Wednesday, June 14, 2023

5 Stars for Charm City Rocks:A Love Story by Matthew Norman

Synopsis

When a single dad meets the former rock-star crush of his youth, everything they thought they knew about happiness and love is thrown into chaos in this hopeful, heartwarming romantic comedy.

“Bound to charm readers from page one . . . You’ll root for everyone in this sweet love story.”—Elissa Sussman, bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask

Billy Perkins is happy. And why wouldn’t he be? He loves his job as an independent music teacher and his apartment in Baltimore above a record shop called Charm City Rocks. Most of all, he loves his brainy teenage son, Caleb.

Margot Hammer, on the other hand, is far from happy. The former drummer of the once-famous band Burnt Flowers, she’s now a rock-and-roll recluse living alone in New York City. When a new music documentary puts Margot back in the spotlight, she realizes how much she misses her old band and the music that gave her life meaning.

Billy has always had a crush on Margot. But she’s a legitimate rock star—or, at least, she was—so he never thought he’d meet her. Until Caleb, worried that his easygoing dad might actually be lonely, cooks up a scheme to get Margot to perform at Charm City Rocks.

It’s the longest of long shots, but Margot’s label has made it clear that any publicity is an opportunity she can’t afford to miss. When their paths collide, Billy realizes that he maybe wasn’t as happy as he thought—and Margot learns that sometimes the sweetest music is a duet.

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What I thought about Charm City Rocks

In this twist of a rockstar romance, Billy Perkins is a single dad living over Charm City Rocks, a record store in Fells Point. His son Caleb is about to make some college decisions, but he's concerned about his dad's happiness if he were to go away to school. After some mistaken digestibles, Caleb contacts Margot Hammer, his dad's longtime crush who happens to be the drummer from a now defunct famous female rock band called Burnt Flowers. It's impulsive and crazy and he doesn't expect anything to come of it, but it does.

Margot Hammer is lonely.When she hears about the request to come to Baltimore, she decides to do it. She too has a young daughter who is concerned about her happiness. And then something magic happens in Baltimore in that romantic sort of way. Margot and Billy have a quiet relationship and it's almost like if you aren't paying attention, you could miss these two falling for each other, but they are good together and I found myself really wanting them to make it work.

There's lots going on all around them with kids and exes and money makers and a rekindling of the band. But at the core of it is happiness, and it's right there for Margot and Billy to grab onto. I liked that they both had supportive people in their corner, people who would encourage them to take the chances they needed to take.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the subtle emotional content and how skillfully the words made me fall for these characters. In spite of things moving a bit slowly in spots, I was eager to keep reading this until I found out what happens to Billy and Margot in the final pages. I really liked the romance between them and I was rooting for them all the way. That's the way a romance should be, and I thought this was really terrific. There are some interesting secondary characters as well. It will be on my favorites of 2023 list for sure. 


ABOUT MATTHEW NORMAN
 
 
Matthew Norman was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His debut novel, Domestic Violets, was nominated in the Best Humor category at the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. Since then, he’s written four other novels. We’re All Damaged was an Amazon bestseller, Last Couple Standing was named one of the best books of 2020 so far by Esquire, All Together Now was one of the New York Post’s best books of the summer in 2021, and Charm City Rocks. His essays about writing have appeared on the sites Literary Hub and Writer Unboxed. He lives with his wife, two kids, and two dogs in Baltimore, Maryland and, occasionally, Fenwick Island, Delaware.
 

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