Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston was music for my eyes! I loved a Novel Love Story and Ashley captured me again with Sounds Like Love. She always manages to add a little bit of magic into her stories in such fun and unique ways. I can never predict how the main leads will be connected to one another.

And speaking of main leads,Joni and Sasha are my babies! They’re so adorable together!! I love that they had a connection even before they met in person and are able to be so vulnerable around each other 🥹Sasha is so respectful of Joni’s privacy during a really hard time in her life but always finds cute ways to support her ❤️ I think the ending was a little long, but I’m not complaining because it gave me more time with these lovely characters.

Oooh I loved!!! This was such a fun and unique story and I loved how it was centered around music. Ashley never fails to make me cry and this book was beautiful. I loved how it all came together and the theme of family in this book. I feel like she handled the story and grief really well.

Ashley Poston is one of my all time faves- she does magical realism like no one else. This one was fun- not as deep as her others, but still had all the quirky small town elements and characters to make it lovable

I really liked the concept for this book, but found myself disappointed with the execution. There needed to be MORE magic, in my opinion. I loved the beach town setting and cast of characters.

Ashley Poston will always be one of my favorite authors and her writing will always be breathtaking and so unique!! The concepts of each of her stories are always so interesting and layered and she does magical realism in the best way. I was a little worried with this one being centered around musicians because I never really connect with those stories, but I’ll always be able to appreciate her writing and her storytelling. She writes love so well but she also writes grief and family and some of the deeper topics so well. This concept was really cute and romantic and I always love how she ties everything together.

I love contemporary romances and I especially love them when they perfectly mix that romance with realistic personal struggles, whether that's with friends, family, a career, etc. The romance is the main plot point, but there's all this interpersonal figuring out and growth that has to be done.

That is what Poston is doing here, and has done with most of her books. And I really love it. It's got banter, it's got great, dynamic characters. It's got growth. It's got pining. And it has the Poston signature of a light dusting of magic - in this case two people who, for some reason, can hear each other's thoughts. Does Poston make hard and fast rules that explain why this is happening? No. And I kinda like that. It just happens.

I was not expecting the gut punch that was the last few chapters, though. Grief is always somewhere in Poston's novels and she handles it well, but it is heartbreaking, of course.

Beautiful and emotional while also swoony. All the things that make a romance great.

I always look forward to new Ashley Poston novels. The romance was once again so good. I loved the journey and dynamic between Joni and Sasha and the magical realism was really original. I also thought the backdrop of her family drama was really well integrated. I liked that at the end of the day the romance stayed the main focus. I’m also a sucker for singer/songwriter characters and I loved the chapter titles so much! I will continue to scream about this book and all her past and future books until the end of time!

Sometimes magical realism can be hit or miss for me in contemporary romance books, but Ashley Poston just gets it right every time, including in her latest novel, Sounds Like Love.

Joni Lark is a successful songwriter who has developed a case of writer’s block. She is returning to her North Carolina hometown in hopes that inspiration will strike, but attends a concert the night before she leaves. At the concert, Joni meets and shares an impulsive kiss with Sebastian, a handsome but gruff musician who has issues but still makes an impression on her.

Once Joni arrives back in NC, inspiration does not strike. Instead, she finds herself struggling even more now that she can see firsthand how far her mom’s dementia has progressed and when she learns that the family business has been struggling and is closing.

Nothing feels right and on top of all that, Joni suddenly finds that she has an unfinished melody stuck in her head, and a man’s voice. No one else can hear the melody or the man’s voice, but he apparently can hear the melody as well. The man is also a musician, and he’s funny, charming, and he has a plan - they should finish writing this song together. He comes to her in NC, and Joni is shocked that it’s actually Sebastian of all people.

I loved that the music connected the two of them and allowed them to grow closer because Sebastian and Joni really do have great chemistry, and it brought tears to my eyes when we eventually learn where the melody they were hearing originated.

The romance is beautifully written and I loved it, but what really made this a special read for me was the emotional depth of the family relationships. This book just made me feel so much!

This was another totally delightful Ashley Poston speculative romcom, a love letter to family, dreams, and music—gripping from the start and an experience at turns hilarious, heartfelt, and romantic. I loved these leads, and they'll be sticking with me for a long time!

