I am having such a book hangover. I am a fan of Ashley Poston. The characters... I may need a novella with Hank and Wyn! Music has its own character in this lovely story. Joni and Sasha are just so beautiful. Okay I just loved it all.

Hmm. Where to begin? I actually think I feel decidedly split down the middle about this book—I enjoyed a lot about it and also there was enough that I didn’t love which leaves me solidly in the middle, with a ranking of 3 stars.

What I loved: The FMC’s wonderfully quirky parents, and the group of lovely, unique characters that surround her. The setting was so vividly real, and scenes about and in the Revelry felt like the strongest writing. Also, the rock stars of it all—the history of the mothers made me think of Almost Famous (the chaos of touring and the desperate need to find Place). The depiction of dementia and the honest, complex emotions associated with a loved one suffering from it. I enjoyed that the MMC surprised me—I expected not to enjoy him when we first meet him but he quickly proved me wrong. Plus he was down bad pretty much from the start and I love when a man is down bad. And of course the classic magic of an Ashley Poston novel, where an inexplicable force brings two people together.


What I didn’t love: There was one too many pop culture references, which, sure a book about music and musicians…I probably could’ve expected as much but pop culture references or references to the real world often distract me from a good story. There was also too much going on regarding the subplots of other characters—a lot of history is packed into this story which made some things suffer, namely the romance plot. I think we could’ve gotten more between the MMC and FMC. My biggest frustration, though, was that I couldn’t figure out the laws of their ability to mind read. And yeah, I’m probably thinking too hard about this because the two leads didn’t even know how it works, but like…sometimes the FMC would speak out loud and the MMC could hear her when we only ever saw her hear his thoughts and not his spoken words??? So I don’t know how that’s mind reading when he’s able to be in a completely different location and hear her talking to herself. And at one point he was able to tell when someone else touched her, which, like, how did he know that happened? How is he this all seeing, all hearing, all knowing character and she can only read his mind???


One last thing: This is where people might think I’m insane but I didn’t love the music of it all, which is quite literally the running thread throughout this story. I’m not necessarily taking off points from the book because it centers around music—I knew the plot going into it—but I’m also not a music person so I think this story ultimately fell flat because I don’t connect to music the way the characters in this book did. I do think, however, the concept of both leads being so connected to and having immense respect and love for their mothers in part because of their shared love of music is a beautiful concept. The emotional heart of the book comes from the relationship between FMC and her mother.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for providing and eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was so sweet and swoony with the perfect magical realism touch that we love from Ashley. I was laughing out loud at times. Sasha was so funny, especially when they were speaking in their minds before they knew who each other were. And then the ending started to get very emotional. And I love how much music actually played into the story, and the song at the end♥️

Gigi and Mitch would’ve been such a cute story, but I was so happy with the way they ended up at the end up the book too🥹

Ashley Poston did it again.

She created a heartwarming and inspiring romance with threads of the paranormal that draw the reader into her world.

There's something about how Poston crafts the scifi/supernatural/paranormal elements into her works that keeps them so rooted in reality that it appeals to all readers. Even if you've never read a book with elements of fantasy, the emotion in the books takes you in without a doubt.

In her latest, Sounds Like Love, we meet Joni Lark, a successful songwriter in LA, just hours before she makes a trip home for the summer. She's frustrated and stilted and going through the motions she thinks she needs to on this last night.

On this night, the seed is planted before she heads home-- fighting an emptiness that's stifled her creativity and threatens her career.

Home in Vienna Shores, Joni is forced to confront her past, present, and future, all while hearing a melody and a voice in her head that she can't shake. Then the man behind the voice shows up, and they're forced to work together.

Within this romance, Poston tackles some very serious issues with grief, as she deals with her mother's dementia, as other deal with previous loss. There's so many eloquent passages about love and life and death.

My favorite, that I highlighted numerous times, "Grief is just a love song in reverse."

Ashley Poston has done it again - written yet another magical, emotional, whimsical rom-com! Seriously her books are like living in the perfect 90s RomCom movie. Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of Sounds Like Love, full review to follow.

🤍Book review 🤍

Sounds Like Love
by Ashley Poston
Very grateful to the publisher @berkleyromance for my #gifted copy through @netgalley , opinions are my own
This story is emotional, magical, and full of heart. Joni is a songwriter who’s lost her spark, and returning to her hometown brings up a lot of old memories, family struggles, and a deep sense of nostalgia. I really connected with her journey of trying to find her voice again.
The connection between Joni and the mysterious musician, Sasha, was so unique and fun to read. I loved how they could hear each other’s thoughts, it added a special and surprising twist to their relationship. The small town setting and the family music venue gave the story so much warmth and depth.
Ashley Poston writes with so much emotion and beauty. This book explores grief, creativity, and second chances in such a powerful way.

4.5 - “Grief is just a love song in reverse.”

Ashley Poston has this way with magical realism that I love so much. It’s gives all of her books this delightful quirk while also balancing heavier topics and storylines so well. This one is not different and it’s my new favorite after The Seven Year Slip.

