Music of the Soul

Music of the Soul #1

by Erik Schubach

Mandy Harris, the rock world's bad girl, has lost her sense of self. Turning her back on the music she once loved, she returns to her hometown. After a chance meeting with Anabella, a deaf girl with a unique appreciation for music and life, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her. Finding love, pain, and a new sense of self. Their passion gives them the strength to heal both of their pasts, and start again. This is the first book in the "Music of the Soul" series, all books are stand alone novels.

Genres: Romance, Lesbian, LGBT, Disability, Music, Lesbian Fiction, Lesbian Romance

250 pages, Paperback

Published March 17, 2013

About the author

International bestselling author of #lesfic f/f romance, scifi, urban fantasy, paranormal & more. Consummate geek & sarcasm connoisseur. Any pronouns are fine.

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Reviews

[Cab · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started out thinking that the premise of the story was interesting and although I found myself rolling my eyes at the dialogue between Mandy and Ana, and Mandy and herself I would have given this a couple of stars for being and ok beach read.

Then I got to the 40% mark of the e-book and it was like whomever was proofreading/editing the book quit. I tend to bleep right past an occasional typo but between the 40% and the 80% mark I found no less than 25 errors. Yes, I counted/highlighted them which is lucky because if it hadn't become a game for me I would have abandoned this book well before the end. The typical issues were incorrect words or missing words in sentences:
"...judging by the rocks full of costumes"
"One I was in my dressing room..."

There were also the couple of weird transitions. By that I mean, Mandy is having a conversation with someone and then suddenly its either an entirely different person she's speaking with or it's an entirely different location and she's talking to herself. My assumption is Mandy either had a major break with reality or there was at least one missing paragraph. I'll go with the missing paragraph because in one instance the sentence literally was incomplete and not just in the grammatical sense.

I was however, very entertained at the end of chapter 9 with the random switch in font style and size that continued until midway through chapter 10.

I don't mind spending money on a book it turns out that maybe I didn't love, but seriously I could have read free fanfiction that had a better beta reader.

[Diana P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book written in first-person narrative will always be only a part of the story for me, so, when I read one I guess I expect it to be more than good, but anyway this book had some heartwarming moments.

I think the majority of my opinions from here on may be a little negative but still there are some things I want to point out.

This story is rushed in a way that makes it hard for you to find it plausible since some parts don't make much sense, also at some points it gets a bit boring, repetitive and sappy in my opinion. I was completely eager to read this book because of the synopsis, but unfortunately it disappointed me.

When I began to read this book I felt like reading a fan fiction, perhaps for the writing style and I didn't like it much, in fact, I didn't feel drawn into it despite the main idea of the story could have been developed really well. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this wasn't the case.

One of the things that I consider a flaw is the lack of character descriptions, which makes it hard to visualize and feel as it's supposed to be when reading a story. In fact, the character that narrates the story was not even described properly, I only knew she had black hair and her height and found out her age almost getting close to the end of the book. I think it's important to know even the smallest details of a character or it would make it difficult to relate to it in some way.

Also, the interaction of the main characters throughout the book was almost null. Very poorly constructed. And no development that could demonstrate a believable romance. However, there were some touching moments, the love they share for each other was very sweet even though it wasn't properly elaborated in the story, especially since they were together a few days, and then they meet again almost near the end of the book.

I have to mention that there are some grammar mistakes and typos that in some way can perturb the reading. So, if you are overcritical about this, don't forget you've been warned. :)

Not all of this book is negative of course and some of the good things about this book is how the author put the pieces together of what could have been perceived as a nonsense and also some unnerving behaviors, allowing you to comprehend more about it and also seeing some good parts that are truly heartwarming and sweet. Also, there's a nice chemistry between the main characters, though a bit childlike and sappy to my liking.

In regard to the secondary characters, I think all of them were really appealing, especially two of them that contributed funny and important moments to the story.

