I absolutely love Regina Black and will read anything she writes. I fell in love with her debut novel, The Art of Scandal, and was looking forward to her sophomore novel. I wasn't disappointed at all. This book is set in the country music work with the daughter of a country music start, August Lane, and her old friend/lover, Luke Randall, who took credit for a song she helped to write when he was 18. They haven't seen each other in years and August is still very bitter about what occurred with Luke, really can you blame her. When they are pushed together due to a music festival celebrating August's mom, they are forced to face the demons they share and their individual ones as they try to seek forgiveness.

Much like her previous novel, August Lane is a romance with a lot of drama surrounding the characters. The drama is very different in this novel. We are offered a viewpoint of Luke and August as teenagers and then see who they are at the present. This allows for the reader to see what both characters have had to overcome to get where they are by the end of the novel. Luke and August are both flawed characters and I love that they aren't squeaky clean characters because honestly I find it so boring when they are. It's a slow burn for the romance but I loved the build up that occurred to get to it. The audiobook has numerous narrators which enhances the format the novel is written in. I'm just sad now that I have to wait again for Regina's next novel.

Thank you to Grand Central Pub and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

I am not always the biggest second chance romance fan, but I loved this. I loved the present day story and the interspersed flashbacks. The interviews with August’s mom and the song lyrics added a nice touch.

Thank you for the ARC! I really enjoyed this story and really liked Regina Black's writing. I felt like I was right in the heart of this story and I did not want it to end.

This novel follows the powerful and poignant journeys of Luke and August. It’s quite a ride! The author juggles three separate timelines and a large cast of secondary characters, creating a compelling narrative that's never confusing. The inclusion of unique elements like song lyrics and podcast transcripts was a great choice. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.
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Loved the characters and how the story was told through the podcast and the past. I would recommend this to anyone.

August Lane is more than a second-chance romance. It’s an anthem. Regina Black weaves a tender, unforgettable love story while rooting it in the erased history of Black country music. From Linda Martell to DeFord Bailey to JoJo finally receiving her flowers, this book is a reclamation in so many way.

August and Luke’s journey is both raw and healing. They are two people shaped by their pasts and still learning what it means to love. As Black writes: “No one is born knowing how to love… All he had was emotion, big feelings he captured in melodies. August was his transcriptionist, trying to craft verses strong enough to contain them.”

Tender, powerful, and deeply moving, this book absolutely sang to me.

The Art of Scandal is a hard act to follow, but Regina Black's sophomore romance August Lane was a masterpiece. Defi8nitely one of my favorite releases this year. Prepare to have your heart broke open and soul deeply satisfied.

I'm a sucker for any books that have music as part of the story, and this one felt so unique to me. These characters and their issues were so nuanced, and I was still rooting for them the whole time. And I'm not a country girl, but I want to hear their music! 🙂

Yes. A big yes. We need more Black love!!! This was my first book from this author and it won’t be the last.

Initial reaction: Finally finished. I'm in the minority on this. I know why folks like it. There are pieces of this I appreciated, valued, connected with. But too many times I felt an odd distance from the characters. Slow burn is good, but the burn was more painful for me than satisfying. 3.5 stars.

Full review:

I know I'm in the minority on reacting to Regina Black's "August Lane". So many people I know and respect loved this. I...liked it, but didn't love it. I probably would not read it again.

Please hold your pitchforks while I explain what I did like about this book and also why it's a book that felt to me like I was pulling teeth in the process of reading it. It hurt in several places, not in good ways for me. If it was just the fact that it was triggering (please heed the trigger warnings here, they are a lot), I would be willing to say that "It's not you, it's me" to the book and fully own that. Would also note that if it were just me, I would still give a high recommendation for folks to read it.

But nope, it's the book. The book has issues. How it was written in some sections, to me, felt like pulling teeth. It was a choice that didn't have to be the way it was. It honestly upset me on how points of the writing really shortchanged the overarching experience of this book. If you actually took the bare bones intentions and overarching story itself for what it offers, it sounds great. It was even great during certain portions of the book. I loved the interview portions with Jojo, who was a fascinating character in her own right as a Black country music legend. I would read a book about her. I liked the current perspective sections when we finally hit a point where it hit the ground running showing the tension, emotions, and complicated relationship between August and Luke. The 2009 sections had moments where it had me then completely lost me, basically had to force myself through it in some parts because it felt so tedious for how it told certain pieces of information and we weren't allowed to really dig into the character emotions and experiences as much.

