure. She blossoms throughout the book with the help of Vix and the band. I liked seeing her open up and become comfortable in her own skin.

There was quite a bit of steamy explicit scenes. The playfulness between her and Vix was fun to read.

This book was released in 2017 but being re-released now. There is also mention of a second in the series. Although it looks like the focus is going to be on a bi-sexual male side character from this book.

I recommend this book to people who love romance, music, bands, small venues, female lead singers, and feeldoes.

<i>I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review</i>

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I seem to be in the minority on this one, but this did nothing for me. I’m not usually a fan of stories with young MCs, and though this couldn’t be categorised as young adult because Vix is 25 and Sawyer 21, the characters read more like they were both college age. It’d usually take me less than a day to read a book this size, but I put this down several times, so it took a few days to get through it.

The premise is that Vix is the lead singer of a band, she’s also bi. Sawyer is staring the final year of Juilliard at the end of summer, and knew Vix in high school and sort of harboured a crush on her. She joins Vix’s band as a fiddle player for the summer tour. The two hit it off and start a relationship. There’s also plenty of secondary characters in the form of the other band members and members of other bands, but only Jeff, Vix’s ex gets the most fleshed out. In all honestly, the character development of all of the characters was lacking. I liked Sawyer more than Vix, but not that much more.

As an aside, I’m not bi, but have friends who are, and one of their main gripes is people always believing that they’re sexually promiscuous and will sleep with anyone, and will always be up for a threesome, and the lack of positive bi character representation in stories. This book perpetuates that myth, not because Vix’s character is described as having slept with both men and women, but because she mentions having multiple threesomes and the other bi character, Jax, who I believe is featured in the sequel, also offers to have a threesome with the main characters, even though one of them is a lesbian (ironically Vix calls him out on his bisexual stereotyping). I’m by no means saying that no bisexuals should have threesomes, but it’s a tired trope in stories featuring bi characters, and I could have lived without it here.

So, all in all, the relationship between the two did nothing for me, there’s too much back and forth about Vix being bi, whether their relationship will affect the band, Sawyer lying to her parents, etc, and at no point did I believe they actually had the emotional maturity to overcome these obstacles. When they did get together at the end I absolutely did not believe they would still be together even a few years later.

I guess I’d give this 2.5 stars, but I’m rounding down, there were just too many things I didn’t like.

What a simple yet interesting read. As I read the story, it did not hold my attention as well as I thought it would from the story description. I like music story lines. I appreciated both Sawyer Bell and Victoria Vincent characters as both women worked to fulfill their passion for music. I especially enjoyed watching Sawyer's development as she found her voice. There is some angst and family/friend support which is a positive. The sex scenes in this read were used as a tool to show growth in understanding relationships and an opportunity to learn about self.

*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*

Reading F/F stories are – although I really love them – still a novelty for me (mostly because there are so less I find appealing) so I was really happy, actually thrilled when I got the news that the super talented Avon Gale is writing a story about two women falling in love. And on top on that she set it in a music setting. My interest was picked and I was counting down the days until I was able to get an (early) copy of this book. :3

Avon did an astonishing job and her character feel so real. In fact they feel so genuine you would think: this could be a person I know from any place, someone I would love to see (live) on a stage, someone I would love to be friends with. :)

Avon delivers a steady story with an amazing bi representation, with honest talk about sexuality (and she includes next to a bi heroine, gay, lesbian, straight and ace characters with the other band member & side character) & also about the fears and the ups and downs to be in a relationship with a band members. There are romantic elements and Sawyer and Vix are so sweet together though it never went to an overly mushy part. It is touching and sweet, still it has its edges, like the music Vix and her band is creating, like how Vix is, how her character is shown. I really liked it and it fits so well in the whole musician setting.

The music topic is so well displayed you really felt the music, have the feelig it is played while reading. The enthusiasm Avon has for the music genre and her love in creating those character is really palpable, it’s displayed in the way how she writes about her character, how they live and breath music. I really loved how the different types of music – with Saywer coming from a “classical” music education and Vix with doing the music she wants and loves – were combined and how Saywer really found her true music in touring with Vix and the other band members. The joy about making music, Sawyer with playing the violin and Vix as the front singer and playing the guitar, also being the lyricist, is ever present. The other band members are also perfectly included although they have pretty less stage time when it comes to their music part in comparison, but it fits to the story. :) They interact with the girls and expecially Jeff is a great supporting character. I would wish to read more about him. But also the other musicians from the other bands where nice and if you look up the blurb for the next book, The Ballad of Whiskey Jax (Tour Dates #2) you see who’s the next hero. :3 Can’t wait to read his story. :3

As I said the sexuality is displayed in an open, and really amazing way, the talks about are great, the acceptance bedhing was something which I really loved. Without making a big fuss about the problems of being a bisexual woman Vix is clearly saying her mind and challenges everybody who has a problem with her orientation, she is clearly aware of the picture people have in mind but talks in a reasonable manner yet her sometimes snarky, dry humor shows off. She is also helpful when Sawyer is exploring her new sexuality, and she never appears condescendingly which wouldn’t also fit to her character to be honest. :) Although she appears edgy, she isn’t mean and this shows off. She is such a lovely, adorable character.
The sparks are flying pretty early between Sawyer and Vix and you are really getting hot when you read how they mess around, first with kisses, later in explicit scenes. :3 Hot, sensual scenes, full of steam, yet so honest and authentic, it never feels forced. The humor both girls have is there and it’s a delight to be “part” of it. :D It also shows how well Avon manages to write those stories, deliver them in this way without making them boring. The scenes are sometimes kinky, hot and so fitting in the whole setting.

Towards the end there is a small drama, something you would have expect from the start but of course you get a happy end and so it’s thrilling, heart clenching and for a short time bittersweet but at the end your suffering was worth it. :)

I really recommend to read this book. Not only because it’s one of the rare F/F stories in the whole bunch of M/M stories (which I love, don’t get me wrong), which has a such a positive bi representation & display of sexuality, is set in a story about music and more specifically not only about the typical and often used (hard) rock music, it’s about a band who plays in the Americana/Folk/country style. This altogether is pretty unique, refreshing and totally worth a look at.
My wholeheartedly recommendation, 5 out of 5 stars, I wish I could give more. :)

Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words

The Love Song of Sawyer Bell is a wonderful story that is well written and has great characters. I enjoyed this story and I hope to read more by this author.

Indie rocker Victoria “Vix” Vincent knows a good thing when she hears it. The moment Sawyer Bell picks up her fiddle, magic happens. Beautiful and wildly talented, Sawyer is the perfect match for Vix’s band and, just maybe, for Vix. When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Avon Gale is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

My first venture into a f/f romance. It’s a good place to start.

This story was lovely, sweet mixed in with the perfect amount of angst; the author played my heartstrings just a proficiently as Sawyer plays the violin strings.

I enjoyed how sexuality and gender were treated in this book in terms of ‘there’s still a lot to learn but also the acceptance is there and growing’. It was a hopeful theme in this story, not one that is weighed down in dread.

Both Vix and Sawyer were a joy to read. They had their hang-ups, but watching them learn and overcome them was great - they felt like women I would love getting to know. I hope we get more glimpses of them in the future.


A light, sweet, poignant read.