This book felt like the movie Starstruck. It reminded me of summer and the beautiful L.A sun. It was funny, heartfelt, and hit every note needed to make an amazing romance.

I want to preface this review for saying thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad WEBTOON for sending me an advanced reader copy of this book. Now let's jump in.
Hazel Fine is a struggling singer with a secret past. When she auditions for The Sing Along and lands a spot, he world gets even more complicated. Along the way, Hazel meets her handsome voice coach who she develops a slight crush on. Can Hazel pull off her new life without revealing her secrets or will it blow up in her face?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I feel like it read like a young adult book almost. If you took out the spicy scene in this book it could easily be marketed as young adult. I thought the show concept was cute and all the characters were likable except for Martin, no one likes Martin. There was some slight immaturity to the book I felt like with all the tiktok references. I don't like to read about modern day social media in my books. But, overall I did enjoy the story. I'm glad there was a happy ending to it and I'm glad Hazel was able to grow into the person she was meant to be in the end. This book would be good for fans of singing competitions and musicals!

This book was ok. I found it kinda boring. The writing wasn’t well organized. It was all over the place. I just didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. It just wasn’t for me

Hazel Fine doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, HOWEVER, this was such an enjoyable read! I look forward to more from this author!

This was a struggle for me. I found it hard to connect to any of the characters and the plot just felt a little chaotic and messy.
3 out of 5.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but for me it was kind of all over the place and there was just too much drama for me to even really get into it. I will be posting a review on my Instagram account @manas_library within the next week!

This is a really interesting and entertaining story. Hazel is a struggling singer with a murky past. She’s been barely surviving in a run-down motel and working as a waitress, while dreaming of a career as a singer and songwriter. She was even homeless and lived in her car for a while. Hazel lies about her age and background and makes it onto a singing competition show called “The Sing Along.” The author provides a lot of intriguing information about the show’s production, the stresses of the competition and more. This story contains multiple interesting characters, including the other competitors and the judges. As Hazel survives the rounds of the competition, she encounters both fake and genuine showmances, makes friends and eventually has to deal with her past. I really enjoyed this story. I’ll be following this author and look forward to reading more from her. I received an advance copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Hazel is a 28-year old struggling musician in Los Angeles. She lives at Motel, works at a coffee shop, and plays gigs when she can. Until the opportunity to be on the Sing Along happens. Her audition is note worthy and she makes it on to the show, but as she progresses on… her past also begins to creep in. Can she play the lie or will everything come tumbling down?

I really wanted to like this book. The story sounded promising, but in the end, it just made me cringe. The characters, all of them (besides Benji -maybe) were unlikeable. I did not have any desire to root for Hazel or care whether she won or not - in fact I still wonder how she went that long without anyone recognizing her in our current digital era. The love interest, Nick, had no connections. Why him? Because he’s handsome and brooding? Oh wait... it's because he saved her from misogynistic producer. There was just too much that the author was trying to touch on, everything from black lives matter to teen acting trauma to misogynistic producers trying to seduce young woman and threading their careers; I just couldn’t take it seriously. And again… how did EVERYONE know who she was on the panel, but it didn’t come out until almost the end of the competition? Are you telling me only those involved in the show knew and no one in public figured it out? The parents said nothing… if there daughter was the family support as Hazel said. It just seemed unbelievable.

Thanks to W by Wattpad Books and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to access this ARC! It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Katie Wicks for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I grew up watching shows like "American Idol" and "Canadian Idol", so when I got approved for this arc I was excited. Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me.
I enjoyed following Hazel along on her journey while on the show "The Sing Along", but everything felt rushed.
I wasn't convinced that Hazel and Nick had feelings for one another. It felt forced and I didn't feel chemistry between them.
I had a hard time rooting for Hazel when everything about her was based on a lie.
I was disappointed that the mention of #MeToo wasn't taken seriously in the book.

On a positive note, her Bunny Checkers was cute and made for a good side plot.

If you grew up watching American Idol then Hazel Fine Sings Along by Katie Wicks may be your next romance read.

The book follows 22 (but secretly 28) year old Hazel Fine as she competes in a reality TV singing competition show reminiscent of American Idol. My biggest complaint about the book is that the show is almost too similar to American Idol. The main owner of the show and judge, Martin, is essentially a pervy Simon Cowel. Martin is the mean judge who happens to be British and had launched multiple girl groups into fame.

The book itself is filled with an eclectic cast of characters. Some will warm you heart, others will drive you absolutely batty, and some will surprise you. A lot of them grated on my nerves but that almost added to the realisticness of the show environment.

