Good Morning, Love by Ashley M. Coleman
Published: June 21, 2022
Simon & Schuster
Pages: 287
Genre: Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Ashley M. Coleman is a storyteller and community builder moonlighting as a writer and music industry executive. Whether working with music makers or writers from marginalized communities, creating safe gathering spaces and education for creatives is at the center of her world. Her freelance writing has been featured in ZORA Magazine, GRAMMY.com, and The Cut, among others, and covers culture, lifestyle, and personal narrative.

“Finding my voice taught me everything I wanted was outside my comfort zone.”

Carli is a force of nature. She is a rockstar at work and works equally hard in her free time to make her dream of being a songwriter come true. When her job leads to an encounter with a huge pop star, the last thing on her mind is a relationship. Until she gives him a chance, now, her world is flipped, and she has opportunities she only dreamed about.

I loved the characters in this book. I loved how diverse, and well rounded they were. For being a debut novel, Ashley Coleman crushed it.

I enjoyed this story. I loved Carli, her personality, drive, and understanding for who she is was beautiful. I loved her relationship with the people in her life, her outlook on life, and her hustle.

I loved the pacing, this was a hard book to put down. I enjoyed following Carli as she worked for her dreams. I loved how she represented herself, women, and especially women of color.

This was a really beautiful story, that flowed beautifully. It is clear that Ashley Coleman has a solid understanding of the music industry, and she represented it well.

It was awesome getting to peek behind the curtain and reading about how things are done. I loved that the focus was more so on the behind the scenes aspects of creating music. That brought such a rare and wonderful aspect to the story.

I thought the book ended somewhat abruptly, but I’m not mad about it. I enjoyed Carli’s journey, and I liked that I was left to basically decide how things went.

This could be a series, which would be amazing. There are so many characters and avenues to explore. This was a feel good novel, filled with so many beautiful moments.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.

Carli is a mid-twenties junior account exec at a marketing firm in New York City. The job pays the bills, but Carli is truly an aspiring songwriter. She’s working with friends on producing an album for Dylan, who has the makings of a star. Red is the engineer who knows how to put the music together. So when Carli isn’t running around behind her powerful boss Dawn, she’s hiding out in Red’s studio making beautiful music.

Then Tau comes along. Tau is a young, hot pop star who knows what he wants, and has the rep to go with it. Tau takes a liking to Carli. Carli’s boss notices and doesn’t fail to remind Carli that Tau is a client. There is no fraternizing between employees and clients. Carli does a fine job of telling Tau no, but Tau is pretty persistent.

As Carli’s musical career is taking off, and her marketing job as well, Carli has to make some tough choices about the direction she’s going to let her life go. While the marketing career has its perks and paycheck, the music is her heart and soul.

I enjoyed this one from start to finish. Carli is a woman who has hopes, dreams and aspirations and the fears to go along with them. Following her heart isn’t something that Carli always does, and Coleman gives her the room to test the waters and learn to trust herself. How I wish that I’d had something like that in my twenties!

This is truly a touching novel with a lot of heart and fun and the romance it needed. Loved it and would highly recommend it.

Carli's striving. She's working hard at a job she doesn't really like and she's working harder with two friends to write songs. And then she meets Tau, a rising rapper she thinks can give her access she doesn't already have and so she throws over her friends and attaches herself to him. There's a lot of bad behavior here and frankly little romance. There is interesting insight into the music business but I didn't find the characters as engaging as I'd hoped at the start. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Good Morning, Love tells what it’s like behind the scenes in the music industry. I found this part of the story somewhat interesting. The story revolves around a young and upcoming songwriter trying to break into this scene. Her story was just ok for me. I’ve read a few novels recently that revolve around the music industry. This one did not engage me as much as the others I’ve read.

A story both powerful and enchanting.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Good Morning, Love by Ashley M Coleman
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Carli is trying to make her dreams of being a songwriter come true. Through her day job, she meets pop star, Tau, and can’t deny that he is attractive. But she has not got time for distractions. Even fine looking ones.
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What I liked:
-I enjoyed all the behind the scenes of actually writing music in this story. There is so much that goes into each song and so many people who are a part of it. All the scenes where they are in the various studios were really fun to read.
-I loved Carli’s love of music! Music was huge to me and my family my whole life and I loved how passionate she and her friends were about it.
-There were great side characters here. And I loved all the parts with Carli and her parents.
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What I didn’t like:
-As much as I enjoyed the banter between Carli and Tau I wasn’t sold on their romantic relationship really.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ this was a fun read and if you are a music enthusiast then you will want to check this one out.

Good Morning, Love
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/21/22
Author: Ashley M. Coleman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 288
Goodreads Rating: 3.36

TW ⚠️: Violence and Police Violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing a digital advanced readers copy of the book for me to read for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Carlisa “Carli” Henton is a musician and songwriter hoping to follow in her father’s musical footsteps. But, biding her time until she makes it big in the music industry, she works as a junior account manager at a big-name media company to cover her New York City rent. Carli meticulously balances her work with her musical endeavors as a songwriter—until a chance meeting with rising star Tau Anderson sends her calculated world into a frenzy. Their worlds collide and quickly blur the strict lines Carli has drawn between her business and her personal life, throwing Carli’s reputation—and her burgeoning songwriting career—into question.