One thing to point out as well is that there was no sex/love scenes that I can think of, I assume they were sweet and maybe hot, but since the author didn't give any details, it will always be a mystery. :)


So, the main character, the one who narrates this story is Mandy, a rocker girl who has fame, money and is surrounded by a lot of people (fans) but still feels a void inside. In one of those drunk moments, she gets pregnant and gives birth to a girl who changes her life and makes her realize of what her life has become and how lost she has been since she started doing what others expected from her, leaving aside what her real self is. When she meets Bella, she falls completely in love with her. Unfortunately her fame complicates things and after a scandal that affects Bella's image she hears her saying things that made her run away, leaving her daughter in a nanny's hands and going back to her destroying life style. However, that was a misunderstanding that at the end of the book was explained to her. But during the most part of the book, let's say from the 30% to 85% she spends her time in a tour, where at the beginning she drinks again but because of Bella's voice messages she stops doing it. In my opinion, this was an immature character, that at some points becomes a bit stubborn despite of her big heart. She also has an auto-destructive behavior and blames herself for every bad thing that happens feeling undeserved of anything good. However, this feelings were a result of her past, in which she never received love, nor the feeling of having a family, the one she finds in Bella's place. After the journey she goes thru, she heals a lot of parts of herself and finally goes back to where she belongs, next to Bella and her daughter.

However, some moments were quite unnerving and unsettling about her behavior, for example, when she decides to learn signing but at the same time she tells herself that she doesn't know why she wants to learn it, if Bella will never want to see her again. Here I was thinking "Really?, She's been calling you and leaving messages everyday, that should mean something, right?
Another part was when she kept dismissing Sarina's (Bella's sister) calls the whole time and I think that was quite immature of her, like too much drama in her head. Fortunately, Bella knew how she was going to react and just wanted to let Mandy know that everyone cared about her and knew how wonderful she was.

And Bella, a beautiful and generous deaf girl who had a very difficult childhood due to the bullying she suffers as a result of her disability. Her mother teaches her how to sing and sign, however, when her mom dies she stops singing but never stops listening to Mandy's songs. Since the first time she listens to Mandy's music, she's able to see the real Mandy and falls in love with her. This character is really sweet but unfortunately since this is not a third-person narrative, we can't get to know her as much as we wish. In fact, she appears in the beginning and nearly at the end of the book, however in the middle of it her long distance contributions have a relevant effect on Mandy's behavior and healing process. She understands completely Mandy's feelings and behaviors, and she's also very sensitive and displays a lot of kindness for those around her, especially kids, and people who need help. When she realizes her feelings and her sexuality, she goes thru a difficult inner battle that was intensified when there's an scandal about her relationship with Mandy that threatened to destroy what she had worked for. Her reaction was the reason Mandy left, and though it was not completely negative, unfortunately what Mandy hears (the negative part) is what drew them apart for a while. However, she keeps messaging and leaving voice messages to Mandy to let her know she still thinks about her. During the time they aren't together, she focuses on giving support to some important causes that make her a famous person, although since Mandy decides to be completely isolated from everything except giving concerts, she doesn't know all the things that are happening in Bella's life. At the end, when they meet again she tells Mandy how much she loves her and that she understands that all that distance was something they both needed in order to heal themselves.

One thing that made me laugh in a very ironic way was this part, here I quote it “Holy crap, I'm twenty two! I shook my head unbelieving.” The lack of info was a pain. " Well, that's exactly how I felt about this book in some moments, the lack of info was really painful.


All in all, this story has a nice ending, that's for sure. I give it a 2.8, but since in goodreads it's impossible to give this rating, I decided to rounded it up to 3. So, if you want a story with very sweet and even sappy romantic moments with no love scenes, this book was made for you. Enjoy it.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must say I had high hopes for this one.
The story really appealed to me. The idea of a rock chick falling in love with a sweet, but strong minded girl who is deaf, was a story I thought was worth reading.

Well, first of all my biggest problem with this book is that it’s written from a first person narrative. I must say I had a lot of problems with this style. I couldn’t get into the story, I missed reading about the feelings and thoughts from the other characters.
I mean I was inside of Mandy’s head (rock chick), but I knew almost nothing about what Bella (deaf girl) thought or felt. I really didn’t like reading a story from the first person narrative view. It bothered me enough to want to, avoid these books that use the same style of telling a story.

Having said that, I must say that the writing style wasn’t all that bothered me about this book. I have a few things that just didn’t sit right with me. At first there was the pace of the story, it was all a bit rushed, if you asked me. No real build up or evolving of characters. The love story in general felt rushed for me. I thought the set-up between Mandy and Bella felt unrealistic, and therefore I didn’t feel the chemistry they supposed to share.

Then there was the use of words. I mean some authors just have some kind of magic when it comes to using words. They can touch, excite or just blow me away with their beautiful way of telling a story. Some authors can really describe a setting in a way like you’re really there. You can almost smell the fresh air or taste the food. Some authors can write about love in a way that it almost makes you feel the same way as the characters, even if it’s just for a second, before you snap back to reality. Some authors describe a love scene in such a visual and sensual way, that you can almost feel the excitement and the longing. Those gifts some authors have, are the reason I read books. To get sucked into a story and to open up to all it is the author is trying to say thru his/her words.

Knowing that if a book only contains some of these wonderful elements, will make me satisfied, or even feel like a book is worth my time. But I have to say, in the end I couldn’t find any element that appealed to me. It’s a wonder that I even finished it, I guess I hoped some good parts were still to come. Well, they never came. When I finished it, I felt a bit frustrated, I mean there wasn’t even a real love scene! That could have made it less painful that I wasted all this time reading this book.

The worst of it all is that I still believe that the idea behind this story could have worked. I would have really enjoyed reading about Mandy and Bella’s lovestory. But in the end I couldn’t find anything that did their story justice, which is just sad because I think it had a lot of potential.

With all due respect for the author. I still have to be honest about my rating and give this book a low rating of 1.5 stars rounded up to 2 stars. I really couldn’t find elements that could influence my rating into a higher score.

[Joan Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandy returns to her hometown after taking a break from touring because of a very large secret. Anabella and her family are an unexpected surprise to Mandy that remind her of who she really is and wants to be. Mandy and Anabella are exceptionally three dimensional and their strength is inspiring, particularly Anabella. Mandy disappointed me with the self flagellation and her down spiral, but I see where it was necessary for the story to have the emotional impact it does. The romance between them is incredibly sweet and overcoming of all obstacles. I’m not sure which character I fell more in love with. Sigh. This is an incredibly emotional read that will have you laughing, crying, and falling in love right along with the characters. The secondary characters play a vital role in the success of the book. They add depth and additional insight into what is happening outside of the main character’s head. Anabella’s family and Mrs. Wellington are characters that play the main supporting roles and capture your heart all on their own. I could read a book solely about them and be entertained. I highly recommend this book and entire series to anyone who enjoys a romance that surpasses all expectations.

[Ch · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We all have scars Bella, some are on the outside, some are on the inside. But they are nothing to be ashmaed of, they simply show that we survived, we persevered the pain and emotion that brought them about. They make us stronger."

There's just some authors whose writing style just clicks with you and pulls you ocean deep, that's how I feel with Erik's works. Second from the MOTS series, and I am not disappointed.

Music of the Soul didn't fail to make my heart stop beating. It's impossible not to like the two heroes, especially when they're together. Majority of the book was spent on them apart, but even at that case, I didn't feel that the chemistry and connection wasn't there. I was with Mandy in the dark, what she was feeling it seems like I was feeling it ten-times fold, and don't even start me with those voicemails. This was just beautifully written and the ending was just perfect. I love how Bella was given a role, her own purpose, not just someone the rockstar fell in love with. The secondary characters were all amazing in their own ways.

Overall, I like this, though Dating Game is still my favorite. Music of the Soul is undeniably a sweet and emotional read with an ending that left a huge smile in my face.

[River Gheuens · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I listened to it on audiobook. The narrator, Pamela Lorence, is skilled in telling the story. I have gotten more used to Hollie Jackson as the authors preferred narrator and it is...weird (I'm not like the walking thesaurus, sorry) not hearing Hollie narrate. My favorite part of the audiobook is not having to endure the little punctuation errors. That being said, if you can look over the few errors (I have actually read the book too), the story is worth it.

Second. This is one of my favorite books to come back to in the Music of the Soul series. I love the twists and turns the author takes us to witness. Two total polar opposites fall in love from hello, yet everything goes wrong. The characters are down to earth and well rounded. The author, which has all the main characters have flaws, combines two flaws that should never work.

While the books can be read in any order, and I did not start in order, I have gotten more out of reading them in order, as the characters make appearances in later books. Be prepared to go back and re read the books to find the bread crumbs that the author seeds the books with.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most obvious thing about this book as you read it is how much fun the author had writing it. I'm sure Mr Schubach was cracking himself up most of the time, and the joy carries through to the reader. The language is very clear and descriptive, making it easy to visualize the scenes. I do need to complain though that I had some trouble putting it down and found myself arguing with the characters as they felt so real to me. My boyfriend actually turned to me several times during a sitting to remind me it was only a book!

[Jae · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, I’m more of a lesbian sci-fi reader, but I whole-HEARTedly adore four of the other series this author has written which fall solidly into the Lesbian Romance genre without any hint of space or techy themes, like in the Valkyrie Chronicles. I have devoured the Music of the Soul series, London Harmony, Flotilla, and The Pike series’ like a crack addict, HA!

[Freya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy had sooooo much fun writing this book and I had at least as much fun reading it! Mandy's inner banters with herself are hilarious. But the true icing on the cake for me were Firefly and Doctor Who references, oh how happy those made the geek in me!

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really understand it, but sometimes my reader's mood, story line and emotional vulnerability all coincide and a book takes me on a journey that I love, making me weep, cheer and I can lose myself in it. This is one of these books. In the cold light of day, a little cheesy and unreal, but the journey was so good I can only bow my head and say "Thank you."

[Anonymous · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I read by Erik Schubach and I was hooked since the first word. The dialogue was great and the book flowed. There were moments when I could truly relate and others where I was absorbed into the fantasy of it all. There was also moments when I could totally geek out to the Firefly references. Overall this book is fantastic as well as the other books in the serious, I recommend if you have not read it then by it now because it is definitely worth it.

[Kat Giraldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so again this books suffers from bad editing, but if you are capable of ignoring that it is actually a damned good book! the first book i read on the music of the soul "series" was dating game, and i loved it, well... Erik hasn't disappointed me so far, his descriptions are awesome, and you gotta love how subtle he is about the connection between all the stories!

[Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise of the book. The impact that Anabella has on Mandy is uplifting. The story told in the first person caused me to pause every once in a while to determine who was talking. I really liked Anabella's sister and her straight talk.

[Ed Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I found the characters to be much more mature in mannerism than their ages would support, I did find the story heartwarming and very readable.

[Carrie Burling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

I have read this book and the rest of the series multiple times. I love them even more each time I read them.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anabella had gone through a very bad time in her life and had been saved by Mandy's music. Music that she can't hear, but feel on a deeper level. Now the tables have turned and Anabella is the lifeline that keeps Mandy from losing herself completely.

We experience the story through Mandy's eyes and her inner - sometimes hilarious - dialogues.

At times, it actually felt quite strange to live in Mandy's self-induced isolation. But in the end, everything that was happening finally made sense. If I ever end up in deep trouble, I hope there is someone like Anabella looking out for me.

I wouldn't call the main and side characters very realistically portrayed. Especially Anabella and her family are way too perfect and sweet to be true, but this didn't detract from the wonderful tale.

For me this was a heartwarming slightly fairytalish story with a nice twist and a hilarious rocker chick.

[Fae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good and heartwarming read. Unfortunately, there are just so many repetitive scenes that I got tired of reading. Such scenes often appeared in the form of "crowd cheering" or the character's feelings about her love interest. Most of all, the two main characters just seemed disconnected.
The misunderstanding between the main character and her love interest is kinda trivial. In the time space when these two were separated, they didn't have that much interaction with one another. They didn't meet each other that much to form a good developing romance. They both might as well fall for each other at first sight. Love at first sight is what people called it.

[WonderGoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was good. Unfortunately, this book suffers some of the same problems as Five Feet or Less. That is, alternate spellings of a charcters name; Tammi instead of Tammy, as is used in every other part of the book.

There are numerous instances where words are repeated, as well.

Mr. Schubach could use an editor, or a proofreader, at least.

[Kristina Lovel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This devil of an Author never fails to keep me completely wrapped up in the world of his characters. I am completely in love with his writing. This book made me laugh, cry, cheer, and get angry. I loved the emotional roller coaster ride. I can't wait to read more.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book but it felt a little flat for me.

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these books couldn't put them down moment picked them up

[Dash Stryker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly delightful quick read. It's written by a straight (apparently) man, so if you've got a political hang-up there, avoid. If you're just worried that such a one couldn't possibly write genuine women, much less lesbians...well it's not so much that he truly 'gets' it, as that he writes in a way that the book doesn't suffer from the absence of that kind of authentic depth of character. It's bubble gum - but it's good bubble gum.

Really, my only complaint is that he seemed to know little about the music industry, either from the business or creative standpoints. As a result he glossed over bits that, given who the characters were, should have been important - or got some of the nuances wrong.

Still, I got way more out of this than I expected, and look forward to enjoying the rest of the series.

*chew chew* *phyyywww* *pop* *chew*

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I’m a fan of Schubach, I absolutely adore his Unleashed series but I also wasn’t that crazy about the first book in that series so I still have high hopes for the rest of the books in this one. This one didn’t really work for me because everything moved at rapid pace and it was hard for me to connect with the characters the way that I wanted. Mandy was fine but I loved Bella. She was wonderful and so kind. Some of the other side characters were great as well. This wasn’t terrible at all but I feel like the series is going to get so much better from here and I will definitely be continuing on.

[KJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'd actually rate this one about a 3.5. I did enjoy it just not quite as much as some of the others by this author. There was just a tad more angst than I prefer. If I find myself rolling my eyes repeatedly at a character, I know I'm close to my limit. Lol. I mostly read for entertainment anyway so I have a pretty good tolerance. Anyway, I'm a sucker for these types of stories so I will definitely read more.

[Sockenmaedchen · Rating 1 out of 5]

So so bad and so much kitsch.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The beginning was good, but the rest... Well, let's say that I forced myself to finish reading it because I didn't want to add another book to my DNF shelf.

[SUTTON (Kade) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was long. And hard. I like the author. I like the idea of the series and seeing beauty on different abilities. It was way way way too long.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used my kindle and the lending library to pick up the first three books for free in the Music of the Soul series. I have seen a lot of Erik Shubach fans, and I read a lot of lesbian fiction, so I thought it was time to give him a try. So many positive reviews, and I am really confused. This book had so much potential. I wish more authors would have characters like the ones in this book. Only I would rather them be more realistic. I want better dialogue and less whining. So much of this book annoyed me. The writing was annoying with the thoughts after every sentence, I am sorry to all those die hard fans out there. I hate to give low ratings. Seriously I rarely do it. I struggled to finish the first book, and was actually really happy I hadn't purchased them. I will not be going forward in the series, and will go back to some of my go to authors for books. I am glad I gave the book a go, but I am also glad I got it out of my system.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I really couldn't get into this book as much as I wanted to. The grammatical errors really irked me. I know the author is trying to convey a lot through these characters but they didn't really do it for me. I found myself mainly skimming but I felt that the story line has substance to it. I just wish that an editor could fine tune it and I would've had a more enjoyable read.

Overall, I don't like to cross authors off based on one book but I'm willing to give this author another try.