This book is just so wonderful from start to finish. From the lyric chapter titles (which speaks directly to my music-loving heart) to the strange melody in Joni’s head to her mother’s dementia, this book flow so effortlessly. Joni is such a likable, relatable character and her journey throughout this story is spectacular. It’s emotional and poignant in a way only Ashley Poston can do.

Retuning home holds such conflicting feelings for Joni, as she’s burnt out from LA and feeling vulnerable. There is so much happening yet none of it feels arbitrary. Joni finds herself back home and with Sasha, whose voice she’s been hearing in her head. When he comes to North Carolina and is no longer just a voice, his story is just as compelling. The supporting cast is also incredible, making it feel like you’re part of the group as a reader. The friendship between Joni and Gigi is so well done, depicting a great female friendship that we need to see more of. They’re supporting and loyal, and it’s a great addition to the romance.

This is an emotional and heartwarming force of a book and I can’t recommend it enough.

This was a quick, fun read. I go back and forth with Ashley Poston's books—some are hits, and some don't land with me. I'm glad this one didn't rely on overdone tropes, but I did feel that some of the dialogue was a bit cheesy.

Sometimes the romance plot of a romance book, isn’t what drives me to continue down the story. Sometimes it’s the self-realizations the main characters go through and growth of side characters along the way.

This was overall an interesting experience, although it was not for me, I enjoyed certain aspects including some guest character appearances.

Pub Date June 17 2025

Thanks so much to Penguin Random House and Berkley Romance for this eARC.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

i have thoughts...
ok i was so vibing with this book up until like the last 15%
i was invested in the characters and was really intrigued by the magical realism component to the story but the ending fell So Flat to me. like the third act conflict was just a big no for me. i dont know you guys i was just left feeling so disappointed

There were so many truly beautiful moments within this book. For me, the “forefront” love story fell to the back burner with what stuck with me and what felt the most important. The side characters, the familial love, the intricate ties that make up the delicate beauty of our lives…. those are what I took from this book.

Ashley will never write a book that I won’t read, and while this isn’t my favorite of hers, I love so much of what was accomplished within this.

Short synopsis: Joni is a songwriter living in LA, she returns home to Vienna Shores NC hoping for some inspiration. What she finds is her mom loosing her memories fast, and a melody with a strange voice in her head (who can hear her thoughts).

My thoughts: Ashley has done it again! She’s written a beautiful story of magic and love, with so much emotion. In fact, the authors note had me tearing up… I miss my sweet grandma.

I loved the spark of magic interwoven in the pages of this book. There is so much family, and love, and hopefulness, and music. Music is the core of this, and how the lyrics to songs can bring people together.

Also, we get a little cameo of Lemon and Iwon from The Seven Year Slip!

Read if you love:
* Magical Realism
* Books with heart
* Forced proximity
* Music
* songwriting

Y’all I LOVE Ashley Poston. Seriously, no one writes about loss and grief more beautifully then this woman. Her books have become my ultimate comfort reads, and Sounds Like Love was no exception. Yes this is a romance, and the romance was very cute (Hozier fans are going to lose it over Sebastian), but at the core, this is a book about the magic of music and memories. As a music lover, this book was everything to me:

“She knew when the world was too loud, I’d retreat into my lyrics and my songs. Id figure out the world through them. Id figure out myself too.” – pretty sure Ashley simply wrote that line about me.

I loved the dementia representation in this book. As someone who’s family is deeply affected by the disease, I found our FMC Jo’s experiences and feelings extremely relatable. And yes, I did cry (read: sob for the last 10% straight). How can you not when you read lines like “and then I wonder when I’m gone, will my life have meant anything at all” ??

This book was a very fast read for me, I read it in under 4 days which is pretty unheard of, and is a testament to Poston’s writing, unique plots, and magical realism that never disappoints. While this is a romance novel, for me, the romance wasn’t what made this book 5 stars (similar to a Novel Love story) for me, but I still enjoyed Jo and Sebastian nonetheless!

I will leave off with a few more quotes I loved:

“… the things that left never stayed gone for good.. the things that mattered always returned. Just maybe not in the way you expected”

“…grief was a love song in reverse. The notes were still there, but they sounded a little different”

“… there was always new music, and new melodies, and new memories to make”

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review one of my most anticipated new releases of the year!

In Sounds Like Love, Joni, a songwriter who is stuck in a writer's block, begins to hear the chords of a song and the thoughts of Sasha in her mind. Sasha can hear Joni's thoughts as well, and he is also a musician who can hear the same chords Joni is hearing. They get to know each other by being in each others heads when Sasha suggests meeting up to see if maybe when they come face to face, things will go back to normal. Joni is reluctant at first, but gives in, but when she comes face to face with Sasha, he is the last person she was expecting to see.

