Reading Recommendations: Musicality

A new month means another batch of reading recommendations! This month’s theme is Musicality so I’ll be sharing books themed around music.

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Fi Legaspi is living the dream working in Seoul as a road manager for one of South Korea’s hottest bands, East Genesis Project. Until she isn’t.

When she finds herself in the middle of a scandal and a hostile fangirl witch hunt, Fi seeks the comfort of home, and to her surprise, not the person she had been pining for for years. All too suddenly it’s no longer her career on the line, but also her heart. Will she walk away from everything that matters to her or fight to keep her dream alive?

As an avid K-pop fan, the overall synopsis drew me to reading this novel. however, I felt it was much richer than just a K-pop or a boy band romance novel. I didn’t feel the narrative was overly cheesy and the characters felt very genuine. I liked the camaraderie between Fi and the band members and how they really worked together. You see the hard work that she’s put into their careers and how they kind of work together as a family and not just as a business. I also appreciated that it goes through the ups and downs of the entertainment industry and the repercussions that people face. 

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After the death of her father, Aria is left penniless and destitute. To avoid working the streets she becomes the ward of a Count and moves to a remote town called High Tower.

High Tower is a gloomy place with one vivid attraction: the theater. Lords and ladies come from afar to be seduced by a night of unforgettable entertainment.

Many are warned to stay away from High Tower’s dangerous enchantments, but it’s a warning Aria is forced to ignore. Determined to take her life back into her hands, she and the Count make a deal. She can avoid an arranged marriage if she learns to sing for him.

I like how this novel Phantom of the Opera as its inspiration but ford wove it into her own story. It was suspenseful with all of the mysteries surrounding the lore and magic of the two towers and a climactic ending that I didn’t expect. It was a very atmospheric novel and I loved the fantasy elements to add to the overall love story. It had a good mixture of action, romance, tragedy, and music. (Review)

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SHOWTIME, SYNERGY! Meet JERRICA BENTON–a girl with a secret. She and her sister KIMBER team with two friends to become… JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS! But what does it mean to be JEM today? 

The nostalgia for old cartoons and reboot of this classic got me hooked on this story. The comic takes the story and gives it a more modern twist. The characters get some updates while still paying homage to their original looks. It introduces the story to new readers and invites the fans of the original story. It encompasses the strong vibes of the music being played and the character’s personalities. 

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Since she was seven years old, Yvonne has had her trusted violin to keep her company, especially in those lonely days after her mother walked out on their family. But with graduation just around the corner, she is forced to face the hard truth that she just might not be good enough to attend a conservatory after high school.

Full of doubt about her future, and increasingly frustrated by her strained relationship with her successful but emotionally closed-off father, Yvonne meets a street musician and fellow violinist who understands her struggle. He’s mysterious, charming, and different from Warren, the familiar and reliable boy who has her heart. But when Yvonne becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she has to make the most difficult decision yet about her future.

This is the first book I’ve read by Colbert and I love how this book discusses narratives of finding your passion, life’s obstacles, and family. The main character Yvonne is a violinist who comes to a realization that she doesn’t feel the same about music as she did in the past. I appreciated the theme of musicality surrounding much heavier topics through a coming-of-age lense. It’s a beautifully written book and I think Yvonne’s narrative will connect with many readers.

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 Two years ago, Mitsuki Kouyama’s friend, Eichi Sakurai, moved to America before she could confess her feelings to him. Though she cannot contact him, they made a promise to fulfill their respective dreams: Mitsuki wants to become a professional singer, and Eichi an astronomer. There’s just one catch: Mitsuki suffers from throat cancer, which makes her voice quiet and singing strenuous. One day, two shinigami—Meroko Yui and Takuto Kira—appear to tell her that she only has one year left to live. This sudden revelation spurs Mitsuki into action, and she decides that with Meroko and Takuto’s help, she will become a professional singer in the time she has left.

Tanemura is one of my favorite mangaka’s of all time. She writes a lots of fantasy, plus her artwork is the epitome of Shojo manga. Full Moon is equally a drama and a romance. On top of that it’s also a  story about fulfilling your dreams and living life to the fullest (through music). With the help of shinigami, Mitsuki is one step closer to her dreams and this journey helps her to gain confidence in herself and in her singing. Though the story gets a bit heavy at times, Meroko and Takuto, give the story some comic relief and entertainment.

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Mia Kelly thinks she has it all figured out. She’s an Ivy League graduate, a classically trained pianist, and the beloved daughter of a sensible mother and offbeat father. Yet Mia has been stalling since graduation, torn between putting her business degree to use and exploring music, her true love.

When her father unexpectedly dies, she decides to pick up the threads of his life while she figures out her own. Uprooting herself from Ann Arbor to New York City, Mia takes over her father’s cafe, a treasured neighborhood institution that plays host to undiscovered musicians and artists. She’s denied herself the thrilling and unpredictable life of a musician, but a chance encounter with Will, a sweet, gorgeous, and charming guitarist, offers her a glimpse of what could be. When Will becomes her friend and then her roommate, she does everything in her power to suppress her passions—for him, for music—but her father’s legacy slowly opens her heart to the possibility of something more.

This a music romance book, but with more serious narrative. It’s not only about a romance that blooms, but is also a story about grief, healing, self-discovery, and angst. Even though the subject matter was heavy at times, it’s still filled with light-hearted moments where the characters have impromptu jam sessions and make you laugh out loud with their goofy antics. Mia and Will are both full of passion, the readers see that in their work and music (both are serious about writing and sharing their songs with the world). I liked the romance development, which was a slow burn/heated romance that starts out as friendship and turns into something deeper.

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That concludes my reading recommendations for musically themed books! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!