**ON OUR BOOKSHELF**

*You Won’t Forget Me*
by Mazey Eddings
A pre-release sneak peek of a musicians’ heartache and talent come together.

This romance will tear your heart out, but the lyrics and songwriting process. The musicality of the song combined with each character’s passion for their instrument and craft is inspired!

TWs: bullying, infidelity, mental health (depression)

I’m grateful to have received an advanced reader’s copy of You Won’t Forget Me via NetGalley!

The Sneak Peek

All Cubby has ever wanted is to make music with her best friends, and share it with the world. But when the chance to make it big comes on the heels of a great betrayal, heartbreak, and the near-collapse of the band they have spent years building, can Cubby accept that the foundation for their future success is built on what feels like rubble-laid foundation?

The media is piecing together a story that rips open old wounds and forces Cubby to face constant reminders of a toxic relationship and drowns her in a dark hole of criticism and cyberbullying. But how can she look a gifthorse in the mouth when the media storm is also putting her band on the map. And when a photo accidentally sparks new rumors of a love triangle that further boosts interests in her music and results in a full-blown tour for the band, there’s no turning back.

Cubby alongside her best friends Darcy and Harry and their fellow bandmates Skull and Kale are headed to the US for the summer. They’re about to live their dream of playing sold-out shows and releasing new music… but as they step into the limelight, Cubby finds herself spiraling further into the darkness and folding as the pressure of the media, old wounds and fake love break her. And what’s worse? The one person who has always been by her side and helped her wade through life feels further than ever… and there’s no knowing if they’ll make it back to each other with all the chaos surrounding them.

What Victoria Loved

VICTORIA’S RATING:3.5/5

I appreciate the platform and focus that Mazey has given mental health — from the toxicity of Cubby’s relationship with Connor to the aftermath of the cyberbullying she endured as a result. Mazey paints a truly heartbreaking profile of darkness that engulfs Cubby. We see layer after layer of light and energy stripped from her and replaced with falsities and lies until she’s merely a shell of herself being held up like a marionette set to fulfill the story dictated by others, her own needs buried beneath the need to produce a version of herself that others could approve of. I felt that ache deep in my bones and I had to step away from the book multiple times because of the anxiety that built in the pit of my stomach. But I am utterly disappointed in the lack of pull through.

This book needed about a hundred pages more to better address the mental health struggles Cubby faces and the help she seeks when she’s ready to address it. The people who put her in the position to take the brunt of the bullying needed to be held accountable for their actions and for not properly equipping her or supporting her through the experience! And she needed to have had more conversations with her band and more strongly address the so-called fan base. There was a complete disregard for her mental health among her support circle and it honestly ruined the book for me.

Yes, my heart was absolutely torn to shreds by Connor and his vile actions and statements. He is most definitely a POS. Yes, my heart was broken at every mention of Harry’s lingering stare and sweet smile. Yes, my heart was shattered at every scene featuring Darcy. Yes, my heart felt every pang of Cubby’s pain. But I could not get past how annoyed and frustrated I was at the selfishness of these characters… honestly, Cubby included.

If there’s anything that did sell this book (and helped to boost my overall rating — other than the fact that it elicited strong emotions from me), it’s the lyrics and songwriting process. As much as I love words and books, song lyrics aren’t my forté and it takes a special song to capture my attention. But I love the musicality of piecing a song together… and I love reading about it. And this book does a nice job of describing each character’s passion for their instrument and craft. It’s a beautiful method of communication wrapped in a book full of miscommunication.

Pre-order your copy of You Won’t Forget Me (Amazon) and read with me!

Favorite Scene

“Creating something always feels like breaking a bone just to document its healing.”

- YOU WON’T FORGET ME by Mazey Eddings

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