BookHounds

MY THOUGHTSLOVED ITAbigail Kelly is one of the top performers in the world with her band, Mustang Sally, and as lead singer she can have her pick of guys. At twenty four, she still hasn't found the right one and since her every move is detailed in the tabloids, she doesn't have a lot of opportunities to date casually. Every detail and minute of her life is dictated by her manager, Max, who seems to care more about profit than her well being. Abby has been touring ever since her brother died and she has withdrawn more and more into herself to the point of alienating everyone around her and her family. When her sister, Lindsey, makes her finally take a break, she goes to spend the summer at Lindsey's house in Florida.Abby's first week in the small town is spent trying to "act normal", taking her sister's bike for a ride through the small town. When she thinks a group of teens recognize her, she heads into the first store she finds. There she meets Todd, the owner, and guy she almost met at a local book store the week before. At the insistence of her best friend and assistant, Molly, she takes a chance and discovers love! Of course, nothing in Abby's life is simple and the demands of her career and manager come between them. As Abby starts to fall apart even more without Todd's support, you hope that she can get back to the happy and independent girl she used to be.I really loved the realness of Abby and even though she is a pop superstar, you can tell she is still a regular girl. Her manager, Max, is almost a super villain and I can imagine that there are still people like him in the music business. He pushes aside her family and coerces her to do everything he wants and much against her wishes that you wonder how she lost touch with those close to her. Todd is the guy that makes her wake up to the control Max exerts over her. Even though he seems a bit too good to be true, the whole romance is believable. The music business background of the story all seem very true to life as well, although I am not going to nitpick! This is one of those perfect summer reads where you end up with a sunburn because you will lose track of time.PS -- Beatles fans are going to love this since each chapter uses one of their songs as a title and mood setting. Abby also uses the songs as ring tones to capture the essence of the person calling her. Also, the characters that make up her band are a real hoot, they act like kids, but underneath it all, they are mature beyond their years and when all of the rampant miscommunication is settled, the group become a gang again. The best scene comes when Abby regains her spine and wakes up from the spell Max seems to control her with and she fires him! The next part is just so romantical ( my favorite word right now).