The Breakup Tour

🦇 Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What song is currently stuck in your head? ❓

🦇 Riley Wynn went from a promising singer-songwriter to a superstar overnight, thanks to her breakup song concept album and its unforgettable lead single. When Riley’s ex-husband claims the hit song is about him, she does something she hasn’t in ten years and calls Max Harcourt, her college boyfriend and the real inspiration for the song of the summer. He agrees to go public as her songwriting muse, on the condition that he'll join her in her band on tour. As they perform across the country, Max and Riley start to realize that while they hit some wrong notes in the past, their future could hold incredible things. Will their rekindled relationship last forever, or inspire another breakup song?

💜 Why is it that the books I love the most are most difficult to review? I knew; I knew the moment this book was announced that dynamic duo Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka were going to tug at heartstrings through lovely, ache-worthy, lyrical prose. And they delivered. Every line is intentional, building toward a crescendo of heartbreaking intensity before lulling us toward a love story-worthy sense of security. While this is dual POV, with both characters maintaining a distinct voice, that lyrical lullaby remains steadfast in the background, uniting both perspectives. Did I go a little crazy annotating this one? Why yes, of freaking course I did. Did it help that the entire songs, which are SO well written, are at the back of the book? No, definitely not.

💜 Both characters are so well developed, down to their core mentalities; mentalities we see reflected during their college and adult relationships. Max is loyal to a fault; loyal to the retirement home, yes, but loyal to Riley as well. He waited for her to come back the first time, and his two relationships afterward failed because his heart still belonged to Riley. Meanwhile, Riley is ambitious; music is her first love, but she can't be tied down to one place. She left Max behind to chase her dreams, her songs, and doesn't settle for less. Instead of forcing one character to compromise their dream for another, they maintain these base priorities AND find a way to make love work. Yes, compromise requires sacrifice, but it doesn't mean one person needs to deny their dreams for someone else's.

💙 There are a few notes that didn't quite flow with the rest of the melody. For starters, Max agrees to go on tour to help Riley prove that her ex-husband wasn't the inspiration behind the single. Riley does hug in, hoping fans will take the hint, but beyond that, there's not enough action for her to push that intention. I understand her wanting it to be natural, but about 90% of the story is spent with her and Max out of sync, namely on-stage. Instead of trying to work through the history between them, they pretty much tip-toe around one another the entire time. For a lot of readers, that inaction causes pacing issues. I do love that Riley self-actualizes and recognizes her feelings for Max are real from the get-go--and that acting for the cameras wouldn't be acting at all--but we don't see that play out with cute moments; moments that would have mad Max question further if Riley was acting or being real about her feelings. When they finally do get together, it's not enough. We don't get to see what music they're really capable of making together (ignoring the fact that, yes, they actually record a single). Adding more moments of love instead of heartache would have given this story the balance it sorely needed.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Falon Ballard (Right on Cue), Sarah Adams, and Tessa Bailey.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🎹 Dual POV
🎤 Second Chance Romance
🎵 Contemporary Romance
🎵Forced Proximity
🎤 Third Act Breakup
🎹 Lyrical Prose

💬 Quotes
❝ It’s ingeniously Riley, making masterpieces out of misadventures, conferring ironic honor on romantic failures memorable enough to spawn songs. ❞
❝ Melodies hold memories. Like nothing else on earth, they recall feelings, places, moments—the needle dropping into the groove of the soul’s record player. ❞
❝ In honesty, daydream isn’t half description enough for her sense-warping effect on me. She’s a symphony when you’re expecting a solo. She’s heartbreak. She’s my first favorite song. ❞
❝ I’m writing him into lyrics before I’ve even spoken to him. ❞
❝ Riley Wynn, who’s maybe a little scared she needs to shine to be seen, or to suffer to be heard. ❞
❝ Songwriting is storytelling. Everyone is in the midst of the story of their lives. Which means everyone has songs to share, in some form. You just have to listen. ❞
❝ I don’t dare hope I’m the song he can’t get out of his head. ❞
❝ Riley has me celebrating victories in wars with myself I shouldn’t wage. ❞
❝ I would have expected it would feel like a familiar reprise. Now, kissing Riley feels like we’re writing something new. / Kissing Max was like hearing a forgotten favorite song for the first time in years. ❞
❝ “It’s an honor to have my heart broken by you.” ❞
❝ Every song is a love song if you play it with the right person. ❞
❝ I was wrong when I compared holding her to catching lightning. Holding Riley Wynn is like holding a love song. ❞

Its a food book but i obly started to like near the end

I really really enjoyed this book. These 2 authors have a unique voice and plotting that just simply works for me. I got the 5 star tinglys when I first started this book and by the end it did fall slightly short but overall still loved. 

I loved that this was a second chance romance that explored a choice made by the MMC in the past vs an incident he had no choice over. So, essentially 10 years prior before the FMC has made it big as a pop star she’s about to go on her first self created tour with her then boyfriend (the MMC). At the last minute he decides the road musician life is not for him, he stays back to switch his major from piano to business in order to take over the retirement home family business. And like I mentioned this isn’t something he HAS to do at the time, his parents aren’t pressuring him, they don’t need him. So how do they reckon with this when they are brought back together in current time? Emily and Austin have such character driven work I just loved this conflict. Both characters have things to work through individually and together.

Let me be frank (especially based on some other reviews I saw), comparisons of the FMC to Taylor Swift does this book a disservice. This is not swiftie fan fic and as a Taylor swift fan I didn’t really hear her voice in the FMC anyway. Their careers are on different timelines and this FMC feels older to me, not in maturity just in her presence. I think the bigger comparison here is commentary on women in general, in public facing industries but also those in pursuit of their ideal life and dream. This MMC is not made for the spotlight but she fits right in and she’s not going to dim herself or apologize for it. 

Overall what fell a liiiittle flat was just repetitive metaphors to music. I get it, y’all are musicians, but at some point a look is just a look or a kiss is just a kiss and not always a melody whispering in the wind when you glance at someone. 

Thank you to Berkley for sending me an ARC of this! I love the cover and feel of the paperback. I was really looking forward to this release because I am officially a fan of these authors- they will make you feel.