This book was not at all what I expected! It was so much more than your typical romance that took a unique take on the pop star character.

The book is told entirely from Remy’s point of view. He and his brother had a complicated relationship filled with toxic religious parents and a drug addiction. It’s had some “then” flashbacks that show how Remy and Val became the way they are and gave a more in-depth understanding to the characters,

It’s clear Vivi’s character is drawn from pop stars like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodriquez. It touches on the unfairness of the media when it comes to celebrities and their break ups. While I didn’t always like Vivi or her choices, I came to understand why she did what she did, without getting her POV. This feels intentional on the authors part as this is what it feels like when reading about celebrities: you feel like you know them without breaking knowing them at all.

Against all odds, Remy and Vivi work together professionally and romantically. There’s plenty of romance, but it’s sweet with kisses and fade-to-black, implied intimacy where that part takes a back seat to the true heart of the story: trust, family, growth, and relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and Spourcebooks for a copy of the book!

So, unfortunately, this was a book I DNF. The blurb sounded right up my alley. The music tour and business in general was the most interesting parts in here. It was all very fascinating. My issue was with the main characters. They had no chemistry together and they were each pretty boring. I ended up dropping the book because I was uninterested in any scenes with them in it, which was most. Also, there was an added homeschool storyline from Remy’s past and it just didn’t fit in here. It was just an odd addition to the story and not necessary. Didn’t work for me at all, but I’m definitely in the minority.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sorry. I wanted to like this one, but it just didn't grab my attention. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Six Ways to Write a Love Letter has a fun premise, being an homage to Taylor Swift (it’s pretty obvious Vivi Swan is her with the serial numbers filed off), and the premise excited me. But I feel like the book could have done so much more exploring a Taylor-inspired character, and I feel that makes her a weird fit for the way this book was executed.
There are many occasions where the book comments on the misogyny Vivi is targeted with. We even get snippets from a gossip blog, highlighting “insider” info on her current romantic escapades, demonstrating how invasive the press is and how damaging it can be, but there’s no real catharsis or payoff, especially without getting intimate insights into her perspective.
Given the “women’s fic/chick lit” direction romance has taken in recent years, going for a more female-lead-centric focus, it’s an intriguing concept to turn things on its head and follow the male lead. But again, that doesn’t work when you’re following such a compelling (at surface level, anyway) heroine, who you don’t get enough depth to truly understand. It feels like the author decided to pay homage to the dynamics of popular romances like The Spanish Love Deception and The Hating Game, but with a “gender swap.” The results are equally uninspiring, and made even more so in context with the promised themes. There are some aspects of Remy’s past included, but the way they were explored in flashbacks didn’t flow very well with the overall narrative.
Despite my growing confusion with the book, it was an easy read, so I kept going in hopes that something I thought was missing would become clear. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and I feel using Taylor Swift for this story was a huge missed opportunity to explore her “reputation” with the media, when we don’t get to hear things from “her” side.
While I didn’t care for it, I am a Swiftie and will admit that colored my opinions in how issues were handled here. That’s not to say some other Taylor Swift fans (especially more casual fans) won’t enjoy it, but the lack of introspection may be a turnoff. If you’re a bit less invested in her, but are interested in celebrity romance, and don’t mind single-POV, it might be worth giving a chance.

This book was really fun! I enjoyed getting to know Remy and Vivi on different levels throughout the story. Remy seems like a super caring guy and not at all what you would expect from a guy who drums in a band known as “Quiet Coyote.” Vivi is a very sweet pop star who can’t live a normal life kinda gal. The entire time I was reading this book I was just waiting for the two of them to realize that they both come from places of desiring to be wanted wholly and fully for themselves. It made me melt a little bit.

Getting to see the inside scoop of what it would be like behind the scenes of an international pop sensations world tour was really cool and I liked that part of the story a lot! It added to the way that Remy seemed to grow in knowing what he wanted from others and himself, I also really liked that he didn’t seem to compromise on who he was throughout the tour. I respected that a fair bit.

The flashbacks to Remy and Val’s super religious background was interesting in the way that it made them into the people they became and was a part of why Val struggled with substance abuse for a long time. I do wish that we had been able to see more of their sister Mercy in the story and what ended up happening to the sickly sister they left behind.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would love to see a sequel about Remy and Vivi’s lives in the future!

Thank you, @netgalley and @sourcebookscasa for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Six Ways to Write a Love Letter is a romance that takes a unique perspective of a drummer/producer, Remy Young and pop star, Vivi Swan. The story dealt with many hard hitting topics such as privacy and media scrutiny and even takes it further by looking into Remy's past. It was a slow burn that really showed depth between the characters and was so sweet. I particularly liked the background being the tour and how that developed the relationship. Honestly it was a very sweet story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review.

(Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a honest review)

Publication date: 05 July 2022
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Tropes: friends to lovers, slow burn
Triggers: addiction, cheating, misogyny

Plot

Vivi Swan's drummer, Remy Young knew that he could bring back more money for his brother and himself if he travelled with her, without any unnecessary problems or drama. One day, after spending hours together due to a bus mix-up, Remy is shocked to find that Vivi is not at all what the reports had suggested. He agreed right away when she asked for his assistance in creating her upcoming song—only because they worked together. What would happen next when Vivi's personal and professional life clash and everything she built is destroyed when it was published by a celebrity gossip blog?

Thoughts

This is not the kind of book I'd read to be honest, I didn't read Daisy Jones and the Six because I can't relate to the music industry but I picked this up because of its cover. I also didn't know this was a book inspired by Taylor Swift (Swifties, you should read this).

This book had a plotline of two brothers Remy and Val and another plotline of Remy and Vivi. I had a tough time being interested in the start but after the 1/4 mark into the book I could feel myself curious about the chemistry between Vivi and Remy and the brothers' background story as to why they had to resort to certain decisions. The book was also in a male POV which is rare and I do appreciate that.

However in terms of their characters, I felt that Vivi was not reciprocating as much as Remy especially towards fighting for him because she put more importance on her reputation and her image. The last conflict act also was unnecessary and even the way it was handled didn't feel like a proper closure. There also isn't much character development for Vivi as the book is told in Remy's POV, it would have been better to get dual POV to know her feelings.

3.5 out of 5. A cute quick read romance that dabbles in the wonderful world of the music industry. I totally was imagining Taylor Swift throughout the book, and she even wears red lipstick, so clearly the author probably wanted us to image Remy as her or someone equally famous. I enjoyed the songwriting aspect and loved when the explanation of the title came about at the end.

This is not the rom com I was expecting from the cover and description. The beginning was slow and I couldn’t connect with the characters or story. This is the right story for someone, but not for me. DNF at 16%.

I think I was maybe expecting too much from this story. I read the description and thought it sounded great - and some of it was. I just struggled a bit with staying connected to the story and I think it was because it was just being told from the male point of view. It wasn’t that Remy’s character wasn’t well written, it was, it was more that I felt Vivi’s had no depth. Whilst you could understand the pressures she was under there was a lack of depth to her character which I felt let the story down and made it quite a long read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this novel.

Remy is a session drummer/one-hit-wonder looking to hang on and develop his career in a music industry. Landing a gig on tour with Vivi Swan (a barely-veiled Taylor Swift analog) is a great opportunity. He can pocket some cash for minimally demanding work while making contacts and building his resume. He didn't expect more than that, but an accidental encounter with Ms. Swan changes everything.

This is a very interesting look at the music business, touring life, and celebrity, but it wasn't exactly a feel-good story. This deals with heavy themes like addiction, childhood abuse, codependency, betrayal, forgiveness, and the cost of fame. The romance is a slow burn and very closed-door. With the story told only from Remy's POV (which was interesting as it's exceedingly rare in this genre) the reader shares a lot of the same uncertainty about other characters' feelings and motivations. As such, I didn't quite feel the connection between Remy and Vivi as much as I think I was supposed to. Their resolution was extremely rushed, with almost no direct or substantive communication.

What left me most troubled was the feeling that Remy had been done wrong by almost everyone in his life. His brother, his brother's partner, his parents, and definitely Vivi herself all treated him poorly and prioritized their interests over is. It was sometimes called out, but it never felt like amends were made or he got the apologies he deserved. Vivi's mistrust, her blithe privilege (yes, sweetheart, you ARE his boss), her betrayal of things he told her in confidence, her two-timing (faux-mance or not!), and her focus on her own image over his feelings or their relationship...it's hard to root for her as a good partner for him.

That said, it's a meaty enough story to provoke these kinds of thoughts! Readers who enjoy complex characters, dramas, and peeks behind the curtain of celebrity will find a lot to engage with here.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I enjoyed reading this book. Vivi gave me Taylor Swift vibes because everyone commented about how all of her songs were breakup songs about her exes and she switched from country to pop music along the way and that’s exactly what happened with Taylor Swift. And I LOVE Taylor Swift so of course I liked Vivi. I also think Remy is such a sweetheart. My favorite part about this book is how Remy and Vivi decided that her songs are actually love letters and not breakup songs and I thought that was just very poetic.

I recommend this book!

Six Ways to Write a Love Letter is a romance between a Pop Star and a drummer, who get closer to each other while touring and writing a song together.

We follow the story through drummer Remy Young’s POV and while the book deals with topics like misogyny, invasion of privacy, and media scrutiny through Vivi Swan’s stardom, it is Remy’s backstory that brings some unexpected heavy topics into this book.

I read most of this book in one sitting and had a blast doing so. The romance is slow, but considering the characters it felt natural, the tour setting felt realistic, and the conflicts - while quite predictable - unraveled in a way that never felt like a cliché.

Remy and Vivi’s romance was quite a slow burn. She is in a relationship with someone else for a good bit of the book, so there is some cheating here. (This is the part I would’ve loved to get Vivi’s POV in the book to be honest, as I’m still unsure what her relationship with the other guy truly was. Was it a mutually beneficially PR-relationship, was it an actual romance, a little bit of both?) Their romance was overall cute, though I would’ve loved to see a little more at the end, after they resolved the third-act-conflict, to see how they actually talked about it.