Throughout the story, Hazel learns about herself and who she really is after everything she’s been through. She lies a lot, makes mistakes, and grows to be a better person.

The book wasn’t very spicy. I’d put it at maybe a 2 out 5 with only one real “oh they’re doing it” scene.

Overall a very cute read that addresses some of the real problems that come with fame, growing up, and competition.

All thoughts and opinions expressed in the above review are my own. Thank you to Katie Wicks and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's release date,

I enjoyed this read. I was easily able to put it down and pick it back up later. The side plot with Checkers was my favorite part, and I felt that a lot of the human characters were two-dimensional. Other than Hazel and a few others, there wasn’t a lot of depth. I was able to guess all the plot twists, and there weren’t really any surprises for me.

Hazel lives in a seedy part of LA is best friends with a sex worker and has a bunny named Chester. She believes her one shot to make it in the world is to go on a reality singing tv show on Fox called, "Sing Along". Basically, the story is set up as she goes through the audition process and through the course of the show. We get to meet other contestants and production of the show.

I went into this hoping for a fun, cute romcom set on a reality tv singing competition and to enjoy myself, because I love all of those things, but what I got instead was a book full of so much problematic things that I left it with a sour taste in my mouth.

TW:
Implied sexaul assault/rape
Sexual Harassment
Making fun of the MeToo Movement by multiple characters
Gaslighting
Alcoholism (made fun of and weaponized)

This novel is asking too much of its readers to "forgive" or suspend belief on. There is an entire fake relationship that has no bearing on the story and just makes the people in it look ridiculous. Then there's the romance that is supposed to be the main focus, but it gets bogged down in the politics the author tries to shoehorn in that it doesn't really land and just makes all the romance and spice weird and flat. I will say, seeing multiple characters treat the Me Too Movement as a joke and having Hazel laughing about it and basically trying to walk it back because people were mad at her was really gross and offputting. If there was supposed to be a lesson or moral to this story, I truly have no idea what it is or even what it's supposed to be. In the end, none of the things shoved into the story have any real resolution, other than a brief mention of what happened to the villain in the story and even that felt like such a cheap and lazy way to end the story.

I think the thing that made me dislike this the most was the entire reason why Hazel needed to go on the show in the first place. There is a major secret/twist that is dropped like 2/3 of the way through and it's dumb and didn't even need to be a secret but basically the entire storyline and her relationship with her parents hinges on it and after all the things shoved into this story that should've had trigger warnings, I was completely over this mess of a novel.

Lastly, I am so tired of authors writing their heroines as some sort of Mary Sue, wherein ALL the single men are in love with her and fight for her. Hazel was annoying and whiny, there's very little chance any of them in real life would ever want to get with her, let alone all three.

And a sidenote, the formatting in the ARC I received is abysmal and also led to me disliking the reading experience.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for a review.

I do have a biased and allergic reaction to self-published books — I figure if it’s really good, an established publishing house will pick up a manuscript and put it through the professional editor wringer. Editing is everything. You might even note in my reviews, I am more likely to cast blame on an editor for errors, inconsistencies, and plot holes than to blame the writer. I haven’t been in the habit of checking who the publisher is before I request items on NetGalley (although, if it’s from #Berkley, it’s usually an automatic seal of approval for me!). I sometimes get 10% through a book, sigh, wonder if it’s self-published, and then flip to the title page to confirm my evidenced hypothesis.

I didn’t get too far in Hazel Fine Sings Along before wondering if it was self-published; not quite. Wattpad is an online platform for books (most often written episodically, like serialized fanfiction) to find readers, and in this case, the cream rises to the top. I did find two typos, and sometimes the plotting and styling was a little amateurish, but no worse than a Colleen Hoover novel, which I understand are beloved but don’t do it for me.

The novel opens with Hazel Fine leaving the fleabag motel she’s been staying at with her rescue rabbit. to get to the open call for a musical competition called The Sing Along (think American Idol) with her fake ID and fake identity. The story takes us through the competition, alliances, fallouts, and resolution of the full season, with a side of romance. Supporting characters are interesting: her bestie Amber is a sex worker with a child, portrayed with positivity and sensitively; Benji, already a TikTok star in his own right, helps to create interest (and deflect a lecherous producer) by staging a fake relationship with Hazel. The drama is high but not over-the-top, and Hazel’s past is revealed at a good pace. Her love interest, Nick, is on the production side of the show. A songwriter and pianist, he’s mysterious, attractive and kind. It was hard to suspend my disbelief that Hazel’s forgiveness for her parents actions was so quick and complete, when boundaries can be an acceptable; we are not obligated to maintain relationships, even with family members, who are not good for our mental health.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #HazelFineSingsAlong from #NetGalley.

