BOOK REVIEW ~ JANE’S MELODY BY RYAN WINFIELD

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller–
What boundaries would you cross for true love? 

That’s the question a grieving mother must answer when she takes in a young street musician she believes can shed light on her daughter’s death—only to find herself falling for him. A lovely but touching love story that will leave you both tantalized and in tears, Jane’s Melody follows a forty-year-old woman on a romantic journey of rediscovery after years of struggling alone.

Sometimes our greatest gifts come from our greatest pain. And now Jane must decide if it’s too late for her to start over, or if true love really knows no limits.

[First time reading: 4 starsSecond time reading: 4.5 stars]

What an unconventional and inspirational story about love, loss, and healing! It seems with this re-read I notice the little things I missed the first time around and it just makes me love the story even more! ♥ ♥ ♥
The story follows a 40-year-old mother Jane who has just done what no mother wants: bury her daughter. Struggling to accept Melody’s death, Jane unexpectedly stumbles into Caleb, a 24-year-old homeless musician. Their only link: a 1973 silver dollar coin that previously belonged to Melody. After snooping through Melody’s old things, she deduces that Caleb is her old boyfriend and since she desperately needs closure, Jane takes Caleb in, offering him a temporary job while she tries to fish for any extra information about her daughter.

As time passes, Caleb and Jane grow closer and soon a romantic relationship develops. I live for the forbidden and taboo and this hit the nail on the head! There wasn’t anything sketchy nor did I feel like their relationship was inappropriate; the way the author wrote the book completely charmed me. Jane and Caleb are such endearing characters, and their story is believable: I could see something deeper than lust and attraction setting the basis of their relationship, and to me that makes it all the more meaningful to read. Pre-Caleb time, Jane struggled with accepting Melody’s death and pretty much brushed off living life. She’s just fine.

With Caleb in her life, Jane’s healing process begins and she learns to live, laugh, and love again. But their romance isn’t all perfect, and I love how the author portrays the very realistic implications of an older woman/younger man relationship. Jane has to deal with so much insecurity about her looks, her age, the appropriateness of such a romance, and through it all, Caleb was there to support and reassure her of his love.
Were there some choices Jane made I hated? Absolutely. And as much as I didn’t like the things that happened, I saw them as necessary to her character development; without making mistakes, she never would have faced all her worries and insecurities and be the person to step out of her comfort zone and say “hey, this is what I want and I’m going to go after it.” I loved reading and experiencing that journey with her!

Everything about the book, from the hot, sizzling lovely scenes to the emotional, heartbreaking moments to the laugh-out-loud, charming humor speaks volumes to the author’s writing capabilities and ability to evoke a wide range of emotions while delivering a most heartfelt, unique love story that I won’t be forgetting any time soon! As this is my second time reading the book and feeling so strongly about these characters, I can only imagine what I’d think if I re-read this for the third time

ARC kindly provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.