Perfect Tunes

How many of us have started out in life with a dream of our own, but then reality interrupted. We went in a different direction, and much of our life regretted some decisions. This is Lauras life, the main character in this novel. She started out In high school writing a song from her heart. A girl from Columbus, Ohio, who goes to college to study music, and then NewYork City to find her future.. She moves in with an oLd high school friend, Callie. Laura is a hostess in a bar and notices a young man in a band. The lead singer, Dylan and Laura and Dylan have a romance, and then Dylan who is addicted leaves her pregnant and alone. Several years later we find Laura with her daughter, Marie, in Brooklyn. We go through the years of having a baby, bringing her up in Brooklyn, and teaching music in school. Laura develops a relationship with a new man, Matt, a divorcee with a young daughter, who brings that daughter to their union. Laura is amazed at how much she loves Marie, and through the years she tries to direct Maries life. Marie is much like her father, falls into depression and wants to find her own direction, make her own mistakes. And, Marie develops her own problems. While Marie is spiraling down, Laura continues to teach music in school, but she feels like she is treading on a wheel. Laura has never given up her own dreams. The author, Emily Gould, has two daughters of her own, and she brings their early lives as babies, and children into the equation. What I found missing is 5he deep connection to music, we never hear Laura\’s song. The author often skips years in the storyline, and then backtracks to fill in the timeline. This is an absorbing story that brings to life the role of women in the early 2000s. On the edge of Rock n roll, and free to live . There are no satisfying or unsatisfying endings, there just is. The dreams of us all, where do they go? Recommended. prisrob 04-14-2020

I picked this up for a friend\’s birthday and could not just hand it over unread and un-reviewed. This was a quick read (but I was also under a deadline). I enjoyed this novel told through the eyes of a young Laura, an ingenue musical artist that comes to NYC in her very early twenties to seek fame and fortune. Her mentor is her best friend Callie, someone who wants to be an artist but hasn\’t really found her niche. Callie is a shallow friend but is loyal nonetheless. Callie guides small town Laura on what to wear, who to be seen with, and how to act. Laura falls hard for a bad boy on-the-rise musician. She overlooks a lot of his flaws but we were all twenty-something once, right? The first part of the book follows Laura as she makes her life in the city, finding a job, her way, and love. The second part of the book traces Laura\’s life after Dylan (the aforementioned bad boy) and early motherhood. The final part of the novel describes life with a teenager and Laura\’s desire to recreate a small part of herself. I enjoyed this book. The only reason it is not a five-star review is the ending. It was a little too ambiguous for me.

Fastest Ive read a book in a while a feat, during Corona! Found it really well-written and moving throughout. Made me pine for my twenties and want to hug my mom. Also underlined passages in it!!!! Which I NEVER do!

I hadn\’t read a book in a long time, unfortunately, and Perfect Tunes was a great reminder of how great books are. It swept me away into Laura\’s world, a twenty-something, struggling to make it as a musician, waitressing in NYC, falling for the hot guy who\’s in a band, talented but mentally-troubled and doing drugs… some of the best parts were reading about Laura\’s relationship with her friends, her yearning for her boyfriend, and to make her own music. Them mother daughter relationships were fantastic poignant and real. The sweeps in time were surprising but fun. A really great read if you\’ve been stressed and want to be swept away to an exciting place. A couple questions: What was going on with Laura and her husband at the end? Have they fallen out of love and are they about to divorce? Is there a sequel where Laura hooks up with the younger hot band guy? I\’ll read it…

I love the voice so much – raw and real and relatable. The story is kinetic, skipping ahead but i never felt like i needed more plot to fill in the blanks. She writes in a lean, effective, and almost streamlined way. It felt so good to just immerse myself into it. A really, really great read.

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