This book is so sweet! There isn't a lot of external conflict, as most of the conflict comes from Darren's own anxiety. His family and friends are so supportive of him and his talents, and of his crush, but Darren spends most of his time inside his own head and overthinking and worrying he's not good enough. It's extremely satisfying to watch him gain that confidence back in himself and grow. The story is continuously so positive, even through his anxiety, and nerves as he navigates a crush and his own musical talents. A decent portion of the book takes place at church, and while there's a strong church presence in the text, at no point is the book preachy, church choir and church events are apart of Darren's everyday life. I will say, the book moves pretty fast and is very short, so if you're looking for a quick and easy read, this is it, but if you're looking for something a bit heavier in plot, maybe come back to this later. However, this book is perfect for someone looking for a story about a boy experiencing coming into his own and becoming more confident as he finds what makes him happy.

I was really excited to read Rhythm & Muse because I love books about music. Unfortunately, I didn’t love this one. It was pretty lacklustre from start to finish and I basically only finished it because it was a very quick read.

I really didn’t like Darren, like at all. He was constantly judging people for their music tastes and would also have the meanest thoughts on people’s performances. This made him a huge hypocrite because the reason he stopped performing was because of the unsolicited opinions and mean comments he got after one performance. Now, I was a vocalist, I studied it at college and did god knows how many performances, trust me when I say people are never harsh about your signing to your face. Well unless you’re terrible, but apparently Darren has the best voice in the world, so it just doesn’t add up.

He was always weirdly obsessed with Delia. There’s having a crush on someone and then there’s crazy stalker level. Darren was very close to the second one. There was little to no development of their relationship and sorry *spoiler* but there was literally no reason for Delia to want to date him. If someone wants to date you because you won their podcast song competition, they probably don’t actually like you.

I’m assuming the author doesn’t know anything about recording music because they mentioned something about producing or mastering the track in an hour, which is not how it works. Unless they have the quickest producer in the world, but this was a bunch of teens in what I can only imagine is a crappy studio (they are very expensive to hire) so I don’t think that was the case.

It’s such a shame to say that I didn’t get on with Rhythm & Muse. It was one of my most anticipated reads but it fell completely flat. I was hoping to have some good points to talk about, but as soon as I began writing this review, I couldn’t think of any other than it being a fast read.

Thank you to EpicReads and NetGallery for the advanced reading copy for an honest review. If you are looking to read a young adult romance from a black male perspective than I would recommend. The book was easy to follow and a quick read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was the second young adult book I've read that included a black male as a romantic lead and it did not disappoint.

"Rhythm and Muse" follows Darren, an 11th grade high school singer focusing on making the right decisions for his life. The book opens with Darren making the decision not to sing again due to an unexplained event that left him questioning his talent. Things change when his crush, Delia holds a contest for a theme song for her podcast. Darren uses his talent to create the theme song and rediscover his love for singing also keeping it a mystery while he decides what is best at the moment. Darren takes you through every emotion as he decides every moment/decide for his passion and the contest. The book was really heartfelt, cute and sweet. Like I stated before, this is the second book I have read which had a black male as a romantic lead. It was good to read from a black male's perspective on romantic and love.

I picked this one up knowing nothing about the plot other than music being an important aspect. I love music, it's gotten me through my childhood and darkest days, so music being prominent appealed to me. I also haven't read a book unknowingly in awhile, and it was quite refreshing!

We meet Darren. A quiet guy who overthinks and has a history of singing very well, but isn't singing anymore. Why? That is a mystery that kept me flipping the page. He is in love with Delia, aka Dillie, but hasn't made his move yet. Dillie is the most popular girl in school, because she runs a famous podcast. His best friend, Justin, gives him unsolicited advice, because he wants Darren to be happy. The plot sets sail when Dillie announces she is hosting a contest, create a jingle for her podcast. Justin and his cousin, Jerrod, anonymously submits a clip of Darren's song. This catches Dillie's attention. She and her listeners want to know who this mystery singer is. We follow Darren's unraveling thoughts about what he will do next to get his credit and his girl.

At times, Darren made me mad, because he was soo close to what he wanted, but was too scared to go for it because he didn't know the outcome. In hindsight, I remember being like that in high school. I would think of every possible outcome for one move, because in case things did go sideways, then the blow wouldn't hurt as much. So I understood where he was coming from. I enjoyed this cast of characters and the storyline. Are you a fan of finding the title in the story? Well, I am. And I loved where Rhythm & Muse appeared in the book.

