Loved listening to this book on audio! Wish I could listen to it again for the first time because it was that enjoyable. I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I was so excited for this book. I adore books about bands, rock and roll and awesome women. But this one fell a little short for me. I just didn’t find the story too interesting and I truly hated all the Candi stuff. Also, I enjoy a good sex scene but the ones in this book were very cringe. Also, I don’t like the title. Toni is a woman and she never really wanted to be famous.

This book is AMAZING. Rockstar romance is one of my favorite genres. When I realized that Xio Axlerod flipped the script and added a female main character--it made this book an automatic yes for me. I had to look up Alice in Chains covers because I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

Antonia "Toni" Bennett grew up with a mother whose dream of fame outweighed her desire to care for her daughter. A one-way bus ticket sent Toni to live with the father she never knew, but introduced her to Sebastian Quigley, who soon became her best friend. Toni and Seb both played guitar and planned to use that to get out of the small town they were stuck in--until Seb left without a goodbye.

Fast forward several years and Toni is an up-and-coming guitar player with big dreams to own a record studio. A chance encounter with her past and an opportunity for an amazing future makes for a fantastic story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casa, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. The narrator did a good job reading this book. You are not just listening to this audiobook you are in the book from the first minute of listening. This book is set in New Jersey and the pacing is phenomenal. It is in stores now for $24.99 (USD).

I have struggled to get through this audio book.
It sounds like a good story but it is very wordy and too long for my liking.

I was really hoping to like the main character but she is so wishy washy that it bothered me.
She has dreams but doesn't want to do what it takes to make them come true. She is too caught up in the guy that she used to know. At what age and what point do you just move on.

I am honestly only maybe 1/2 way through this book and have had a hard time getting to that point.

I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this book, but it is not one that I can recommend or even finish.

I'm absolutely hopeless when it comes to being musical, but I do enjoy most types of music.

I hadn't heard a lot about this book before picking it up, but I'm so glad I read it because I ended up absolutely loving this one.

What I loved about this book:

1. While this book has a large cast of characters, I enjoyed most of them (I'm pretty sure some are meant to be disliked). Toni was such a great heroine and I think that's part of the reason I couldn't put this one down. Her story was one that left me shedding a few tears, but it also instantly captivated my attention as she overcame her rocky beginnings.

2. I loved Toni and Seb's second chance romance story! They were childhood best friends that ended up drifting apart but their chemistry was evident as they unexpectedly ran into each other years later. I liked that you got bits of what happened in the past as the present day story progressed.

3. The Lillys were a huge part of the reason I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. All of the ladies (with the exception of one that I'm hoping for a Nesta moment with 😂) were strong female characters that meshed together to form an amazing band.

4. If you've read my review of a previous popular book about the music industry, you know I didn't really love the sex/drugs/repeat that you usually get in this type of book. Thankfully the author's love of music stoud out and she did a great job of accurately portraying the music industry without making it too cringy. There is a bit of drug use and a smidge of sex, but this book had a great story to go along with the inevitable.

If all if that sounds like your cup of tea you should definitely grab yourself a copy.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

My biggest issue with the narrator was the Seb narrator was also the narrator in the last book I listened to and they were very different characters but had the same "voice".

Overall I liked this book, I felt like it was not as exciting as you would expect a book about a rockstar to be. It was a fine audiobook but not super memorable. I don't know that I would read another book in the series.

I enjoyed the overall storyline. I found a few parts didn’t gel as well as others did but I would read a book by this author again as I find this book kept having me want to pick it up again.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Antonia “Toni” Bennett grew up around music while her mother tried to make it big. Backstage was like a second home for her until one day her mom decided she couldn’t keep dragging a kid around and it was time for Antonia to go live with her father. This is where she stayed until she found a way to make it out of that small town and that suffocating life where she thought no one cared for her. Disappointed by her father’s lack of attention and her best friend leaving her behind. Now years later, she’s trying to get into the music industry and lands a position in a popular all girl band. Only to find she’ll be closely working with that best friend that broke her heart.

I’m not the biggest rockstar romance reader these days, although I enjoyed quite a few years back. But when I saw this story centered around an all girl rock band I couldn’t pass it up. The Lilly’s are so much fun and I’ll be on the lookout for more books about the rest of the band members for sure.

At the heart of my enjoyment of this book is the fact that I fell in love with our heroine from very early on. Even as a child, I couldn’t help but root for her and want her to find a way to make her dreams come through. The innocence of her childhood took a bit of a beating by everyone she let in close, and she still wasn’t a bitter and jaded person in the end. Instead she was loving and forgiving while at the same time able to stand up for herself when needed.

The romance in this book is a slow burn and not too steamy. But it was written in the only way that made sense for the story. While Antonia always had a crush on Seb and many years to deal with her emotions toward him, to him she was a friend until they meet again as adults. Their romance felt real, not rushed. They had so many things to work through and I’m glad they took their time with it. Going along for the ride was a fun experience and only reinforced their connection.

Xio Axelrod delivers everything that is good about a rockstar romance, even some drama, without making it a super angsty read. There’s a fine balance for that and she does it perfectly well. My only complain is that I wanted to know more about her parents, and I’m still curious to know more about her dad. I would’ve loved to see that relationship developed more in this book.

If you truly love music and books blending together, you have to read this one. You can tell the author is very comfortable writing about this industry in a way that transports you into their lives. Plus I’m a sucker for a childhood crush/friends romance and this was such a great sampling of that. I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next installment in this series because I now need to see them all get their HEAs, even Candy get her redemption.