Y'all, when we talk about slow burn romances, I typically love and gravitate towards those. But not when it feels like I'm held at a distance from the characters or when it feels like its overextended for certain interactions and experiences, but when it comes to resolutions, it's a quick dash to resolve and the resolution doesn't feel like it's fulfilling. That's exactly what happened with me for this book. If you are going to give me a slow burn romance with all the complicated relationships and nuances that it has, I want to SEE and FEEL the burn. I want to be able to care about and for the characters. I don't want to feel burned by how tedious it is. And this was a tedious read for me.

It's not the fact that we don't get a kiss scene or an intimate scene until later in the book, I don't mind that. That enhances the book for me, but it's not the main draw. I'm totally fine when a book doesn't just jump into a sex scene or a kiss right away, long as you can hold my attention with the characters and things that are happening. It should not take a whole 20% of a book to get to the inciting event between characters that grabs your attention. That's where the book actually started for me because, and I reacted on social media saying this, "Doggone August, how did Luke hurt you?" I started caring then because I could feel the awkwardness and tension between the leads. Because you actually feel the bitterness of August's interaction with Luke and the fact that she pours coffee on his pants. (Lukewarm, but still.) Before that point we got anecdotes on how Luke was getting a divorce from his ex and August got into a fight with a woman whose husband she cheated with and...I didn't give one whit about it. Also a laundry list of half-invested country references, even points where I was like "Do y'all really like country music because I see critiques about Darius Rucker and other things" that felt cynical as all get out. And I'm not talking about the blistering critique of country music excluding Black folks - that was on point. I'm talking more about how it felt like it didn't sink its teeth into what these characters loved about the genre to make the music they did, I wanted that to show up far sooner than it did. I would not blame someone putting the book down before the 20% mark, because I very much understand that it felt tedious to weed through the narrative to get to that inciting event when you can actually feel the character interactions.

Even after we get to the point of the book where it really starts, the execution of the novel is a series of hits and misses. It's uneven and clunky for execution. But let me give you the rundown of what this book does and maybe that might put this in perspective for what worked for me and what didn't.

Luke is a country music star who had a successful run on a popular music competition series. His biggest song is one that he didn't write, just reworked to the point where it became a smash. The actual writer of the song, August Lane, is the daughter of country music legend Jojo Lane. August and Luke had a relationship in high school, up to the point where he left abruptly and didn't return to their hometown. At least, not until he was invited years later, to revive a career on the bubble. Luke's invited to perform with Jojo Lane, in a tribute concert that has him performing his biggest hit. Luke returns to his hometown to less than welcome company. August obviously feels a way about Luke's return because they separated on abrupt/bad terms. The narrative takes you through Luke's and August's history, from the relationships they had in high school and their reputations, to the present day where they're trying to navigate that roughness.

I would have liked this story more if it gave me a chance to sink into the narrative more consistently, I really would have. Because it had all the elements of the characters navigating both personal traumas and family roughness alongside kindling a love for country music when August and Luke were writing together and actually cultivating their relationship. It took a while for the actual investment in country musicians and tributes to the Black musicians that inspired them to show up (way too long, honestly, because I did wonder if it was going to be more than a laundry list of references/mentions). For me it felt like I was reading this with the effect of whiplash because there were some scenes that landed beautifully for the tension and reckoning of relationships and hardships that Luke and August navigated. Like the trauma, heartache, and the intimacy they have is real, I give it to the work for that. We navigate through Luke and his brother Ethan being abused by their mother, the loss of their father and their mother's abusive boyfriends. We navigate August having a distant relationship with her mother and being ostracized in more ways than one. August also has to take care of her grandmother when her memory starts failing while Jojo isn't around/stays on the road for her career and just not being there for August for a multitude of reasons that are heartbreaking. And I absolutely felt for those things and acknowledge that's where the book shines when it sticks the landing.

But again, the execution of bringing this together and holding on to details that really just weren't served by the narrative format of shifting timelines and on again-off again presentation. By the time it was coming to the ending, I felt like the experience was shortchanged because there were certain non-essential details that were spent too much time on, but, for example, when we get close to the end when Luke finally has a chance to reunite with his brother Ethan, we don't get to see them work through things? Ethan was abruptly left behind by his brother and had no contact up to the point they reunite, so it felt like that didn't have a chance to really feel like a full reckoning. And the reasoning that Luke had for telling him to stay behind with their abusive mother didn't make sense to me. Actually made me freaking mad that he'd leave him like that without them really working that out. And indeed, Luke's mother was terrible to them, especially in some of the heavy hitting scenes of her abusing both boys (i.e. locking them in a closet, taking the car and leaving Luke locked out of the house to get heat stroke when he was supposed to be spending time with August). And when Luke makes the decision he does to tell the truth, I felt it was too quick of a resolution on that, because she basically blackmailed him and threatened to expose his secret of writing the song, then gets mad when he tells the truth! (She does later apologize.)