First and foremost, I just need to say that I love Ashley Poston's style. The magical realism that she puts in her books is so amazing. It's magical enough where it's cool but not too magical where it's fantasy and unbelievable. I read my first book by her last year at my book and I have not stopped. I am 30 pages left from finishing this book and I love it so much. I also love how she included characters from her previous book, Iwan and Clementine. I cant wait to meet her at Romance Con 2025!

Thank you to Berkley and PRH Audio for the advanced copies. All thoughts are my own!

I really don't know how Ashley does it. She can somehow manage to weave together a book that is so magical, full of romance and possibility and light that is also so interwoven with the deep and dark feelings that grief can have. This book is enchanting yet heartbreaking all at once.

Joni, a successful songwriter based in Los Angeles, is back home in North Carolina to spend time with her family after her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis. This is a summer of endings: her mother's memory is slipping away, Joni feels disconnected from her best friend, and her parents announce that at the end of the summer, they are closing their music venue in town. Joni is grappling with so many feelings of loss but in mix of it all, she finds a new connection with the mysterious voice singing a tune in her head: Sasha.

This book was so charming and full of magic. I cried so hard at the ending once I realized the connection between Joni and Sasha and what had brought them together. This might be my new favorite of hers, which is really saying something because A Novel Love Story was one of my favorite reads of 2024.

If there's one book I would recommend doing on audio, it is this one. Patti Murin does a spectacular job with this novel: her accent work is amazing, each character has their own distinct voice, and the conversations in each other's heads was so well done. I especially appreciate the ending, thank you so much to Colin for producing a full track of this song so it too, can become stuck in my head.

Ashley, thanks again for sharing this with the world. I loved it dearly!

4.5⭐

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝓗𝓸𝔀 𝓭𝓲𝓭 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓰𝓮𝓽 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓽? 𝓜𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓶𝓸𝓶?
“𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓸𝓷’𝓽. 𝓐𝓽 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓽, 𝓘 𝓭𝓲𝓭𝓷’𝓽. 𝓘 𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝔂. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓘 𝓶𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓼. 𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓘’𝓭 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓾𝓹 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓾𝓰𝓼. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝔂𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓱𝓮’𝓼 𝓰𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝔂. 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓶𝓮, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝓮, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓵𝓮𝓯𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓭. 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝔂, 𝓫𝓲𝓻𝓭. 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓭𝓸.”˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

This was amazing. I’m so thankful that this book was my first Ashley Poston read..... It made me feel so much.

Normally, I don’t enjoy books about music; they feel a bit shallow -at least to me. But this one? It’s so much more than a story about music. It’s about two souls tangled together in the most unexpected way.

The concept of telepathy isn’t exactly new, but I wasn’t expecting it, and it really made me reflect. How many of us who seem grumpy on the outside are actually softies inside? And how many of us who come off as cheerful are hiding so much beneath the surface?

I’ll definitely be reading more of Ashley Poston’s books—I have no doubt I’ll love them too.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

I didn't ever think that my first Ashley Poston book would be an ARC 😭 Ilysm Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group 🩷

🎹SOUNDS LIKE LOVE by Ashley Poston🎹

Thank you so much @berkleyromance for the #gifted e-book and @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook!🫶

📆PUB DATE: Out Now!
➡️Swipe for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Ebook/Audiobook
Read if you like:
🪄Magical Realism
🏖️Small town beach setting
🎤Famous person/Normal person trope

Ashley Poston is an auto-read romance author for me, and Sounds Like Love is her newest release! This didn’t top The Dead Romantics or The Seven Year Slip for me, but I still loved it!

I love the magical elements of Ashley Poston’s books. In this one, the two love interests can hear each other in their heads and are both hearing the same unfinished melody. It’s not my favorite of her magical elements, but it was sweet nonetheless. The setting was perfect for summer: near the shore in North Carolina and within the music venue that Joni’s parents own.

While the concept and setting are great, I didn’t feel much of a connection between the two love interests and the side characters weren’t as intriguing as I prefer.

Sounds Like Love is filled with beautiful writing and that summer read feeling, so I still highly recommend this!

