Sight Reading, by Daphne Kalotay

Hazel is out running errands, when she unexpectedly runs into Remy, the woman who stole her husband Nicholas many years ago.  After all these years, the wound no longer stings; Remy and Hazel have come to terms with each other, mostly due to their parts in raising Hazel and Nicholas' daughter.  Both women reflect on their past, the decisions that led them to the present, and the meaning of their lives as they are now.

I really wanted to love this book.  As a lover of music, the idea of a romance, even a love triangle, wrapped up in the magical world of music was intriguing.  But, once again, I have come to realize why I dislike stories that involve love triangles: they are predictable.  Do not get me wrong, the writing in the book is very good.  I liked the way the drama was juxtaposed with musical aspects.  As someone who has studied music, it made a great deal of sense to me.  

I really liked Hazel as a character, and felt that most aspects of her story were unjust.  This, in turn, made me dislike Remy, and most especially Nicholas.  I felt as if this was just another story of a man trying to justify his inability to keep his penis in check.  And I really, really hate that particular literary plot device.  I felt there was very little about either Remy or Nicholas that was redeemable, and am not surprised as the choices they make later on in their relationship.

All in all, this is not a bad book.  To me, it was simply a little too vanilla.  Nothing remarkable or extraordinary.  If this book were an actual piece of music, it would be a cover song.  Fans of the love triangle will like the book, as will readers with musical knowledge.  For people completely unschooled in music, this book may not be a good fit, due to musical vocabulary and allusions.

I received a review copy of this book courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

  

If you liked this review, please rate it (and others!) as helpful on my Amazon profile. My Amazon Profile