I liked the ending of the book in terms of them coming together and actually showing support for one another, and the songs with the lyrics at the end were a nice touch too. (I loved the lyrics of the song "The Bones of Us" more than the other.) But honestly, thinking about having to wade through the narrative only to get to the parts of the book that I liked/loved? I don't really want to go through that again. The narrative style didn't do justice for the collective story and characters of this book, which deserved a lot more investment and intimacy than a dictational style and uneven focus.

I want more Black country music romance books. If August Lane encourages folks to write more of them, I'm all for it. I just wish that it hadn't meandered so much to get to the best pieces of it and left out story pieces and character reckonings that deserved far more focus than they got here.

Overall score: 3.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

I love a romance that is more than just about the will they or won't they and this kept me hooked for so much more! The main characters could be a little frustrating at times, but overall this is such a compelling story about missed opportunities, forgiveness, and second chances. And super timely given the popularity of Black country music stars right now. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review. August Lane by Regina Black is the tender and powerful story of a once popular Black country artist who returns to his hometown after more than a decade to feature in a concert celebrating the induction of his idol into the country hall of fame. But returning home means dealing with the ghosts he left behind, including the girl he once loved who secretly wrote his (only) number 1 hit.

I adored this novel. Regina Black does such a great job of creating the small town of Arcadia, Arkansas and infusing it with the rich musical and cultural history that is integral to the plot of the story. Both Luke and August felt so real and well drawn and their love for one another was palpable from the first scene they are in together. This book does such a great job of blending romance with the exploration of fame, the ideas of ownership and credit, forgiveness, and most importantly the erasure of Black artists from their rightful place in the history of country music. Be warned that there are some really heavy and potentially triggering topics covered here such as addiction, physical and emotional abuse. and dementia.

I found myself tearing through this novel but did feel as if the last third did fall off and lose my undivided attention for a minute. The plot beats towards the end make sense to me (but without spoiling too much) the execution could have been cleaner and I found myself favoring one timeline over the other at the end. However, this is still an amazing book with so much to say. I highly recommend.

This was such a beautiful story about two broken people finding their way back to each other thru not only the love they have always had, but thru their shared love of music. This is a story of second chance at love, life, and choosing to heal. Loved it and I didn’t want it to end honestly.

This one took me a little bit to get in to and I contemplated doing a soft-DNF around 40% in, but I continued and I am oh so very glad that I did. I love books that involve musicians, especially country music artists.

This is full of heartbreak and messy relationships, but it was also a beautiful story about forgiveness, healing and love. The narrators were fantastic too. I loved that we got to listen to a couple of the original songs that were mentioned in the book!

August and Luke were sorta high school sweethearts. They weren’t actually together, they were friends. They wrote songs together. They were in love with each other but their lives were very complicated.

Luke became famous singing a song they wrote together that she didn’t get credit for. He was a has been at the beginning of the book and got tapped to sing that song alongside August’s famous mother at a performance in their hometown.

As the story unfolds, you slowly learn how they got to where they are now through flashbacks sprinkled in with the flow of the present story. You truly don’t get the entire backstory until you get near the end of the book.

This was a beautiful love story. It didn’t end the way I thought it would and that made me enjoy the story that much more. It was much more than a romance. It was about the relationship between parents who dealt with difficult situations and their children.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise”

I feel like this song perfectly describes this story. This is soooo cowboy carter coded. I wouldn’t go into this expecting a sweeping romance (like i did), it’s not the traditional formulaic romance we’re used to reading but it IS still a love story. The love here runs deeper than what’s on the surface and reveals itself layer by layer. It’s about love, yes, but also loss, heartbreak, and the messy, beautiful process of rebuilding yourself after it all.

This story centers August, who I was rooting for the entire time. JUSTICE FOR AUGUST fr!!!! I feel like she got the short end of the stick and just got stuck in this life she didn’t want, but settled for because she believed she didn’t deserve anything better but thankfully in the end she got her dream.

Now Luke, i’m torn. because while i think he made some terrible decisions, i appreciated his fight to right his wrongs and he was very instrumental in August reaching her dreams.

