Maude Laurent is an orphan. Raised in Carvin, a small town in northern France, she’s always wondered about her parents—who they were and what happened to them. Her foster family, the Ruchets, certainly won’t tell her anything. For them, she’s someone to cook meals, clean their house, and look after their twin boys, but Maude dreams of much more—she dreams of becoming an opera star and singing on the great stages of Paris.
Her Cinderella moment arrives when she’s livestreamed playing the piano and singing in a café during a school trip to Paris. Suddenly she’s an internet sensation and music studios are pursuing her with promises of stardom. The only problem? They all want her to sing pop, but that’s not what Maude wants...
When Terence Baldwin and his daughter show up on Maude’s doorstep, they promise to help her find her own unique voice. Maude accepts the challenge: six months in New York to write and record three singles that become hits. If she succeeds, she can stay and record an album. If she doesn’t, she’ll return to Carvin.
Maude knows she has the drive and talent to succeed but she also knows that her father used to live in the city. Perhaps, just perhaps, she can have it all: a successful music career and a chance to learn more about her family. It’s perfect! However, there’s one big problem—her collaborator Matt Durand. He’s annoying and arrogant, a popstar on a break, and he’s determined to force Maude out of her comfort zone.
With rival artists determined to see Maude fail and the clock ticking, Maude and Matt have to put their bickering aside if they’re going to succeed. Then a sudden revelation about Maude’s parents changes her perspective on everything and leaves her wondering if she can ever find the perfect harmony.
When dreams suddenly come true but lead in unexpected
directions…and that might be exactly the way it has to be.
Maude has grown up in a little town in France, raised in a
small family after her own parents…well, she has no clue what happened, and her
adoptive family isn’t giving the slightest hint to anyone. While she’d love to
know the truth, her true +She has one dream: to become a professional opera
singer. When a class trip to Paris leads her to a small café, where she
performs a quick pop-song for a fun, someone posts her performance on the
internet. And it goes super viral. Talent scouts and record companies come
knocking at her door, and her adoptive parents see dollar signs. But Maude has
no intention of becoming a popstar. Her heart is set on opera. When she comes
across a mysterious note from her mother, which mentions her father and New
York, Maude finally agrees to one of the deals. While the music business has
plans and dreams for her career, she intends to only play along until she
achieves her true goal, finding out more about her father.
In some respects, this is a Cinderella tale, but it also
takes off in an original direction as it swirls through difficulties of the
music industry, finding where one belongs, and a little romance, too. The read
flows very well, but then, Maude is an enjoyable character to follow. She is
timid enough to make it easy to feel for her and is determined but needs to learn
to trust her gut and stand up for herself. She’s kind and warm, and carries
quite a bit of character arc by the end. Much of the story rotates around her
dealing with others as she tries to discover the secret behind her background
and find her own spot in life. So, it also leans toward a coming-of-age.
While the tale is easy to read and carries a lighter side,
it also holds nuggets of depth to add richness without going overly deep, too.
There’s a little historical goodness, which comes to light as Maude learns more
about her parents. There’s diversity and the weaving of other cultures and
backgrounds. There’s a look at instruments, music, and glimpses at the harder
edges of money, power, and greed. And there’s family warmth.
Fans of life drama with a touch of romance and a hint of
achieving dreams despite difficult beginnings are going to want to take a peek
at this one.
2 comments:
Sounds like a good read. The MC can have New York, though. Gah! Never had the desire to go. LOL
This sounds like a fun read, Tonja! Happy IWSG Day!
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