Before Spotify and iTunes I was making playlists for every mood I have ever felt and every big event that has happened in my life. I have made playlists for first heartbreak, first love, moving to college, and random one such as drinking wine and introspective runs at night. Playlists are one of the ways to my heart, in fact, one of my most romantic gifts was a playlist my ex-high school sweetheart made me. There is nothing like a good romantic playlist to really profess your love for someone!
One of my favorite things about reading is when an author pairs music with a story. When authors create their own Spotify playlists to go with the book I get extremely giddy! I am a firm believer that reading should be an interactive experience and in my book reviews, I am always crafting book playlists to go along with the book as well as fancasting characters before the movie adaptation is even announced! These three books are my top musically inspired romances that make me swoon and play Coldplay songs all day.
The Victoria in My Head by Janelle Milanes
Victoria Cruz is a girl that is tired of the predictable monotony of her life. She goes to a prestigious prep school in New York and she lives with overprotective Cuban parents. Her parents have many expectations for her to go to an Ivy League college and essentially live the American dream that they themselves have worked hard to provide for her. Only Victoria has different plans in mind where she dreams of singing on stage. When she encounters a sexy guy named Strand who gives her a flyer to audition for his band, she makes a decision that will change her life forever.
Victoria in my Head hits me on a deeply emotional level because the main character is Cuban-American like myself and struggles through all the feelings I had about myself in high school. She is still trying figuring out what she wants in her life and doesn’t feel like she fits into her Cuban-American identity. Victoria is constantly living in her own head and she is constantly daydreaming about the kind of life or the kind of girl she wants to be. When get gets the opportunity to be in a rock band, she gets caught up in a love triangle with two bandmates Levi and Strand! This is a love triangle that is done so perfectly because it mounts the tension, the conflict, and the palpable chemistry between the characters. This own voices underrated book is a story chockful of indie rock with all the teen angst, growing pains you can ever ask for, and it deserves some love!
Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Amy and Roger travel cross-country from California to Stanwich, Connecticut and they go through an emotional journey that brings them closer together and makes them realize that love and life is a detour. This is the kind of book where you feel like your on a road trip with Amy and Roger and it’s the kind of road trip that you never want to end.
Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is one of the most EPIC musically-inspired romances I have ever read! Matson has a gift when it comes to crafting the most incredible playlists and I consider her my mixtape soul sister. The romance behind Amy and Roger’s romance blooms through their intricately crafted road trip playlists. There are songs in the book that introduced me to new artists such as Wilco’s “California Stars” and it’s the one song that repeatedly plays in my head.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones & the Six is the story of an up-and-coming 1970s rock band who became famous when the singer Daisy Jones joins the rock band and ultimately makes rock history. The story chronicles the journey of the band from their beginnings, their rise to fame, and the tumultuous relationships that were made throughout the years that the band was together. Daisy Jones & the Six is written in an oral history format and it tells the story of an iconic 1970s band and the reason for their mysterious breakup.
My heart would not be able to handle not including one of my favorite books of the year! The romances that develop between the characters are written in such a realistic fashion that it seems like they are real people you can look up on google. The music that is inspired by this book is classic 1970s rock and the music throughout this book captures the tortured romance between the characters of Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne. There is such an unreal passion that sparks between Daisy and Billy and it speaks through their song lyrics. The romance between Daisy Jones and Billy is the kind of romance you will continue to ship long after it is over and it will leave you with one of the biggest book hangovers of your life!