Now JoJo? HATED HER!! I really don’t think there were any redeemable qualities about her… my only gripe is that Regina gave her so much page time!😒🤣

Overall, this was an emotional, beautifully written story about reclaiming your time, your voice, and your love. Like I said don’t go into this expecting your basic romance because it is so much more than that.

August, the daughter of a Black country singer, meets Luke in high school and bonds with him over their shared love of making music and their family trauma. Fourteen years later, they're living very different lives - August is still in their small hometown avoiding her dreams of a music career, and Luke is a one-hit wonder whose career stalled a long time ago. When a music festival brings them back together, sparks fly again and they have to navigate their complicated past.

I would recommend August Lane to all romance lovers, but particularly to fans of Seven Days in June - they're both second chance romances with flashbacks to high school, and they both focus on the MCs struggling in different ways with their shared craft.

A second-chance, music-drenched, trauma-soaked, slow burn that hurt me real bad—and I loved every minute of it.

⚠️ Content Note: August Lane includes themes of domestic abuse, addiction, mental illness, grief, dementia, a past (off-page) sexual assault, and reproductive rights. Full list is available on the author’s site. If any of those are sensitive for you, please take care while reading. Regina Black handles these with nuance and care—but she doesn’t flinch. So yeah, this one gets heavy. And it’s okay to take breaks.

Now August Lane. This book cracked my chest open with quiet tenderness, reached into the softest parts of me, and whispered, “You will feel everything.”

The story kicks off with Luke, a broke country musician playing his one hit song in dive bars to pay the bills. Then—plot twist—he’s asked to sing a duet with a major Black country music star, Jojo Lane, at an award show. But to do that, he has to go back home. And home? Means August—the girl who he stole her lyrics and ghosted her in every way that matters. And Jojo Lane is her mother!

Yeah. It’s complicated. But stay with me!

The story bounces between 2009 and 2023, and those flashbacks are essential. They carry the weight of everything they can’t say in the present. You start feeling that ache, that buildup, that loss of innocence that makes their present-day tension so gut-wrenching. August is dealing with losing her grandmother (after taking care of her while she had dementia), coupled with deep-rooted family dysfunction. Luke’s mom is struggling with addiction and chronic pain. He’s battling alcoholism himself. There’s trauma, abuse, grief, and just… a relentless wave of life coming for them. I kept yelling, Can they just get a break? Please?

But despite it all, their love for each other? Whew. It’s that aching, slow burn that simmers under every stolen glance and almost-touch.

And I mean SLOW. Like we were best friends and almost lovers in 2009, and we’re just now maybe kissing in 2023. But every moment was earned. This wasn’t a fluffy little reunion—it was a journey. A beautifully painful story about finding your way back to the one person who felt like home when nothing else did.

August Lane isn’t just a love story—it’s a full-bodied examination of Black artistry in country music. It delves into questions of ownership, erasure, and the struggle to be seen and credited in a space that has always had Black roots, but rarely gives Black artists their due. Emphasis on ALWAYS!

Regina Black gives voice to all of that. The timing is perfect. It feels like a love letter to Black creators who have been told they don’t belong in genres they helped build. Luke and August’s story is raw, real, and refuses to sugarcoat the messiness of trauma, love, regret, and redemption. Their pain is palpable. Their chemistry is quietly electric. Their growth? Stunning. Regina Black said, “I’m going to hurt you, but you’ll thank me later.” And I did.

The best romance of the year so far. Regina black writes in a layered, complex way about the history of black folks in country music. This romance hinges on a betrayal I didn’t think I could get past but I did and that’s all due to Black’s amazing writing.

This was my first book by Regina Black, and now I know I’ll be picking up her previous work. I was initially drawn in by the blurb, of a Black country star at the center of the romance. That alone made me curious, but what really pulled me in was how beautifully the story unfolded.

I’ve always had a soft spot for second chance romances, and this one was done so well. The history between the characters felt authentic, and the emotional tension kept me invested the entire time. I also really enjoyed the format of the book, with its parts and verses of a song, as well as the interview style sections between chapters. It gave the story a unique rhythm and a behind-the-scenes feel.

Regina Black does a good job balancing swoon-worthy moments with some heavier, real life issues that added so much depth to the story. I’d recommend checking out the trigger warnings before diving in, since the book doesn’t shy away from difficult topics.

Overall, this was a heartfelt, layered romance that gave me everything I was hoping for. I can’t wait to read more from this author.