Review: Louder Than Love by Jessica Topper

RATING: 4.5 napkins

In this powerful debut novel, a young librarian grieves the loss of her husband...and discovers a love that defies classification.

It's been over three years since a train accident made a widow of Katrina Lewis, sending her and her young daughter Abbey back to the suburban town of her youth...the only place that still makes sense. Lauder Lake is the perfect place to hide and heal.

Recluse rocker Adrian "Digger" Graves survived the implosion of his music career, but his muse has long lain dormant. Until Kat hires him to play at her library—not on the basis of his hard rock credentials but rather, because of the obscure kids' TV jingle he wrote years ago. In a case of mistaken identity, Adrian stumbles into the lives of Kat and her comically lovable daughter.

Using tattoos as a timeline, Adrian unfurls his life for Kat. But as the courtship intensifies, it's unclear whose past looms larger: the widow's or the rocker's. Will their demons ever rest, or will they break these soul mates apart?

via

(Originally posted on Goodreads)

Like I messaged Ms. Topper (I had to *grins*), here is a beautiful story with well-developed characters and written very nicely, to put it succinctly.

It's such a mellow read that packs a lot of emotion, if that makes sense. The H&h's story unfolds nicely as you see Kat first going thru' the loss of her husband, really heartbreaking, then meeting Adrian and their attempt after to build a relationship while saddled with their baggage separately, her with the death of her spouse and him with the aftermath of a music career that took him "to hell and back". I like how the H&h are older, doing their best to handle their situation in a mature way, unlike the usual NA H&h's in their 20's with sometimes OTT drama. The other characters were just as likable, especially Abbey, the daughter. 

If I have a itty-bitty thing to whine about, the pace felt somehow slow at times, and there were a couple of occasions when it felt that things were forgiven quite easily. But in the end, it was a real treat reading it because the writing was exquisite.

- Leftie