Review: Sweet love story with very likeable characters
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 17, 2013
Melody Mires is the principle flutist with the Easthampton Civic Symphony. Her love of classical music is in her bones, and it shows in the way she plays. When it comes to dating, she's drawn to fellow musicians because they "get" the love of music and understand the long hours required to get stage ready and to stay at the top of their game. A disastrous date with Blake, the orchestra's personal manager, is the last straw. She vows never to date another musician again, and then fate throws the sexy, hunky new guest conductor in her path.Wolfgang Braun wants a fresh start in America. He thought that as the new guest conductor, he'd have to help and breathe new life into the flailing orchestra. Nor did he count on the strong attraction to the sexy flutist who is a dead ringer for his ex girlfriend, someone he'd rather forget about. As the saying goes: "Once bitten, twice shy", Wolf isn't interested in another relationship so soon, but his head isn't communicating with his heart. Are these two willing to disobey the rules and potentially risk their careers for love?Playing the Maestro was a sweet romance with great characters, heart and drama. The characters were well developed and continued to grow throughout the story. Melody was a strong character - she was a loyal friend, a devoted sister and aunt, and she cared about the "oldtimers" in the orchestra. For her, it wasn't about the money or the prestige. Music was her life, and it showed in the reverence she had for the pieces that were mentioned in this book. My favorite moments with Melody all seemed to revolve around her sister and her niece. She always made time for them, and if there was a crisis, she was right there in the thick of things.Wolf was a loveable hero. He found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place regarding Melody and the orchestra. Essentially, he was the poster boy for the orchestra. With his bosses breathing down his neck to make cuts left and right, it soon became obvious that love of music wasn't enough to sustain a business. He had to carry a huge burden on his shoulders between what was the right thing to do and what was necessary. Asking her for some help was perhaps the smartest thing he ever did.I loved Melody and Wolf as a couple. I felt the chemistry from the first moment they laid eyes on one another. Melody had something to prove, and Wolf tried to ignore his attraction to her which made him come across as a moody and brooding. Both of them assumed the worst about each other which made it even sweeter when they actually paid attention to the sums of the whole instead of what was displayed on the surface. There were so many cute moments between them. Two of my favorites involved a stuffed turtle and pajamas, and Wolf dressed up as Mozart. The love scene(s) were fade to black or touched upon in their memories, but the story didn't need graphic descriptions anyway to get the emotional development across.Once the drama portion hit, I was fully invested in them. There were a few teary-eyed moments, but the ending suited them perfectly.If I had any complaints, it was just one thing - the use of a foreign language. I consider it a part of any other type of research that authors often do, therefore it's important to get the spelling and grammar correct. But even with those few errors, I'd recommend this sweet love story to anyone who loves classical music, a determined young heroine and a hunky hero. I would definitely read more from this author.Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.