Date Read: January 29 - February 1 2017
Date Released: February 2nd 2017
Publisher: Atom Books
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:
Date Released: February 2nd 2017
Publisher: Atom Books
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My Rating:
Synopsis:
"Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all they are world’s most tragic band. In fact she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes in to making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.
But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.
All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.
Immaculate’s a concept. Flawless is fake. But just sometimes music – and hearts – can rock a perfect beat."
But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.
All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.
Immaculate’s a concept. Flawless is fake. But just sometimes music – and hearts – can rock a perfect beat."
---
It’s been a while since I’ve read such a fun book but This Beats Perfect is up there with some of my favourite contemporaries. Swoony, light hearted and sweet, Denton has put together the perfect contemporary.
It all starts when Amelie goes backstage to see her dad who’s the sound engineer for a boyband concert that Amelie actually has no interest in. Nek minnit she’s Twitter famous because one of the boyband members has @’d her.
I love a relatable MC and Amelie is one flawed, yet real teenager. She felt like a 17 year old girl to me, not too immature but not wise beyond her years. Her worries are those of the present, of making it through high school – oh the innocence of teenage years haha. She’s sweet but also fiery, I liked the way she got slightly intimidated in front of famous people (I mean who doesn’t?!) but at the same time she could still hold her own. The poor girl has really bad stage fright (not uncommon I mean I liken performance stage fright to lpublic speaking, which is the 2nd biggest fear in the world) and she’s trying to get over it so she can finally perform her music. I admired her persistence because she tries and fails and fails again and it’s a long and slow journey to the end where I swear I was praying she could do it. She doesn’t exactly have the best support – her dad is busy in the music industry but doesn’t always make time for her, I found her mum selfish, and while her best friend is wonderful, I got the feeling she didn’t get Amelie. But the growth is slow and real - I grew to really love Amelie and cheer her on.
The range of secondary characters were all interesting and I liked that they were relevant to the story and Amelie’s journey. Her parents love her and have a good relationship but they’re both lost in their own worlds, in their dreams and she sort of gets left behind. It was interesting to see a dynamic where the parent doesn’t always put their child first. Don’t get me wrong, I could see them try, but their lives would always get in the way and Amelie would sort of stand back and let it happen. There are the friends she meets working with her dad who give her tips and support her who I found really nice and fun. Her best friend though I thought was the typical best friend trope – gorgeous and doesn’t know it, outgoing, is kind of perfect – and it kind of annoyed me. On the bright side said best friend is a great person so that’s a plus.
In comes Maxx from The Keep whose broody on stage demeanour actually goes deeper. He’s struggling with his place in the band, with what he really wants and questioning how he even got there and what he’s doing with his life. I like the tentative initial connection Max and Amelie have that slowly grows as they see more of each other. I found that Amelie was able to impart more advice on Max than vice versa, but Max helped boost Amelie’s confidence. The romance is slow burn and sweet but totally swoony. Not gonna lie, if a hot guy from a boyband took an interest in me I’d be swooning too, especially when he’s being legit! Buuuuut of course it’s not that easy (when is it ever?) and there’s misunderstandings and obstacles along the way. A girl can dream though right?
As contemporaries go, the plot is Amelie’s journey from the moment she’s in the spotlight, dealing with fame she doesn’t want (I liked seeing that aspect - the scary fangirls who result to bullying, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns) and trying to get over her stage fright to get the fame she does want. It’s a journey of self-discovery for both her and Max – wow do I ever sound clichéd. Can’t stop won’t stop LOL.
I really liked the way Denton injects the story with her musical expertise, it shows through in the politics of the musical industry woven throughout, in the bits and pieces like the way Amelie records her music and her studio setup. I would have liked even more of this detail because all we ever see elsewhere is the glitz and glamour; to see the nitty gritty would have been different and given the story an even more genuine feel. Denton’s style is easy to follow and immersive – I fell right in to Amelie’s world.
If you’re looking for a sweet and heart-warming contemporary, then you’ve got to pick up This Beats Perfect.
It’s been a while since I’ve read such a fun book but This Beats Perfect is up there with some of my favourite contemporaries. Swoony, light hearted and sweet, Denton has put together the perfect contemporary.
It all starts when Amelie goes backstage to see her dad who’s the sound engineer for a boyband concert that Amelie actually has no interest in. Nek minnit she’s Twitter famous because one of the boyband members has @’d her.
I love a relatable MC and Amelie is one flawed, yet real teenager. She felt like a 17 year old girl to me, not too immature but not wise beyond her years. Her worries are those of the present, of making it through high school – oh the innocence of teenage years haha. She’s sweet but also fiery, I liked the way she got slightly intimidated in front of famous people (I mean who doesn’t?!) but at the same time she could still hold her own. The poor girl has really bad stage fright (not uncommon I mean I liken performance stage fright to lpublic speaking, which is the 2nd biggest fear in the world) and she’s trying to get over it so she can finally perform her music. I admired her persistence because she tries and fails and fails again and it’s a long and slow journey to the end where I swear I was praying she could do it. She doesn’t exactly have the best support – her dad is busy in the music industry but doesn’t always make time for her, I found her mum selfish, and while her best friend is wonderful, I got the feeling she didn’t get Amelie. But the growth is slow and real - I grew to really love Amelie and cheer her on.
The range of secondary characters were all interesting and I liked that they were relevant to the story and Amelie’s journey. Her parents love her and have a good relationship but they’re both lost in their own worlds, in their dreams and she sort of gets left behind. It was interesting to see a dynamic where the parent doesn’t always put their child first. Don’t get me wrong, I could see them try, but their lives would always get in the way and Amelie would sort of stand back and let it happen. There are the friends she meets working with her dad who give her tips and support her who I found really nice and fun. Her best friend though I thought was the typical best friend trope – gorgeous and doesn’t know it, outgoing, is kind of perfect – and it kind of annoyed me. On the bright side said best friend is a great person so that’s a plus.
In comes Maxx from The Keep whose broody on stage demeanour actually goes deeper. He’s struggling with his place in the band, with what he really wants and questioning how he even got there and what he’s doing with his life. I like the tentative initial connection Max and Amelie have that slowly grows as they see more of each other. I found that Amelie was able to impart more advice on Max than vice versa, but Max helped boost Amelie’s confidence. The romance is slow burn and sweet but totally swoony. Not gonna lie, if a hot guy from a boyband took an interest in me I’d be swooning too, especially when he’s being legit! Buuuuut of course it’s not that easy (when is it ever?) and there’s misunderstandings and obstacles along the way. A girl can dream though right?
As contemporaries go, the plot is Amelie’s journey from the moment she’s in the spotlight, dealing with fame she doesn’t want (I liked seeing that aspect - the scary fangirls who result to bullying, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns) and trying to get over her stage fright to get the fame she does want. It’s a journey of self-discovery for both her and Max – wow do I ever sound clichéd. Can’t stop won’t stop LOL.
I really liked the way Denton injects the story with her musical expertise, it shows through in the politics of the musical industry woven throughout, in the bits and pieces like the way Amelie records her music and her studio setup. I would have liked even more of this detail because all we ever see elsewhere is the glitz and glamour; to see the nitty gritty would have been different and given the story an even more genuine feel. Denton’s style is easy to follow and immersive – I fell right in to Amelie’s world.
If you’re looking for a sweet and heart-warming contemporary, then you’ve got to pick up This Beats Perfect.
I haven't heard of this before but it 100% sounds like the type of lighter, fluffy contemporaries I like to read to break up the epic fantasy. It's going on my TBR! Thanks for the great review
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy Bec :D it's definitely a fluffy one that warms the heart.
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