It took me a bit to get in to this one, but once Joni and Sasha came face to face, the story really picked up for me and I was fully invested. There were a lot of personal things they both needed to work through, Joni with her mom and her early-onset dementia diagnosis, where her career was heading, and the future of her family's concert hall with her parents looking to close it, and Sasha with trying to get his career back on track, his relationship with his father, and the grief he still felt over his mom's death. Once they learned to work together, I liked how they slowly began to trust each other and understand what brought them together.

I was very intrigued by the premise of a songwriter and a musician suddenly being able to hear each other’s thoughts! Joni is a renowned songwriter in LA, but with life changing rapidly around her, she’s lost the inspiration to write. The magical connection between her and “Sasha” had some confusing inconsistencies, but I loved the idea of their secrets being forced wide open. And you know I was totally smitten with his grungy, brooding, wounded rockstar vibes!

Ashley Poston’s writing always has this hauntingly warm quality that I absolutely love, but I don’t know—this romance just felt ... overly sappy? Too mushy? I couldn’t take it seriously. Sasha’s feelings for Joni escalated so quickly that I struggled to understand what exactly drew him to her so intensely in the first place, especially since we never get his point of view. And this is being nitpicky, but the constant use of “Bird” as a nickname really started to wear thin after a while.

Back to the positive! I adored the Vienna Shores setting with its coastal charm, wild horses, and the eclectic atmosphere of The Revelry, Joni’s family’s music venue. That space felt like a character in itself. I also appreciated the deeply emotional portrayal of caring for a loved one with dementia. And the ending! It brought everything full circle in such a tender, whimsical, satisfying way.

3.5 stars

I know I will be an outlier here because I didn’t 100% all out love this book. It was quite entertaining with much to love, but it felt rushed and had a bit of a crowded plot. This was a bit of a distraction for me. With that said, I did enjoy the magical realism, the setting and the musical element. This is a positive review even if it’s not my favorite by this author.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Okay, I stopped sobbing and I am back with a coherent review. If you couldn't tell by my 5 stars, let me clarify... I loved this book. Ashley Poston continues to reign supreme as magical realism x contemporary romance queen and this book is another excellent testament to that statement.

Ashley Poston had no business taking this story to the next level through her writing the way she did. I really this was her best writing yet?! I had at least 2 highlights from every chapter of pure, emotional poetic prose that made me gasp, tear up, and drown in my emotions. The story pacing was great and Ashley Poston's integration of characters and plot was no exception. I loved all the characters so much and the cast shined as much as the main characters in this.

At first, I was hesitant because the magic in this one was very cliche, but her take on it was so refreshing. It was truly magical and it didn't feel forced at all. It had all the yearning and tension that I savored with each page and I obsessed over the MMC. (SASHAAAA, MY SASHA.) The romantic chemistry between the characters had a bit of slow burn mixed with a grumpy x sunshine and it was perfect. I loved the nod to fated mates and red string of fate as well. For me, this book had the ideal combination of yearning from "The Dead Romantics" and the romantic spark from "The Seven Year Slip."

Ashley Poston is a magician.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publisher for early access to this super fun, punny as ever, Ashley Poston romp. I love Ashley's books and I love music so this one was really, really fun for me. It was also a lovely homage to Ashley's oma. Can't wait for the next book (because I always want another book from Ashley).

Sounds like Love is the latest from Ashley Poston. The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip are two of my favorites, while A Novel Love Story last year was just okay, so I was excited to see where this new book fell for me. And this one I enjoyed more than last summer’s release but TDR and TSYS still reign supreme for me. I just love the way this author blends contemporary romances with a splash of magical realism!

Jo is a songwriter and struggling (emotionally) in L.A. because of how much she misses home in North Carolina. Her family, best friend (who is with her brother), and her parent’s musical venue The Revelry are all there. Her career is looking good with a recent popular pop singer she’s paired with and at one of her concerts she meets Sebastian, the son of a rock star who was also in a boy band that broke up a decade ago. They end up sharing a kiss when the kiss-can spots them at the concert. Shortly after, Jo is called home to spend time with her mother for the summer who has been diagnosed with dementia (this seems to be a trend with new releases this spring/summer). And while there she starts hearing a voice in her head (the magical realism bit of the story) who she can not only communicate with, but also they both hear an unfinished song/melody waiting to be written/sung…

I liked this one and flew through the story. I liked the musical aspects of the story added in as well and seeing both Jo and Sebastian figure out where they want to be/what they want to do with their lives. Both of them have a connection with music throughout their lives and all those tie-ins were fun and bittersweet. Overall a cute one from this author!

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

First of all, my apologies to the author, publisher, and NetGalley that this review of the ARC is sooooo late. I finished the book in about a week, but then got slammed with work things and didn't get to my review until just now. So I'm writing this with a month inbetween when I finished it and I'm writing it up. So that's a long-winded way of saying I don't remember the finer details of the book, but I do remember really liking it. I loved Joni's personality, but also the way she felt a little stuck. For me, it was no big shock of who the voice in her head was (I don't know if Poston's twist are ever supposed to be surprising, but for the most part, for me I can see them coming a mile away, but I'm not mad about that). As always, Poston is fun to read.