This was such a phenomenal well written story .The author takes the reader on a journey from the past to the present as we learn about Antonia and Seb. There is music, passion, girl power, heartache and so much more as you come to understand Antonia and Seb. Readers will not be disappointed with this Rock n'Roll, fierce-less, girl power, young adult, passionate read. The writer actually pulls you in with the love, knowledge, determination, power, and thirst for music..

Having never heard of Xio before this book, I was compelled by her own words to pick up this book.

Toni Bennett has always had music in her life. It started with spending years touring with her gifted mother, Mary Bennett. Then at the age of 12, her mother sends her to live with a father she's never known. Feeling abandoned, Toni meets Seb, a fellow musician who's also young and lonesome. Years later, Seb and Toni are separated but both are working in music, passionately pursuing their craft and achingly missing one another. Then one day, their paths cross again and all bets are off.

So... I need to go back and find Xio's other books. The language of this book spoke to me on so many levels. I think if you have multiple languages that of the words and music, it's hard not to feel some connection. The way that Toni and Seb reconnected years later... was soul level. They could be vulnerable and honest with each other in a way that they couldn't be with anyone else. That leaped off the page and compelled me to read on. I think as human beings we looked for people we can have that level of brevity/openness with. To find it on the page, it was breathtaking.

The music. Gosh, I loved this aspect. From the way it spoke differently to each character, to how it could draw them together when they were struggling to find commonality. I feel as if music, like art, has the power to do this. It felt relatable to see it within the story and it gave the plot more power behind it.

I think also the girl power was dealt with well here. You had a group of women who obviously had their own personalities, tastes, etc. and could come together for music. There was a common group--but they were well rounded characters to be uniquely themselves. They had integrity, they took their craft seriously and they could jam hard. It was such a phenomenal portrayal.

As an audiobook--thank you, thank you, for having an audiobook with great narrators! They were so good!

Overall, I loved this book! Thank you so for giving me an opportunity to read it. I look forward to reading more from Xio in the future!

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Loved this audiobook thank you!!! I loved the narrators and characters. I love all things music so I especially love books centered around bands. Great book.

Antonia "Toni" Bennette grew up in dive bars with parents that did not pay attention to her or her well-being. So instead, Toni found comfort in her guitar. She met Sebastian, that also struggled with family and his upbringing so they instantly became best friends and promised each other they would get out of the small town and make a name for themselves until Seb leaves without an explanation.

Years later Toni is making a name for herself in Philadelphia as a musician. One of her friends encourages her to try out for an up-and-coming girl band The Lilly's and she gets the part. The only problem is Seb is their manager.

I enjoyed Toni and her story as an underdog in the music industry. She was a fighter throughout the entire book and had to earn everything in her life. The romance part of the novel was a little too much for me. I would have enjoyed more of the music and band. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the narrators. #NetGalley

Really cute romance with some good old fashioned rock and roll in the background. Really like both narrators. Looking forward to more from this author.

This book was very different than what I expected. I’m happy I read it on audio but I think I wouldve also liked it as a physical book and I didn't think I would have. Its a cute rock and roll romance and the characters had a lot of depth which I enjoyed.

I loved this book so much that I bought the physical copy! I love stories about the music industry, they always end up being my favorite books. I loved the characters in this one, especially Seb. I loved the romance between Seb and Toni - the unexpected steaminess was WELCOME! I loved seeing them reconnect and find their way back to what they used to be and so much more. I was also wishing I could hear the Lillies songs!! They were so well described that I felt like I could hear them in my head. My favorite part of the book was that it was set in Philly! I am from Philly and I always get excited when a book is set in my city. 4 stars!

**Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this copy in exchange for a review**
I love reading about rock and roll and I love it even more when there are powerful female leads, so I got the best of both worlds here!
This story follows Antiona 'Toni' Bennett through her journey with her music career. She finds her love of music through her estranged mother. You first meet her as a young teenager and her struggles with neglect/abuse from her parents. As the story goes on you get to watch Toni fall back in love with her childhood friend, Sebastian.
Watching Toni grow and become even more confident in her career was heartwarming because she was set up to fail at a young age. She has successfully managed to achieve her dreams and then some, as well as see her seem to start connecting with her father (especially towards the end of the story).
I can't wait for Lily #2, even though I felt this ended perfectly for a standalone as well.

My second book about a rock band in as many weeks.

Antonia "Toni" Bennett is a talented guitarist with an aversion to the limelight. She just dreams of a life behind the scenes as a session musician or running a recording studio. Then she gets an invite to audition for the spot of temporary replacement guitarist for a hot new pop-rock girl group called The Lillys. Their regular guitarist, Candy, has gone off the rails with drinking and drugs and the band is asking her to get sober. Toni lands the gig but it turns out her high school bestie and secret crush Sebastian works with the band. They left off on a bad note when Sebastian disappeared after high school.

What I loved: a strong but kind of shy BIPOC protagonist who is proud but humble. Toni is estranged from her parents but has a small circle of friends who have her back. There are definitely messages of female empowerment in here. And, as always, I love all of the music references. Alternating perspectives between Toni and Sebastian gave us multiple ways of digesting what was going on.

What missed a bit for me: Some of Toni and Sebastian's backstory fell a bit into the "huh" category for me. I was able to get over it and go along for the fun musical ride.

I listened to the audiobook which had different narrators for the parts of Toni and Sebastian. The narrators seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

What to listen to while reading...
Here's a playlist created by the author: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CA...

Very entertaining story of a very determined girl. I loved the settings, other characters, and the inside look at the music industry. Very enjoyable!