[Book Review] The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is a very quirky romance that will cause frustration, happiness, and a few tears.

While the romance is the key focus, this is also a wonderful tale about a tight-knit community made up of a wonderful cast of characters that I just couldn’t get enough of!

While I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but imagine it playing out as a Hallmark movie. So of course, I loved it!

Let’s dive in to my review!

My Thoughts on The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

This was the book club pick for my work’s book club. I’ve missed the last few sessions, so I’m really excited to discuss this book with them soon!

This was such a fun and wonderfully heartwarming read! I’m so picky about the romance novels that I read, but this one ticked all the boxes!

At the beginning of the tale, we meet our cast. It’s not long before the mysterious woman is introduced. From then on, the author paints a wonderful canvas of character development, filling in each bit of the painting a bit more the further into the story we traveled.

I really enjoyed that we learned about each character so slowly, and yet, it seemed like all of these characters were old friends; like I’ve know them for ages!

The cast of characters were just so much fun! We had a humble shop owner, two quiet and slightly creepy brothers, a tattooed woman that didn’t have a filter, a clumsy eighteen year old that I found hysterical, an older gentleman just trying to get by, a man who only liked Chopin… And then of course, we had a mysterious woman.

It’s easy to see from the start that there is a spark between Frank and this mystery woman. Predictable? A bit. Like I said above, this gave me some Hallmark feels, but I still loved every second of it and really enjoyed how everything played out.

The organization of the tale was perfect. We followed the main story-line while getting small flashbacks into the past of our main character, Frank, mostly, but we also got short chapters from the perspective of other characters that really helped to take the story to a whole new level.

Of course, the focus on music was lovely as well. I’ll always be a sucker for stories that have a musical element. It was really interesting to see how the main character was able to choose just the right song that his customer needed to hear, even if it was the total opposite of what the customer thought that they needed.

There are SO many songs mentioned. I’ll admit, I didn’t know the vast majority of them. But luckily, Penguin Books South Africa created a playlist on Youtube where you can follow along with the songs that are mentioned in the book. Check it out here!

I want to say so many other things about this book, but I’ll let you discover the magic of this tale on your own!

My Favorite Passages from The Music Shop

…people clung to what was familiar, even when it was painful. 

For Frank, music was like a garden – it showed seeds in far-flung places. People would miss out on so many wonderful things if they only stuck with what they knew. 

My Final Thoughts on The Music Shop

I’m so thrilled that I had the time to pick this one up. This is going on my list of all time favorite cutesy romances because it had everything I need in a romance; quirky characters, a wonderful community, a bit of mystery, and a whole slew of silly reactions and situations that all lead up to a wonderful ending.

I had a few happy tears escape near the ending of this one! It was just so wonderfully written.

If you’re a fan of light romances, then I’d highly recommend this one to you!

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Thanks for reading!
If you’ve read this one, I’d love to hear your thoughts! If you haven’t yet, what was the last cute romance you read and enjoyed?