Featured Review: Dating Nashville (Ann Marie Craven/Michelle MacQueen)
About This Book:
Becks:
How does a straight guy accidentally come out as gay to the entire country music world?
I’ll get back to you when I know the answer.
It all happened so fast. One moment, my best friend’s little brother is standing in a sea of people as his boyfriend breaks his heart. Again.
The next, I’m jumping off stage mid-concert to give him the kiss of his life—or maybe the kiss of my life.
I’m Beckett Anderson. Yes, that Beckett. The one who never does the smart thing, messes up daily, and somehow ended up with millions of screaming fans.
Fans who now think I’m dating Nicky St. Germaine.
The label says I can’t come out as straight (Is that even a thing?), that I can’t tell the world I lied.
But this lie of mine… it doesn’t hold a candle to the one I tell myself.
Nicky:
How does the quiet gay guy end up kissing the straight country music star in front of thousands of his screaming fans?
I still can’t fathom what he was thinking when he jumped off that stage, but that kiss… None of it was real, but it felt like it. At least to me.
I’m Nicky St. Germaine, son of a football Hall of Famer, best friends with rock star, Nari Won Song—and whatever I am to country music sensation, Beckett Anderson. The jury’s still out on that one. What does a small town kid do when so many of his friends and family are famous? He hides. Frequently.
Now the spotlight is on me, and there is nowhere left to hide. I’m supposed to pretend to be Beckett’s adoring boyfriend for a few weeks, but that’s not so easy when I’d give almost anything for it to be true.
*Review Contributed By Caitlin Haynes Staff Reviewer*
It did not disappoint.
This book is everything. I absolutely love it and already know it’s going to make the top ten list of 2019. It was funny and made me laugh because, let’s face it, Becks’s sarcasm and attitude is just the best, BUT it also had a lot of serious plot points. It gets pretty emotional, and I definitely cried a couple times.
You all know how important characters are to me in a book. You also probably know how much I love the funny side characters. They always end up being my favorite, and Becks was no exception. In the other books, he’s the friend of everyone. He was a jock who didn’t care about labels. He was always joking and meddling, and I knew instantly that he was my new favorite. Dating Nashville shows a more in-depth look, and, because half is written in his perspective, you get to see what’s underneath the charm and smiles. For so long, I lived my life behind a fake smile. So to see this side of my beloved Becks was a little heartbreaking. It made me love him even more, as I could appreciate his struggles with trying to please people while figuring out who he is.
Nicky is just… Nicky. He’s precious and I just want to hug him. I loved him before as Avery’s younger brother and Nari’s best friend, but he became his own character in this book. He grows so much, from thinking he can’t do better than Kenny to being able to stand up for himself and turn away from the cycle he was constantly being sucked into.
This book was amazing. It exceeded expectations and made me happy on so many levels. I laughed, I cried… I highly recommend it. If you like YA contemporary, definitely give it a try!
*Original review on Functionally Fictional.
- Great balance between it being funny and emotional
- Becks
- Nicky
- Well written and easy to read
- Did I mention the adorable characters? I love them with all my heart.