If you love music, mystery contest, food, and romance, then this is the book for you! I'm really happy I decided to read this book. It also pulled me out of a reading slump!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. This story follows Darren Johnson, a junior in high school who loves to sing but after hearing some critiques he is hesitant to pick up with his passion again. While hanging in the studio with his friend they hear the very popular podcast Dillie D in the Place to Be is looking for a theme song. Darren just happens to have a crush on the Dillie D AKA Delia Dawson. He plays around with a song and with the help of his meddling friends the song gets submitted to the podcast. The mystery singer has everyone in an uproar and Darren has to decide when and if he’ll tell Delia. I love Darren’s family they are absolutely hilarious. I also liked that Darren’s boys helped him out although he wasn’t appreciative at first. Great faced paced read. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Thank you to Harper Collins CHILDRENS Books, Quill Tree Books for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

★ARC review!★
Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown
TBH I initially picked up this book for the beautiful cover art and title, and if you look at it, you'll understand too!
I was pleasantly surprised to read that this is a contemporary Cinderella retelling with our protagonist as a young Black kid, which I've honestly never seen before, but absolutely loved.

If you're a fan of any kind of Cinderella retelling (not counting Camilla Cabello's version) You'll eat this version up!
★Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an Advanced Copy★

When I saw that Rhythm & Muse was a Black Cyrano/Cinderella retelling I was like, "Sign me up!" Unfortunately, I didn't love it. I wanted to but I just couldn't.

I didn't believe in the romance.

Darren was infatuated with Delia! There's no shame in infatuation but I never felt like their relationship deepened. Darren and Delia didn't interact very often, and when they did those moments didn't hint at budding romance.

Darren had a hybrid parasocial relationship with Delia. He regularly tuned in to her podcast, that's how he got to know her. From his perspective, I get why he'd jump at the chance for a relationship. But, there wasn't enough for me to understand why Delia would do the same.

I know that this is a Cyrano/Cinderella retelling, but Darren kept so much under wraps. For me, there were simply too many secrets. He wasn't 100% himself with anyone, not Delia, not his family, and not his friends. Ultimately, he came across as inauthentic.

That being said...

I am so happy that this book was Darren's POV. Darren's friendship with Justin and Jerrod was hilarious. Their banter about their rap skills had me cracking up. I needed more from them!

Bottom line: It wasn't the book for me.

You all know at this point poems are my Kryptonite. The fact I chose a YA book which promised lyrics seems to just me wanting to have a bad reading experience. But I am glad I got this one. It was very good, loved the romance aspects of it. I won't lie though. I had to start skipping over the lyrics. I think if there was a beat I could have gotten into it more. But reading it I kept going, that doesn't sound right LOL.

"Rhythm & Muse" follows junior, Darren Johnson. Darren used to be a singer, until an unexplained (it does get eventually explained) incident has him swearing off singing forever. Now he finds himself daydreaming about his dream girl, Delia Dawson. Delia transferred to his high school last year, and Darren found himself liking her. But he turned to full daydreamer after Delia started a podcast that quickly became popular with him and their fellow high schoolers. Darren's best friend pushes him to finally tell Delia he is into her instead of living in his head. Darren refuses until Delia does a contest for her show's new theme song, and Darren finds himself writing lyrics to express how he feels. When Delia showcases the song, it becomes popular, but Darren still finds himself struggling with wanting to make things "real" with Delia.

I think it's been a while since I read a YA romance novel from a teen boy's perspective. Let alone one from a Black teen boy. I definitely enjoyed this one and Darren made me chuckle and groan throughout this one. Brown writes him so well he just feels real. Also showcasing his parents, his best friend, and sister throughout the story really worked too. I often get confused when I read YA books and the parents are missing in action.

I also really loved the character of Delia. Until Darren starts to get to know her better, you don't really know her that well outside of the podcasts. But the more that Darren starts to "know the real her" the more I loved. And the more I yelled at him to get a move on.

The writing and flow was great. You are rooting for Darren throughout. I loved the ending.

I usually don't read YA rom-com books but this one drew my attention because it had black protagonists and was a spin on a classic tale. I liked the modern setting with Delia's podcast and that Darren's passion was singing. I also liked that church was referenced a lot, and not to degrade or make fun of it. I thought Delia not liking Darren's song was a nice twist, and it took me by surprise. I do wonder, however, why Delia didn't confront Darren more about him being the Mystery Singer, whether she knew it was him or not. Overall, it was a very enjoyable, fast-paced read, and I would recommend it to any YA romance reader.

