Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston (A Novel Love Story; The Dead Romantics) explores the remarkable ways that love, family, and music can connect us. Joni Lark, a hit songwriter, left her hometown of Vienna Shores, N.C., to make it big in Los Angeles. But after her mother's dementia diagnosis, she's left utterly empty: no lyrics, no melodies, and no idea how to fix it. Joni can't imagine how the situation could get worse, until her parents announce that this summer will be their last running the Revelry, their iconic music venue. Joni feels disconnected from everything she's ever known. Then she hears a voice in her head. One that isn't her own.
Joni figures that the enticing male voice and unfinished melody playing in her thoughts must be her mind playing tricks on her, but it doesn’t go away, and it seems alarmingly more real by the second. Sebastian Fell, the very real former boy band member with a bad boy reputation, shows up to put a face to the voice and figure out how to break their mysterious connection.
The arrogant and admittedly handsome Sebastian suggests they face the music and finish the mystery song. The pair's songwriting journey creates a harmonious love story out of witty dialogue and stunningly vulnerable reflections. Deeply moving elements of familial love and loss reflect how relationships grow and change, for better or worse. As the song comes together, so do Joni and Sebastian. Sounds Like Love imaginatively portrays how life leads us exactly where we are meant to go. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer