Music of the Heart

by Maria Siopis

Danielle, a New York media executive and owner, Melina, a Greek singer, and Vickie, a flight attendant, will unexpectedly meet, and their lives will change forever. Danielle believes that the island of Santorini is the perfect getaway and where she hopes to find tranquility. All elements are there to grant her wish, the vastness of the Aegean Sea stretches in front of her for miles, and the rented villa is luxurious and minutes from the town of Oia where the most stunning sunsets occur, and where exquisite white homes with blue domed roofs climbing the mountainside. What she doesn’t expect is to lose her serenity within hours of arrival to the island. Nevertheless, she completely surrenders herself when she meets Melina who threatens to destroy her inane beliefs about love. Melina is curious about Danielle, the intriguing woman she meets backstage after her concert, but she keeps her distance. Her life is settled, she has a fiancé she adores, and a career that’s taking off. That’s her destiny, yet, a brief moment, a tiny nanosecond changed everything. Her path is crossed, and she is too late to change course. She collides with her destiny, the perfect mate who is right in front of her. Can she make a choice that is truthful to her heart or is she going to allow accusations and lies destroy her better judgment? Vickie stands between the two lovers claiming Melina’s heart when the dark secrets and lies are exposed. Is Melina going to give in to the gorgeous flight attendant or will her heart be taken by Danielle? In a moment of hurt and disbelief Melina takes the wrong path. Yet, music cures broken hearts, music mends broken souls. Or so Melina believes.

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 29, 2018

Reviews

[Annette Mori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read some other stories from Maria Siopsis which I thoroughly enjoyed because she has such a unique perspective. Imagine my surprise when I read this book and learned it was a traditional contemporary romance. Here’s what stood out to me besides great characters that I was cheering for...the WTF twist. I like trying to figure things out and this twist was unique. This twist added another layer to the story. Don’t worry the twist doesn’t affect how satisfied you will be by the end of the book. No spoilers here, but you’ll be as happy as I was after reading the book.

[JulesGP · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hopelessly romantic book. If you have any harshness to your heart, you will not be able to fully appreciate the unapologetic, gushing belief in destiny and love that thoroughly permeates this book.

Danielle is the daughter of the owners of an entertainment conglomerate. Although she is known as a free spirit, bedding both men and women, her father expects her to marry an appropriate man in the near future. Danielle doesn’t mind because she doesn’t believe in fairytale love, everything is either business or one night of pleasure. Then she meets Melina, a Greek singer, while on vacation and nothing is ever the same.

I didn’t go over any of the blurb beforehand because I simply wanted to check out the author who was new to me. Her voice is distinct and reads like an old fashioned storyteller, full of wonder and delight in the words and the telling. I felt all that emotion while I read so I could never be sure what was going to happen next but was pulled in immediately anyway. A lot of that had to do with her unique voice and her shifts in narrative and pov which were a little different than what I’m used to but I love different. There’s plenty of character drama that had me spinning till the final moment and I enjoyed every bit of it.

[Carol Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Music of the Heart is a tale of tormented but destined lovers Melina, a Greek singer and Danielle, a New York media executive. Their paths cross many a fateful time but with interfering family and friends they are torn, broken and in limbo for parts of the book.

Danielle isn’t the type to fall in love but her friend and colleague, Mark warns her that one day it might be a possibility. That day comes when she lays eyes on Melina and it is love at first sight. But it’s not all plain sailing or as simple as it seems.

There was an unexpected twist in the plot of this book that really grabbed my attention, answered a lot of questions but only added to the wonder and drama of this romance.

I would highly recommend this exciting read.

[Mandy 'Hammie' · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. The characters and storyline were engaging and beautifully written. I was engrossed into the story from the very first page. It was a amazing and I would highly recommend this book.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danielle, a media executive from NYC sees Melina, a singer, at her concert in Greece and is blown away with the singer's looks, voice and the way in which the audience responds to her. Danielle signs her to a contract promising to make Melina a global sensation. I thought the author's writing style was very unique, but it needed another layer of editing. There were too many mistakes to even count. However, her creative writing is sexy and sassy, and certainly full of twists. We know Danielle's motivation from the very beginning and she falls hard for Melina, but Melina's motivation isn't revealed until midway through the book.

As much as I enjoyed the story and the leading ladies, I felt the second half of the book had too many obstacles and angsty moments. They never seemed to listen to the other when unfortunate incidents were thrown in their way. Interfering family and so called friends blurred the lines time and time again. The betrayal issues were so huge that I wonder if they really could make their relationship work. Without trust, what do you have? I guess that's why destiny reigns!

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely a tale of two books. If I were rating the first half of the book, I would have given it 3.5 or 4 stars. I definitely enjoyed it. But the second half of the book tarnished that goodwill.

At about the halfway point, big obstacles show up. Again and again and again. The number of times one of them stormed out of the other’s life, without communication and often putting an ocean between them was too high to count. The happily-ever-after felt so abrupt that I found it impossible to believe. It didn’t feel like their obstacles had been overcome as much as they were ignored.

I also don’t like that it felt like details were revealed to me as a reader far too late (either that or there was a brief mention and then it was forgotten about for so long I didn’t remember it), in a way that hurt me as a reader as much as it did the character’s romantic partner.

At the end of the book, I’m not sure they’re both emotionally prepared for a relationship with each other. And that’s a horrible way to end a love story.