Through Remy’s backstory (which got explored through several flashback scenes) this book delves into some serious topics, like drug abuse, threatened conversion therapy, and traumatic religious upbringings. While it was nice to see Remy’s past, I finished the book questioning why it got this much space but no ‘resolution’. I do not expect characters to emotionally deal with every unresolved feeling from their pasts but the way the book set it up, felt like it should’ve lead to something.

Vivi Swan was obviously based on Taylor Swift, an inspiration that felt a little too close at times to be truly comfortable.

Unusual romance because it is entirely told from the man’s POV. Remy Young is a session drummer and plays with in a band with his brother. He gets called up to tour the mega star Vivi Swan. She is a country to pop crossover, think someone like Taylor Swift. She doesn’t usually mix with her crew, band or dancers but the two end up together on a tour bus for an evening. Remy wants to produce and so begins helping her with a new song she is writing.

I like the writing style and felt it told what life was like touring on the road well. Remy is very likable and I enjoyed Vivi. But you don’t get much character depth for her because of the singular POV. I also don’t love cheating in a story. I wasn’t clear if she was only with her boyfriend for controlled publicity for the two or if there was a real relationship that wasn’t working. So that bothered me. The flashback scenes of a fundamental Baptist childhood should have added depth for Remi but I was more interested in he and his brother’s short-lived success and his brother’s drug addiction. And while I liked Celeste I don’t believe she didn’t know the impact her story would cause. It is literally her business and livelihood and it was a betrayal.

Finally the ending was too open ended for me. There was no talking or resolution. Somehow I'm supposed to think his smallish gesture is enough. It didn’t resolve the conflict for me. This starts as one of the better books about a famous person, musical touring, and workplace romance. But it didn’t deliver for me when all is said and done. It is a closed door romance and there are mentions of drug use, addiction, cheating and religious fundamentalism.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jackson Pearce and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Vivi Swan is America's sweetheart with a long list of exes and the breakup songs to prove it. Our main character, Remy Young is a dreamer who's goal is to become a producer. When these two are thrust together in a tour bus mix up, everything comes together for these two.

This was a forced proximity, strangers to friends to lovers, boss/employee, music industry love story.
And it is what drew me in from the start.

The writing was easy to understand and the author wrote like she knew about the music industry. When it came to the storyline, I liked the overall arc of it, but I guess I just wasn't a fan of where the story actually ended up going. Vivi Swan closely resembled Taylor Swift (breakup songs about her exes and the media constantly berating her about it, Nashville, the tall blonde with trademark cherry red lipstick) this story practically screamed Taylor Swift. Definitely not complaining about that aspect because I am a huge fan of hers. I kind of wish we got more of a story with Remy and his brother Val with their backstory and addiction and making it back into the music industry.

I think some people will like this book if they're fans of the pop star romance and light fluff pieces, but to me I just couldn't connect at all with either character and that is a huge thing for me in books. To me that is what makes for a great story if I can connect with the characters. I am also not a huge fan of the cheating trope at all, and I was generally surprised when it came up nor did I like how it was handled in the book, and why I gave the book a lower rating amongst other things. I felt like a lot of things were left open-ended and the ending was too rushed.

Read if you like: forced proximity, pop star romances, boss/employee, Taylor Swift persona vibes, road trips, music world tours, globe-trotting, strangers to friends to lovers, songwriting

I enjoyed this, but it wasn't my favorite. I thought it was slow to start and I almost gave up. I'm glad I finished it because I thought the story was deep and really really good.

4,25⭐️
It was very good, i loved it. The only thing i would change in this book is the first chapters. They were a bit slow but the rest was awesome. it had me hooked.
If you want to read my full review you can find it on my goodreads, link below.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this amazing book.

I'm gonna start with the take away I saw... this was definitely inspired by Taylor Swift right?

This was a cute book, but not necessarily one I would go back to. I didn't get the major butterflies i look for while reading a romance. So this is definitely perhaps a 1 time read for me.

I absolutely loved Remy, Vivi was 'Okay' to me, but Remy made me keep reading. His background was fascinating.

While this wasn't the book for me personally, i do think fans of fade to black, slow burn, taylor swift, proximity, workplace romance, and the music industry would enjoy this!

3/5

This story is unique because it is being told from the perspective of the man, you don't find a lot of romance books where that is the case. I hate the cheating in the story though! I understand how it leant to the plot, but I hate to see that in my books. Overall,really good read.

Thank you NetGalley & SourceBooks Casablanca for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review

This book was a bit of a miss for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It kind of sat somewhere in the middle...

I loved the idea of the story, I loved that it was being told from the male MC as opposed to the female (although dual would have been better IMO) but that's where it ended.

I didn't feel like their was resolution with the characters, they never talked or worked through their conflict. Plus I didn't like how one dimensional Vivi felt at times.

Great idea, just not the best execution.