No one does magical realism like Ashley Poston!!! Being a huge music lover, I immediately loved this one. The description of the MMC in the beginning chapters reminded me of Harry Styles circa frat boy era, and I was LOCKED IN! I love books about music SO much because it's incredibly hard to put into words what music means to me, and how it affects me every day- but Ashley Poston did exactly that in this novel. It was beyond beautiful and so well written. As with Poston's previous books, she also writes about grief in such a careful and beautiful way. It's incredibly sad but also so relatable and I'm not ashamed to say I sobbed at the end.

I loved the chapter titles and the many references to music I know and love. I did think that the story dragged just a little towards the middle, but the last 20% really saved the book for me. I sobbed at the end because of her mom. Again, Poston EXCELS at writing about grief and it pulls at my heartstrings every single time. Overall, I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to see what she writes next!! I hope she never stops writing magical realism.

I love Ashley Poston's romances with magival realism (THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP remains one of my all time favorite books!) but this one was just okay for me! I liked how music was such an important role in the story but had a difficult time with the romance and suspending disbelief for this one. I still enjoyed the story and will read her future books!

Soft and magical. A slightly different read from Ashley Poston but solid just the same. I see much of myself in Joni and it's very sobering to see those fears and insecurities reflected on the page. Beautiful story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Poston truly never fails to write the most magical love stories.

“And this was it. What magic felt like. How it moved. How it persisted. How it thrived. It lived in midnight joyrides with best friends, singing to stave off sleep after a night at a concert two hours away. It lived in afternoon drives with parents, howling the guitar riffs at the top of their lungs.”

Nothing will ever compare to The Seven Year Slip for me, but I do think this is my new 2nd favourite of her books! If you’re a fan of pop culture and musician romances, this one’s for you.

Joni Lark is one of the most coveted songwriters in LA, but she’s dealing with writer’s block. When she returns to her hometown and The Revelry (the music venue her parents run), everything is changing. The Revelry is closing, her best friend is avoiding her, and her mom is losing her memory fast. She begins to hear a melody in her head and an addictive voice to go along with it.

This was so fanfiction-inspired in the best way and I adored it!!! The family dynamics were so special, the ending made me cry and the love was addictive. Joni is such a strong female lead and I loved her.

Four Stars - Poston is just a really fun read all around.

Here is my scoring system in a nutshell. Five star books are not only engaging from beginning to end, but they are also beautifully written. Four star books are well worth your time - engaging and well-written. Three star books aren’t bad- engaging but perhaps slow or clunky in parts. Two stars, I finished but it was difficult - something about the pacing, the story or the writing was not compelling. One star - just don’t!

5 STARS= Definitely YES!
4 STARS = YES.
3 STARS = Maybe.
2 STARS= NO.
1 STAR = DNF; Definitely NO!

Imagine you cant get the sound of your ex voice out of your head...and the connection between you two is what helps drive your music. Love this story, loved the characters. Everything Ashley Poston writes is beautiful. The way she can take you from a page in a book into her brightly colored world is something not alot of people can do. She always has so much depth to her stories, its never just a romance. Perfect romance to read in the summer.

Ashley Poston has done it again! Her beautiful, lyrical writing pulled me in right from the start, and I absolutely fell in love with these characters.

Joni, a song-writer, and Sasha, a former boy band member, realize they can hear each other's thoughts, as well as part of a melody that neither can get out of their head. Sasha comes to Joni's hometown in the Outer Banks where she's spending the summer, so they can finish the song and free themselves from each other's thoughts. But as the days pass in a haze of sun, sand and music, the two of them find themselves developing feelings for each other.

This book was not only a beautiful and heartfelt love story, but it dealt with grief and heartache as Joni struggled to come to terms with her mother's dementia and the fact that her parents are selling their beloved music hall. Ashley manages to write these themes with such care and consideration, and I found myself in tears several times.

Both of these main characters were dealing with their own hurts, but the care they had for each other was so heartfelt. And the way music wove through the entire book was beautiful and served as the perfect way to draw them together and develop their feelings.

I knew right from the start that this book would be 5 stars, and that never changed as I worked my way through and savored every word. I highly recommend this one, especially for anyone who enjoys magical realism.