Summer Love and Grilled Cheese // Sing by Vivi Greene

Sing by Vivi Greene
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books (2nd Jun 2016)

Blurb:
America’s most famous pop star flees the spotlight to recover from her latest break-up in Maine – only to fall for a local boy and be faced with an impossible choice at the end of the summer: her new guy, or her music.

Multiplatinum pop icon Lily Ross’s biggest hits and biggest heartbreaks (because they are one and the same):

1. AGONY. (That feeling when her ex ripped her heart out of her chest and she never saw it coming.)
2. GHOSTS. (Because even famous people are ghosted by guys sometimes. And it sucks just as much.)
3. ONCE BITTEN. (As in: twice shy. Also, she’s never dating an actor or a musician ever again.)

But this summer’s going to be different. After getting her heart shattered, Lily is taking herself out of the spotlight and heading to a small island in middle-of-nowhere Maine with her closest friends. She has three months to focus on herself, her music, her new album. Anything but guys.

That is… until Lily meets sweet, down-to-earth local Noel Bradley, who is so different from anyone she’s ever dated. Suddenly, Lily’s “summer of me” takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself falling deeper and harder than ever before. But Noel isn’t interested in the limelight. She loves Noel-but she loves her fans, too. And come August, she may be forced to choose.

Okay, hand on heart. I admit, I love Taylor Swift. I won’t say that I’m a huge Swiftie but I do love her songs and I think that she’s truly stunning. Hold up and wait, don’t you think the cover of Vivi Greene’s Sing reminds you of Tay Tay herself? That familiar golden hair? Those iconic luscious red lips? I joke!

"As if I need to remember the crazy love and painful loss and the enduring heartache that pushed me to bare my soul here in the first place"

From the blurb, it did seem like the life story of Taylor Swift, if I may be honest. That was what initially intrigued me to read Sing because who doesn’t love a pop star’s love story? I admit, I am a sucker for books about celebrities and fame so I was quite excited to read what Sing had to offer.

The book follows Lily Ross, a pop star who is at the height of her career, where girls would love to be her and guys would want her to be theirs. But the only thing is: she isn’t that lucky in love. Doesn’t she just remind you of Tay Tay? That being said, after a break up that went shamefully public, Lily and her best friends Sam and Tess decide to escape the paps and find themselves in a remote island where Lily hopes to find some peace – and herself.

"Every time I write a song it feels like I'm giving bits of myself away"

Right, I would definitely say that Sing was a light and fun read because it isn’t a very thick book to begin with. It’s less 300 pages of a summer romance, some light drama, a potential love triangle, friendship and lobsters? What I expected was a swoony summer romance where I would root for Lily’s relationship with the local cutie, Noel and a book that focuses on friendship and possibly, family. What I got was almost the same but for some reason, I felt that Sing lacked a certain sparkle. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun read but at a certain point when I was reading it, I realised that the book was a tad simplistic.

I liked Lily because she’s not your average vapid superstar who thinks the world revolves around her. No, she’s independent, at times funny and I liked that she never let fame get to her head. For the first time in forever, I didn’t really like a male love interest. I guess that boils down to my less than excited gushing about Sing? I just didn’t feel like he was a character worth rooting for because I didn’t really have a proper chance to like him – again, back to the length of the book: too short! Her best friends Sam and Tess were a riot. I loved them, especially Tess for her wry sense of humour and no-bullshit attitude.

"Even if things don't work out exactly the way you'd hoped, even it's not your perfect, happy ending, everything is going to be OK"

Since it’s quite a short book, the pace was quick and I liked that it didn’t drag on and on until I was on the verge of tears. It was fun, light and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. And the cover deserves all the love in the world because it’s just too cute to pass up! Sing is a heartwarming story about finding your voice, giving yourself another chance at love and believing in yourself.

I'd like to thank HarperCollins UK for sending me a copy of Sing for review.