Title: Everything

Author: Melissa Pearl

Series: Songbird #3

Publication: April 24, 2015 by Melissa Pearl

Pages: 332

Source: Netgalley

Summary:

Jody Pritchett had a dream…but life had other plans. Instead of singing and dancing on Broadway, Jody’s a twenty-year-old single mom, living at home with her disapproving father and overbearing sister. The choice to keep her little Angelia came with a high price and although she adores her baby girl, it doesn’t take away the sting of kissing goodbye her chance at a career on the stage.

Leo Sinclair had his own dream…but got lost along the way. After a failed marriage that left him hollow and downtrodden, the Australian songwriter wonders what joy his future could possibly hold. Encouraged by the one family member who doesn’t think he’s a failure, Leo decides to stop living the life everyone expects him to and start chasing his dreams again.
When the perfect opportunity comes knocking, Leo leaves Australia behind and hops a flight to LA. With his sights set on selling a musical to a Broadway producer, Leo is determined to finally realize his life-long dream. But life gets in the way again, when he spots a young mother outside his apartment in tears. He never realized how one person, one voice, and one Angel could have him contemplating abandoning his dreams once again.

As these two burned hearts wrestle to overcome their past struggles, Leo and Jody must decide what dreams are worth clinging to…because, sometimes, everything you want is not everything you need.

My Thoughts:

This book is not Young Adult, it is a New Adult romance. I usually only review Young Adult books for my blog, but I will make the exception here since I was offered a copy from the publisher. I do enjoy New Adult Romance books, some of my favorites are the Wait for You books by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I’d be lying if I said that my expectations weren’t high when I started this book. Not only did Armentrout set a high bar, but the reviews of Everything were all praise. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very good read – but in no way did it satisfy what I was looking for.

I loved the story line because it is something that a lot of girls go through. The main character, Jody, was in love with her singing instructor, and after their first hook up – she became pregnant. Long story short, Jody keeps the baby, instructor is an asshole, and she basically becomes the family disgrace. The story, though, is also somewhat unrealistic. There are a lot of problems, she lives at home and doesn’t have a job so she can take care of her daughter. Then, one day, the meets this guy out at an announcement board and the next day he offers to let her have an apartment for free as long as she helps him take care of the building. This guy is Leo, and the book is also told from his point of view. Now, the saving grace is that we can see that he knows how strange it is that he offered up the apartment. Once again, long story short, we have a case of insta-love and eventually a happy ever after. I’m not trying to complain, it was very well done – but I sort of enjoy the books where it is not obvious that they will work things out.

My biggest complaint, though, besides the whole insta-love thing, was Leo being Australian. I hardcore ship main characters with noticeable accents from other countries, but only when it is done correctly. With Leo, he seemed to be more American than anything else. The only time the internal Aussie showed was when we got to see him from Jody’s point of view or he threw out some random slang. Where the real problem came from, though, was Jody. Jody is an all American girl who lives in Los Angeles, and yet, there were instances where she would also throw out some Aussie slang. If the inconsistency doesn’t bother you, than you will enjoy this book much more thoroughly.

Overall, I did like Everything by Melissa Pearl – it was an enjoyable, quick read that brought a smile to my face. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something to brighten their day.