My Thoughts: This book started out slow, for the first third. The overall theme of the book, to follow your dreams, was my favorite part. It has a good message. I really loved how the author infused minority cultural representation into this book and the real issues they face daily. Not all of the characters were fully developed, however, Carli was, she had depth, strength, tenacity, and I just loved her. Overall, I enjoyed the author’s writing, it was complex, faced real life issues where change is needed, and just fit the book well. I love the introduction to the music industry and getting a glimpse into it. The book really needed an epilogue to tie up the story, it just felt like it was missing and your left thinking, ‘this is the end?’

Thank you to @netgally and @simonandschuster for providing an ARC and allowing me to give an honest review of Good Morning, Love.

Rating 3.5 🌟
Spice level 🌶🌶
TW: Physical almost sexual assault

I wanted more from this book. I felt like something was missing and even though I enjoyed what was given I wanted more.
Key themes in this book are following your dreams, letting go of security to go after your dreams, and not being afraid to follow your heart. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a real conflict in this book. The FMC Carlisa is crazy cool, I love that she is an Afro-Latina striving for her dreams in the music business but she was lacking something…maybe conviction or real conflict. I needed to feel like she was a starving artist hungry and chasing her dreams but I never got that. She was secure and even if her dreams never came true at least she had her job at Garter. Carlisa had to choose between following her dream and heart or staying secure in her current state. But the conflict never really felt real. I never really felt like Carlisa was in danger or like the stakes were extremely high if she chose Tau over her job at Garter. The MMC Tau fell flat. He is supposed to be a sexy R and B singer that knows how to sweep a girl off her feet onto her back but there are NO spicy scenes which just leaves the reader feeling cheated. I mean come on, we should have been given at least one steamy scene between Tau and Carlisa to solidify the romance. Instead what you get is closed door scenes that leave you feeling clinical and wanting more. This is semi sweet romance set in the music industry. Actually I don’t think it should be marketed as a romance. The relationship between Tau and Carlisa leaves much to be desired. It isn’t enough and leaves you wanting more. The ending feels rushed, things are introduced ( ex. Marisol) and then left hanging. There is no true indication of if her choice worked out and her dreams are fulfilled. I feel like the story was only told in part and I am still waiting for the continuation. Great premise but it wasn’t fully fleshed out. Instead you are left wanting to more.

It took me a while to get into this one because for me, it started out really slowly. It took until it was around 50% to pick up.

Now that I've gotten through it, I have thoughts. I think because I went into this thinking rom-com/romance, that is what slowed me down. This is more of a story that includes a romance.

Basically, this is the story of a woman trying to figure out what she wants from life. She's trying to find herself.
Carli has to decide who she wants to be for herself and everyone else in her life.

After the story picked up , I was invested. But i have to take off stars for the slow start.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own

This book started out really slow, but by about the middle the story unfolded more quickly and became more interesting. I do not have much knowledge of the music industry and I think this contributed to my dislike of the book. Altogether, it was an average story with average writing. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this book.

"Good Morning, Love" is a fantastic companion to the books that feature women in Black music: Dawnie Walton's "Opal and Nev," "Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop" by Danyel Smith; Scholar Daphne Brooks' "Liner Notes for the Revolution": one could easily see Carli being included in such works and touring with "The Lilly's" from Xio Axelrod's "The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes."
While "Good Morning, Love" nestles well into this emerging subgenre of works, it is a breezy work all on its own. Here, we follow the story of Carli as she learns to follow her heart, in more ways than one. It is a great debut for Coleman, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I feel like this was a case of being the wrong reader for this book. I struggled with connecting with the main character, and I hate to say it, but I think it's because I am too old (or maybe not hip enough?). I do think there are readers who will adore Carli. She's savvy and has a lot of drive and ambition. I also love the theme of chasing your dream.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Paperbacks for allowing me to give my honest review of Good Morning, Love.

This books shows more than just about falling in love. It also shows that following your dreams and finding out what you really want can take you very far. it was great to see an Afro Latina working and striving in the music industry. She didn’t leave her friends behind when she made it. Many told Carli to stay away from Tau because of his status and his past and Carli learned to figure things out for herself. I loved how each “Chapter” was called a Track.

I do think that the book started off really slow for about 30% of the book and I think that Chapter 33 should have been considered as a Epilogue for an update.

Overall a good debut novel.

