Review: Just as Good as the First
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2013
I am officially a fan of Helena Newbury's romance writing style.  While there are tons of insta-love books out there, hers are a gradual romance that builds into a deeper love for each other.  She takes characters that are polar opposites and meshes them together into one and I just love it.Karen is a proper, innocent girl that has lived under her father's thumb for years.  Living to please him, her goal is to play the cello in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, because that is what he wants-not necessarily her.  After an incident at her school in Boston, Karen is now enrolled at the elite Fenbrook Academy finishing up her senior year.  To graduate she must compose and perform a piece of music with another student as a duo.  Karen's violinist partner Dan gets injured and as a last ditch effort she approaches Connor for help.Connor is the resident Irish bad boy of Fenbrook Academy, using his looks and charm to get by.  He rarely attends class, however is a whiz at the electric guitar.  Connor enjoys teasing Karen, he sees her as uptight and an easy target.  Connor acts like he doesn't have a care in the world, when in reality he is keeping a secret from everybody.  He agrees to help her graduate, cue the romance.I love how it took months for these two to admit any feelings and even more time to act on them.  Karen fawned over Connor in her mind, but kept up the front when she was around.  She even had a pretty hot solo-scene of her own thinking about him.  As they work on the music, they also work on expressing the feelings they have for each other.  Karen and Connor learn to trust and help each other get to their goal of graduation.Karen's friends are always there to help her along and in turn she helps them with the relationship problems they have. It was nice to see Karen grow and try new things with Connor's help and in return he learned that he didn't have to hide behind the bad boy persona anymore.This is such a good series, I would say a non-traditional romance because it blossoms over time, they don't fall straight into bed.  Just as in Dance For Me, these characters need each other to change, heal and move forward with their lives.This is well written and everything wraps up nicely, something I love.  In Harmony could be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading Dance For Me to get the gist on the supporting characters in this story as they are front and center.  You can see the set up for the next series plain as day, the mis-matched Clarissa and Neil, rich girl and biker boy trying to carve out an normal relationship.  Sign me up!ARC provided for an honest review.