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My Review:Title: Set to Music
Author: Negeen Papehn
Published by: Entangled: Amara
Release Date: March 15, 2021
Format: eARC
Pages: 289
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Spring, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:
Blurb:Dr. Darya Zameeni doesn’t have time for interruptions—in her ER, or in her life. Especially not from the gorgeous man pacing in her waiting room. With mountains of student debt, an ailing single mother, and a younger sister to support, Darya can’t afford to get sidetracked, even though they can’t take their eyes off each other.
Disillusioned Grammy-winning rock star Anthony Castillo’s night wasn’t supposed to end like this—in the ER, panicked after his little brother’s sudden collapse on stage. The band cannot go back on tour without Carlos, but his brother needs constant medical attention. When the beautiful, no-nonsense Dr. Zameeni treating Carlos shows no interest in their fame, he decides she is the perfect candidate for the job. If only he can convince her—and himself—that he wants nothing more.
Darya can’t imagine leaving her job, even temporarily, to follow a rock star around the globe. She’s expected to be the perfect Iranian daughter, after all. But Anthony’s offer comes right as she needs the money and she cannot deny their attraction.
Family is everything to them both. With so much to lose, the smart thing would be to go back to their lives and forget they’d ever met. But doing the smart thing has never seemed so wrong…
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
3 stars — *Maybe* 3.5, but not sure if I just wanted to like it more, you know? I was pretty excited about this one, b/c a) I LOVE celebrity romances; and b) ownvoices diversity!! But if I’m being honest, I struggled to get into this one…and keep reading. If it hadn’t been a NetGalley, I might have DNF’d. Which doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, just not a fit for me.
The writing felt…choppy at times to me. I don’t know how to describe it, because I’m not a writer. But it felt a little bit like a debut book, if that makes sense.
And while I LOVED all the added cultural aspects, and getting a glimpse into 2 different cultures — especially Iranian since you don’t see that nearly enough — I will admit that at times it felt a bit too much. Not the culture stuff, but that she kept reiterating everything was Iranian. I kind of figured out some of that just because Darya was Iranian, I didn’t need to keep being told. Though I did need it on some things, so there’s a balance I guess. Hopefully it’s a balance the author will develop as she continues writing.
Darya was okay for me as a heroine. I tried to understand her Iranian mother guilt, and thus the decisions she made and the times she inevitably hurt Anthony, but it’s hard. In the end it made me dislike her mother most of the time, and I couldn’t help but hope Darya wouldn’t perpetuate those cultural aspects. But yeah, her wishy washy back and forth was just too much for me. I did appreciate how important family was to her, and I LOVED her relationship with her sister (even if I wish she would give Niloo more credit/responsibility).
Anthony was an absolute cinnamon roll. I loved how sweet and caring he was, and how completely unlike his rock star persona. But even he frustrated me at times. I thought some of his reactions to Darya were so abrupt and over the top, it made him seem a bit juvenile? I don’t know. I was glad he had his brothers (I include Mateo and Hugo) around to kick him in the butt at the end there.
Their romance was a bit riddled with so much other stuff, that I was probably only half invested. I think I was enjoying the friendship more than the romance…not to mention the friendships with all the other characters.
There was some unresolved stuff in the secondary character background plot, but I’m assuming that’s a set up for a future book? I hope so, otherwise I am not cool with how it was left.
On a final note, the blurb does NOT give you the right indication about how INVOLVED and INTEGRAL the mother’s illness is going to be. Like diagnosis through treatment through death. I don’t want to spoil it, but I also want readers to understand what they’re getting into. As someone whose mother has struggled with cancer, I had a hard time with how much this took up in the book. Hit too close to home I guess…
So yeah. Just wasn’t the right book at the right time for me.
I think I’d be frustrated with the wishy washy stuff and distracted by all the ‘this is Iranian’ mentions, but yay for finding a romance with an Iranian character. I don’t think I’ve seen one before.