4.5 stars

I loved this a whole lot, which is great, because I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into when I checked this out of the library based ENTIRELY on cover...

I'm not a musician at all, but there was something so immersive about how Gabel wrote those bits as if all her audience would understand. I loved the four main characters, for as flawed as they were. This is an introspective, plot-light novel. It's heavy on feelings and the relationship between the four main characters. Even so, there is something left just beyond our reach with each of these characters. We jump around their lives and leave the story feeling like there was more to be told. While I can see why that would be frustrating to some readers, it worked for me here. The entire time I was in this story, I felt on the edge of being heartbroken. It fits with the story that we come to know these characters so well and yet we find they aren't completely knowable.

A beautiful debut and an author to follow!