A grumpy rock star and a joyful children’s show creator revive television magic in this cozy small-town romance.
Griffin Harvey lives his life in the spotlight. Reluctantly. The brooding famous singer-songwriter is on the cusp of composing his sophomore album . . . if only he could find the notes. But after gaining custody of his two-year-old daughter, the only music he’s writing is about shapes and counting to ten.
Enter Beverly, who lives her life in the background producing children’s television and laughter. Except joy is hard to find when her nonprofit loses funding. She sinks all of her savings to revive the children’s show by herself, but when her variety show appearance collides with Griffin’s, their banter and chemistry is caught on live television.
Suddenly, Griffin is singing a new tune. He needs a muse, and Beverly needs all the help she can get. With his secret daughter in tow, they hide out in her cozy mountain hometown, attempting to script, compose, and revive television magic. Their dynamic shouldn’t work. He’s all harsh tattoos and rough hands while she’s bright colors and gentle touches. Once their three months of work are done, they’ll return to their separate worlds. But what happens when it seems the true magic might be found in each other?
Read: September 6, 2026 – September 12, 2026
Final Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Thank you to Berkley for providing a complimentary eARC through NetGalley. All opinions shared are my own and were not influenced by receiving the eARC.
“And I’ll always want more. But, damn it, as long as I’m coming home to you…” I smile. “Griffin, you are always coming home to me.”
This book was such a breath of fresh air! I think I’ve missed true strangers-to-lovers romances and this really hit the spot. It’s also a slow burn which I really liked (and when I say slow, I really do mean slow – most of the book is longing glances, thoughts, featherlight touches, “fake dating”, until maybe the ~60% mark or so). I didn’t realize going into it that there was a fake dating element, but I really enjoyed how it was portrayed in the story. Beverly and Griffin’s relationship progression felt super duper realistic, and I loved that it was a dual POV so we got to see them both falling for each other. Julie Olivia’s writing flows so well and both POVs were hilarious, yes, but also profoundly emotional and I really appreciated that.
At times, it did feel like it was moving quite slowly so I didn’t really enjoy that. I was also getting a tad annoyed with the back and forth of “oh he doesn’t like me”, “oh she doesn’t know I like her” – which like sure can be reflective of real world relationships but also use your words, you know?
But ultimately I really liked this book and the cozy, small-town feel of it. Beverly’s family is so precious and very clearly loves her, and I like how much of that we were shown on the page. I also loved Griffin’s daughter Ava, and his relationship with his bandmates. Truly, the family and found family were the best parts of the story.