My ranking: 5/5 stars
This book took me totally by surprise, because I was not expecting it to have this impact on me. I read some early reviews which were telling me that the book is very emotional, but I considered that I can take emotions lightly. Apparently, I cannot. This book stole my heart, destroyed it and gave it back to me in pieces. It was so emotional, so well written and so solid on the story, that all the rest didn’t matter. Believe me, it was not steamy, erotic or some other variant of the Romantic genre, it was pure emotion.
I’ve read the “Rocker’s Muse” and was not blown away. I liked it, but it was not a story that I consider keeping it locked away only for me. I knew about Atticus’ heartbreak with his ex-wife, but I was not aware of this story and all the trauma behind it. I was not even a fan of Atticus, because the character didn’t stand out in particular, because the story was focusing on Tristan and Emily. Therefore, Penelope had this secret agenda about building Atticus in his own book and boy, it amazed me what she could do following a simple plot twist.
In “The Drummer’s Heart” Atticus is the drummer of Delirious Jones, a well successful band. His dream was always to become a drummer, to travel, see the world and do what he loves, but when he was a teenager, things weren’t that simple. He had no money, no means to fulfil his dream, but he had the passion and the perseverance to dream big. He met Nicole when he was young, but because she was underage, he didn’t pursue her. When things got legal, they began a relationship that over the years led to marriage. When the band hit big, things began to crumble and Nicole asked for a divorce. Atticus agreed, but he still loved her deeply. We could see in the first book how devastated he was over the divorce, even if 3 years passed. The intensity of that pain ran much deeper, and all things were explained in this book.
It all started when Nicole reached out to Atticus to ask for a favor. Her grandmother Mimi was left without a helper and she needed to take care of her for a while, but she wanted Atticus to join, because Mimi didn’t know about their divorce. Mimi loved them both and for her age, the news would have been heartbreaking, therefore she kept it quiet to not harm her. They need to share the house for 2 weeks and during this time, they reconnect, remembering how good they felt together. Atticus and Nicole will face many emotional stages of their relationship, big revelations, but also dramatic happenings that will shift their path, but also bring them together again. It will be a journey, but they will succeed eventually.
For me, this book was not only emotional because of their second chance love story, I was really impressed by Mimi, Nicole’s grandmother, and kind of reminded me of my own grandma, which I still have with me. Some fragments along the way, some dialogues and letters really, but really took a toll on me and pushed that emotional button which is always sensitive when it comes to grandfathers, longing and lost. This was an incredible journey for me, with revelations, plot twists and so many pent up emotions, which I felt directly to your heart. I loved their journey, Atticus’ vulnerability, the other side which was not visible in the first part of the book, but I also loved Nicole, with her insecurities and love for this man. I don’t think there is something I didn’t love about this book. The final chapter made me cry. 😦
Ramonisme 