Thanks for letting me read this one I loved it so much it was by far one of my favorite books and I couldn't put it down I just had to see what the secret was ahh...and who she ended up with cause I mean iykyk

Despite my love for music there was a lot that didn’t work for me in this book.

Hazel Fine loves music and wants to go pro. She was lucky enough to have been spotted by a scout from a popular talent show, and she is determined to make the best out of it.

Reading this felt like watching reality tv. It’s a poorly written story about shallow, aspiring celebrities, so there are fake tears, lies and creeps who proposition to young girls.
I couldn’t take all the drama; the characters were supposed to be adults but they were acting like teenagers. The constant talk about who tweeted what and who hates whom… There’s a reason why I don’t watch reality shows!

I struggled with rooting for Hazel, she was a liar and not a very likable person. Her love life was confusing; maybe it was supposed to be a fake dating trope with a twist? I’m not sure, but there was flirting and a date and some kissing, drama aaaand … she ended up with a different guy? Wha- whaaat??

I didn’t feel any chemistry between Hazel and Nick (even during the supposedly steamy scene) and their story was underdeveloped. I would have liked some more buildup, more scenes of them together; I can’t root for a guy I don’t even know.

If you like reality shows, go for it, if not, I would stay away…

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hazel Fine Sings Along by Katie Wicks is a fun contemporary romance novel.
And such an amazing debut.
I fell in LOVE with Katie's writing instantly. She pulled me in and kept me hooked.
I enjoyed the details of the characters and the overall setting.
The characters Nick and Hazel were fun and realistic.
I loved Hazel and her endurance and strength.
The story line, the pace and everything from start to finish was done so well!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Wattpad Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Loved the storyline as well as the way the author highlights predators in the entertainment industry! I loved hazel and nick.

Review to be posted:

All Hazel Fine wants is for the world to hear her music. Making this dream a reality, Hazel earns a spot in one of the biggest singing competitions “The Sing Along”. Hazels no stranger to a challenge, but even she may not be prepared for a singer who may just have it out for her, an influencer who may have feelings for Hazel, a harassing judge/producer, and constantly keeping track of her bunny, Checkers, who most definitely is not allowed in the hotel. But what Hazel least expects is to fall for the shows musical producer- or for him to fall for her. Hazel navigates her way through The Sing Along and all it brings, while making sure her past & true identity are kept secret. 🎤 💫


This is Katie’s debut novel! Usually, I don’t like plots where fame is involved, but Hazel Fine Sings Along focuses more on the characters than their time on stage. The female MC is strong willed and so passionate about music that she spends her last dime just to get to the competition. Not to mention the sometimes brooding sometimes cheeky musical producer Nick, who shares an undeniable connection with Hazel. I loved the lighthearted moments, drama packed moments, and of course our Nick & Hazel scenes. One thing I really loved about this book is how Katie interweaves the MeToo movement and highlights predators in the entertainment industry. It’s not the main focus of the book, but a constant in the background and is approached perfectly! 💕 I really enjoyed this read, and loved the ending as well… swoon!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

If you’ve ever found yourself down a rabbit hole watching The Voice auditions, this one’s for you

Hazel enters a talent show hoping she will achieve superstardom. But there are more drama than she expects... She also falls for the show's musical director....

I like Hazel and Nick a lot. They are fun together. The story also has many LOL moments. Really enjoy it. I like the hollywood fame storyline too.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

“And then she sang as if her life depended on it. Because it did”
“Don’t worry … I won’t let anything happen to you”
I so liked this book. Honestly if you missed American Idol or you’ve never watched The Voice or X-Factor, then read this book and you will have an idea of what happens in the emerging music industry!!!
This book was about singers, musicians who create art through their texts and their songs.
I’m in love with a certain music director that has his own way with words!!!
Hazel’s story has been wonderful to go through and I loved experiencing with her the struggles, joys, doubts and quarrels of her competition !!
I liked getting to know her friends, her enemies and Nick (iykyk) and I so liked the vibes this book has been given me, repeatedly throughout the entire plot: respect women and stop men who are trying to take advantage of their position to gain sexual favours.
I loved this message most of all!!!
I’m so glad I had the chance to read this book.
“That was me, claiming my crown as the queen of self-sabotage”