I will post a non spoiler review on Goodreads.

Cute story, but the characters lacked some depth. I wish there were deeper rhymes, too. I felt like it could've been so much more.

OMG, Such a fun and lighthearted read! Think of Another Cinderella Story (with Selena Gomez) but singing instead of dancing like Let It Shine (with CoCo Jones). I loved that this book was told for Darren's perspective. It was a nice change as I usually read romance from the female's perspective.
Darren is a shy guy who SANG but doesn't use his talent because of fear of judgment. Darren lives in his head pining for Delia/Dellie; sometimes so much that he misses motions happening right in front of him.
This story was fun and both MCs were cute but at times the story seemed a bit repetitive with Darren's inner monologue. I would have loved to see his thought process develop over the course of the book but it felt kind of abrupt. During the middle, I did get a bit bored and annoyed with Darren's repetitive way of thinking. To me, it seemed that Darren could've been bordering anxiety but that possibility wasn't explored in the story. I wish it had.

Would totally recommend! I've added it to my list of books to buy when the paperback releases!

This is the cutest book ever! Darren has a huge crush on a girl named Delia but is too scared to make a move. He ends up writing a song for her to use on her podcast and it becomes a hit! He’s trying to get to know her and work on other things he’s afraid to confront and the story is such a sweet read I didn’t want it to end. Definitely picking this book up when it’s out! Can’t wait to read more from this author. This book is a new favorite!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC!

The slowest slow burn ever!

I absolutely adored this book! In this beautifully written book, Darren Armstrong decides to turn back to the passions he once gave up on in order to catch the attention of the girl, Delia Dawson, whom he has had a crush on for over a year.

After he catches her attention by anonymously submitting a song to a contest Delia is hosting for her podcast, his only battle is how he keeps her attention without revealing who he truly is.

Although sometimes frustrating because of Darren's constant internal conflict that makes you want to scream "Just tell her!", India Hill Brown beautifully wrote the book with likable characters all around the board from main to supporting. It's a very easy read that is hard to put down, leaving me feeling bittersweet when I finished in 6 hours.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for supplying me with the arc of this novel. India Hill Brown's Rhythm and Muse is released May 30, 2023!

Oh my gosh, where do I start? I absolutely loved this book! Darren is a junior with an amazing voice but is too shy to use it. Actually he likes to mull over his decisions before he makes a move to do anything. He likes Delia who has a podcast he listens to all of the time and he and she build a friendship. They really dance around each other like most teens do and their friends try to help. But eventually, Darren has to decide to come out of his head and use his voice. Read this book! It was my first read by this author but won’t be my last.

Rhythm& muse was so damn good. This book bought together music and words like nobody business the story that was told was so good and it needed it to be told

This was a super cute gender swap Cinderella story that was so cute. With lots of twists.. I love YA that centers the desire and crushes of boys/male identified characters

This was a really cute story with some nice twists from the usual YA romance. I loved that the main character was the guy and that we really got to see his thought process behind everything he did. I also liked the Cinderella-esque aspects. The story was fun and pretty lighthearted. The characters were funny, but aside from the two leads the rest of the characters were really one dimensional. The writing felt a little repetitive, and the arc I received had many grammatical errors that hopefully the final edit won’t have.

Rhythm & Muse is such a cute title, and I am surprised that it is not already a name for a podcast. And speaking of podcasts, this teen romance finds us following Darren as he pines for podcast host Delia, aka Dillie. They attend the same school and church, so they know each other and have plenty of opportunities to interact., if only Darren could get out of his head. With encouraging-if not bossy and meddling family, friends and mentors- Darren takes a chance to express himself through a lost passion and steps out of his head and into this future.

All told, this book is cute for middle graders to early YA readers. I could easily see it being a great addition to Christian school libraries.

This was really lovely! It was a slow start, but worth sticking with for the lovable characters. I love a sweet YA romance, especially hearing from a Black male main character. Loved his parents almost as much as the main love story!

This is the first time I’ve read a romance / romcom that was written from the perspective of a young Black teen boy. I absolutely loved it. Our protagonist Darren is bright, taken, sensitive, and introspective. We meet him at the beginning of junior year in high school, daydreaming about Delia, who he’s been crushing on for an entire year.

Sweet, YA appropriate hijinks soon unfold and I found myself rooting for all of the delightful characters in this story.

I’d love to see this as a movie or limited series. It was SO good!