I was on the verge of DNFing this book until literally halfway through. Around the 50% mark, the book finally found its groove and got a lot more interesting.
Even so, I think this is missing the mark being billed as a romance. I was expecting a cute romcom type book set in the music world. It sounded like there was plenty of opportunity for misunderstandings and awkward situations with a regular woman falling for a famous musician, but that's not what this was at all.
Another mark against marketing as romance is that there was no catalyst for the two love interests to go for each other. Tau meets Carli at work while she's setting up a photo shoot for him. He instantly thinks she's gorgeous and starts pressuring her to go out with him. Carli's boss has explicitly stated that dating clients won't be tolerated at this company, so Carli tells Tau no. He keeps asking her to do things. She keeps saying no. Until, suddenly, she says yes. It was a little shaky that she'd just say yes, as there was nothing on page to indicate he'd done anything spectacular to change her mind. Likewise, once they go out, much of what transpires between them is summarized rather than shown. The next thing we know, she can't resist him, but there's no reason for why that is.
At the halfway point of the book, it gets truly interesting because it dives into Carli's family relationships and she begins to gain traction in the musical world herself.
The relationship with Tau is still part of it, but it never truly feels like an integral part of the story.
The rating for this book also gets a hit because of the introduction of a family mystery late in the story that is immediately obvious and doesn't really serve any purpose. It didn't cause any drama. It didn't bring Carli closer to Tau. It just amounts to a quick conversation with her dad, who she's already mending her relationship with, so I just felt it was added on to be drama.
This book gets 3 stars because the second half of the story was enjoyable. The first half is extremely difficult to stick with.

This book had some things that I definitely loved and some that I wasn’t so fond of. I will say I love how the author threw in some of the music industry in there, it was a nice touch to the book. Of course the rom com moments were nice as well, but over all I wasn’t a huge fan. But I definitely think anyone who loves music and rom
Coms should give it a try.

I liked the central conflict in Good Morning Love, Ashley M. Coleman’s début novel, very much.  But the hero didn’t really set me aflame due to his pushy and occasionally controlling nature.

Carlisa – Carli - Henton is a blossoming singer-songwriter who has moved to New York City to try her luck in the entertainment industry and Tau Anderson is a superstar on the rise.  Their paths shouldn’t cross, but when they do, both of their worlds are completely rocked.

Carli thinks nothing of her initial meeting with Tau, but it’s clear that he wants more from her.  He presumes she’s playing hard to get; she presumes he’s not interested in the kind of woman she is.  But they’re both wrong, and the connection between them is unmistakable.  Yet Carli is attracted to other men, and she’s not entirely sure that Tau is being faithful to her.  But as they begin to collaborate both professionally and personally could Carli’s connection with Tau complicate everything she holds most dear – and ruin the dream she’s been hugging to her chest?

Good Morning, Love is a wonderful story about a woman who’s trying to figure herself out.  Carli has to decide who she wants to be on the job front, romantically, and as a daughter (her father is a superstar singer)  and a musician.  That’s a tall order for any young woman, but her stumbles are wonderful to read about because they’re incredibly relatable.  She’s a wonderful heroine.

I was less impressed with Tau, who is pushy and pesters her even when she tries to maintain a professional boundary between them.  He does not take no for an answer, and for some that’s going to be a repellant quality.  It certainly didn’t really work for me.

Carli’s friendship with her roomie Talia is delightful, and the imperfect but lively Dawn (scion of a media empire) is a great presence.  I found myself more interested both in the family and friend-related conflicts Carli goes through than anything else in the book, along with the incredibly vivid picture Coleman paints of the music industry.  I really wanted more of everything except the romance here.  Maybe if Carli had ended up with another guy instead of Tau I’d’ve liked the book better.  As it is, Good Morning, Love is one part Empire and one part total frustration.

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I really enjoyed this light romance novel. The main character, Carli, was likable. I think it would make a great beach read this summer!
Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of Good Morning, Love in exchange for my honest opinion!

I really wanted to love this book, I was truly excited for the positive representation this had. However, I didn’t love Tau and felt that he wasn’t the person I would hope Carli would end up with. I thought she was a good protagonist and I cared more about her/her happiness than anything with Tau.

I do like a romance that has a satisfying ending, even if I felt that the ending was rushed!

I received a reviewer copy of Good Morning, Love by Ashley M. Coleman from the publisher Simon & Schuster from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Carli Henton dreams of being a songwriter, she works in New York City with a producer and a wanna be singer on the down low, while she earns her salary working as a media company to cover living in New York City. Carli has a very meticulous plan but when she meets a rising star Tau Anderson and the attraction is there. Their whirlwind connection leads to the careful balance Carli values being thrown off course.

What I Loved: I liked the setting of the New York music scene and loved that our main character wanted to be a song writer, it was a nice change from people who want to break into Hollywood as singers, a bit different. I liked the side characters like her roommate and her producer and also her boss. I liked the aspect of her career versus her dreams.

What I didn’t like so much: Ugh, unfortunately a lot. I didn't like that she was secretly the daughter of a famous performer. I didn't love the love interests. For one, I didn't buy the chemistry between her and really any of the guys. I didn't get her interest, at one point she'd say she hadn't had a kiss like that ever and then be like but he's the safe option. These seem conflicting to me. I also do not like the trope of jealous and controlling men and for me that's what both the love interests were like to me. I would have loved this book much more without the romance or love triangle aspect.

Who Should Read It: People who love books set in the music industry. People who love aspiring artists working on their dream. People who love Hollywood star falls for normal person troupe.

Summary: A woman who balances her dream with her professional life loses that balance when she connects with a Hollywood star

I think this was a simple concept, and the author developed the story from it beautifully and with solid characters.