Cover Image: All Note Long

All Note Long

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Per goodreads, I read this book in June 2016 and based on my reactions while reading I loved it....however I never wrote a real review for it there or here....and now I am struggling to remember the full details of the story. I recall that it had me smiling and gave me all the heart-achy feels I love in a book but I don't recall more than that.

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Michelin Moses is a country star about to drop a new album. Michelin is gay, but he keeps that part of himself strictly hidden, sure that coming out would ruin his chances at success as a country singer. One night, Michelin goes to a gay club for a friend’s birthday and meets sexy go go dancer Lucky Ramirez. The guys have an instant spark, and it looks like there may be something more, but when the guys are found in a compromising position, scandal threatens both Michelin’s career and Lucky’s job.

Michelin’s label decides to run with it and determines now is the time for him to come out publicly. Michelin never wanted to be the face of a movement or known as the “gay country star,” but he also knows he doesn’t have much choice with his new album on the line. Lucky reluctantly agrees to play the part of Michelin’s boyfriend, as the label hopes showing Michelin settled into a relationship will smooth the coming out process.

Things begin as just pretend, since although the attraction is there between them, Lucky has no interest in being a paid boyfriend. As long as this is all for the record company, the guys intend to keep things professional. But the heat is still growing between them, and slowly Michelin and Lucky come to realize there may be more between them than just pretend. But Michelin is still not comfortable with his new role as the face of gay country music and he is still holding back publicly. And Lucky isn’t willing to hide who he is or what he does for a living. Now both men must decide if they are willing to take some risks and make some compromises so they can turn this growing relationship into something real.

All Note Long is the third book in Annabeth Albert’s Perfect Harmony series. I have been a big fan of this one from the start (in fact, the first book, Treble Maker, was one of my favorites of last year). Michelin has made appearances in the first two books, so I was really happy to see him get his own story (though you don’t have to have read the others for this one to work). We have had hints that there is more to Michelin that meets the eye, and this story definitely gives us another side of him (in addition to confirming that he is, in fact, gay).

I’ll admit, I kind of pictured Michelin as much older, more on the apex of his career rather than a relatively young guy based on the previous books. He serves as a mentor on both reality shows that are the focus of the other stories and plays an active role in helping the up-and-coming bands. Here we see that although he is a big star, there is also a lot of vulnerability there. There is a side of Michelin he never shows anyone but his closest friends and here we get to see him open that part of himself up to Lucky.

I liked the two of these guys together. Lucky is younger, but he is much more confident in himself and what he wants. Lucky helps Michelin open up and learn what he wants from a relationship, and they have a nice dynamic together that is both sexy and sweet. At times I felt like these guys were mired in too much back and forth as they clearly both feel strongly for one another, but neither quite could communicate those feelings enough to the other. Both guys have doubts about the relationship and it’s future, which makes sense considering it starts as a fake dating situation. But I do think the lack of communication about their feelings makes things not move forward as quickly as I would have liked.

I will also say I did find myself confused at points on Michelin’s fame and public role. At times he seems like a mega star, someone with tons of money, fame, and a huge following, something that should give him plenty of pull and a bit more of a solid foundation when all the dust kicks up. But other times he seems like an up-and-coming artist who could lose everything at one wrong move. I guess I just couldn’t quite get a sense of him and how big a star he is supposed to be.

This are minor issues however, and I really enjoyed this story. I loved Lucky particularly, and found these guys kind of sweet and adorable together, not to mention sexy when they really let loose. This isn’t quite “marriage of convenience” story, but if you like that trope, I think you will particularly enjoy this story. But really I think fans of the series and anyone who enjoys a good coming out story can find a lot to like with this one.

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Michelin Moses did not want to come out, but even worse, the world things he was paying to hook up with the too attractive go-go dancer at the club where his friends are celebrating. Lucky might lose his job, the job he loves and he's excellent at, all because the media thinks he's for sale. When Michelin's agent suggests they pretend to date so that they can spin the PR nightmare into a cute story, both men figure saving their careers will be worth spending more time together.

But what starts off as a business arrangement is going to turn into something so much bigger and so much more inspiring, if the flames between the men don't destroy them first.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the "Perfect Harmony" series, Treble Maker and Love Me Tenor, so I very much looked forward to reading this. It took me a little while to get into it, though I can't say for sure why. This book has a very different feeling than the last two. I understand why it's part of the "Perfect Harmony" series as Michelin is such an essential side character in the previous two books, but it has slightly different themes and a different tone.

It's hard to explain why I feel that way. But where at least one of the main characters was in the closet for most of the previous two books, these two spend the book "out." Maybe it's the age difference since Michelin comes across as older than the boys in the previous two books. Maybe it's because it's my favorite trope of all time, the "fake relationship" plot where the others weren't. Maybe it was a combination of things, but it took me a little while to adjust my expectations for the book since I'd had in mind that it would be similar to the last two.

Those differences are not bad differences. Now, as I just mentioned, the whole fake dating thing is my absolute most favorite type of romantic plot, so it's possible I'm a little biased, but I found "All Note Long" to be an engrossing, sexy, heart-squealing read.

I knew from the last two books that Michelin would eventually get his happily ever after (at least I had hoped so!), but when I envisioned someone for him, well that person was nothing like Lucky. I have rarely been happier to be wrong. Lucky is absolutely the person Michelin needed. Some of my favorite parts were the moments Lucky understood how desperate Michelin's heart was for affection, and how much Lucky wanted to give that care.

To say these two got off to a rocky start would be an understatement, but immediately they both feel compelled to take care of each other, and they quickly become a safe harbor together. And it's absolutely necessary because the world is battering them from all sides.

They're so different in so many ways, but they fit in the best, sweetest ways. I could never have hoped for a better, if surprising, resolution to the "Perfect Harmony" series.

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I have become a huge fan of Annabeth Alberts, and I love this one as well. Her characters are well defined and three dimensional, and the pacing is well laid out and executed.

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This was my first book in the Perfect Harmony series by Annabeth Albert, and I'm happy to report that you don't need to read the previous books to enjoy All Note Long. But with that said, I'm definitely going back to read the previous two books because I really enjoyed this book!

The two main characters, Michelin the country singer and Lucky the go-go dancer, had an amazing amount of chemistry right from the start when Michelin walks into the club where Lucky works. They were undoubtedly mismatched pair, but I think that really worked out perfectly for them in the end because they seem to really balance one another out. A misunderstanding and a forced outting may have brought them together, but you can definitely see that it was the powerful attraction and connection they had that made these two work. Lucky was exactly what Michelin needed at the right time to finally have a life of his own beyond the spotlight.

I did have one slight issue that bugged me while reading All Note Long, and it was the lack of compromise on both their behalves. Lucky had a bit too much pride and Michelin cared far too much about everyone but himself, but beyond that I do still think this was a solid book with a cast of great characters you will love so I am going to recommend you read it.

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