3.5 stars
Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Rock star or musician (this one has both)
Gwen Jackson started playing the violin at eleven and now, over a decade later, she is part of a popular ensemble orchestra and dreams of one day being famous enough to play solos and tour on her own. To pay the bills, she occasionally plays weddings on weekends with her roommate. Being told by the wedding planner that the bride wanted cello and piano, rather than violin, Gwen is forced to do her best and improvise, even though she’s barely ever played the cello. She’s even more flustered when the cello she’s allowed to borrow belongs to Xander Thorne, popular rock star and master cellist.
Gwen knows her performance is mediocre at best, and is painfully aware of the scrutiny of one of her musical idols. While she’s loved Thorne and Roses, Xander’s band for years, as well as played with him in the same orchestra for over a year, Xander doesn’t seem to even know she existed prior to this wedding appearance. He certainly notices her afterward. Shortly after their first proper meeting, Gwen is promoted to First Chair at the Pops Orchestra, a position that Xander has wanted for years. He wants to despise this seemingly timid nobody but is forced to admit that she is very talented, and has every potential to become a star if she just learns to let go and forget about the audience watching her.
While they initially dislike and distrust each other, there is also an undeniable attraction between them, and after a memorable evening when Xander invites Gwen back to his apartment to see his instruments (not actually a euphemism), it becomes clear that they collaborate beautifully together (and also really want to bang each other). Once their relationship becomes public, however, it turns out Xander’s manager is less than thrilled, while Gwen’s superiors at the Pops Orchestra want to mine it for ticket sales. Gwen and Xander also have very different ideas of where their career paths should lead. Will they be able to find a happy ending together?
