Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

Where to even start with this book.  It made me cry, happy tears and sad tears all in one book.

It broke my heart to watch two people with the best of intentions suffer so much, as someone with children myself as well as depression, I found myself hugging my boys a little tighter after thinking about what Yejide went through over and over again.

The love that Akin had for her was so pure even though his intentions and execution were so terrible.  Even through everything that they went through, you could still see his love.  I was so pleased with the ending.

I need all of my friends to read this novel so we can talk about its nuances.

Thank you to Doubleday Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for review and Ayobami Adebayo for writing such a lovely book.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

May I begin by saying how much I love Rachel Joyce?  From the moment I read "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" and "Perfect" I have been in love with her writing style and her ability to turn a narrative of a very simple story into something lovely.

So when I got the opportunity to read "The Music Shop" thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, I jumped at the opportunity.  The writing did not disappoint.  The characters on the dying street in small town England were vivid and well developed.  I felt like I had driven down the street, like I had wandered around the square and past the cathedral and the chain-linked bomb site.

At its heart, this book is a love story. Not just between the two main characters, but with music.  I even created a playlist with all of the musical references that were in the book and closed my eyes to listen to it with the intensity that was suggested by the descriptions in the novel.  As a former choir/band nerd, I instantly connected with the thread that music plays throughout a person's life.

The only thing that kept this from being a true five star read although it is a solid 4.5, was the ending.  Although I can appreciate the simplicity of what Joyce was trying to accomplish, it seemed a bit abrupt after the 20 year wingspan of the book.

I highly recommend this novel - read all that you can of Rachel Joyce's beautiful literature.

Goodreads Rating: 4.5 stars