Some people marry for love; others marry for music...
Rose McNeil is rising the ranks at the Mozarteum in Salzburg as a violinist to watch. Her musical Nova Scotian heritage has loaned an unparalleled technique to her interpretation of some of the most beautiful compositions in the world. The opportunity of a first chair assignment to the Rainer Quartet under the baton of Oliver Thorne is a dream come true--- until her visa expires and the threat of leaving Vienna looms. As much as she grieves the prospect of leaving Vienna and the quartet, it is Oliver—with his dry sense of humour and unexpected charm- she will miss most.
British ex-pat Oliver Thorne’s recent appointment as conductor to the Rainer Quartet make him the youngest in the role during its prestigious history. But it wasn’t the path he wanted. A tragic accident years ago forbade him from ever playing his beloved cello again. Now he spends his life teaching and guest conducting for premiere orchestras at the Musikverein. When he first hears Rose McNeil play, all the dreams he left by the wayside are reborn with her unexpected talent. When Rose learns she may have to leave Vienna, Oliver has to come up with a solution. Losing his first violinist is unfortunate, losing her is unimaginable.
So he comes up with a crazy idea: A marriage on paper only. She’ll take his name and his citizenship. They’ll split rent money and coin toss to decide who takes the bed or the the futon every night. They’ll keep their secret from the orchestra. She’ll play and he’ll conduct and, most importantly...she’ll stay.
Unbeknownst to each other, Rose is in love with Oliver and Oliver is in love with Rose. They might even find a happy ending, if only their pesky marriage doesn’t get in the way.
My Thoughts
Breathless. This book literally stole my breath. It made my heart soar and hurt. I was sighing in happiness and leaning forward in anticipation of how things would play out. At one point I was literally clutching my hair, feeling every emotion that the characters were. It is so hard to put into words the beauty that is this book. The way it is written is unlike anything else I’ve read. It makes me long for a place I’ve never been and hadn’t really given thought to before reading it. How can you feel homesick for a place you have never seen? But that’s the only way to describe the way I felt, wanting to go back to a place I’d only visited in a book. This author’s ability to truly transport you somewhere else is second to none.
I adored Oliver, he was selfless, kind, patient, and a hopeless romantic. The way he kept going when an accident took the most important thing from his life, and the sacrifices he made for Rose without a second thought made me deeply admire him. That he was willing to live in a name-only marriage with a person he was starting to care deeply for not knowing whether she'd ever come to love him the same way, enough to make any woman melt.
The fact that this was a marriage of convenience story just made me love it all the more since that is my favorite trope. Watching their relationship unfold from a maestro listening to a violinist, to friends, to husband and wife, to being in love with each other was absolute perfection.
I know nothing about music beyond that fact that I like to listen to it but the way the author writes about it makes me feel it in every part of me, her descriptions making everything come to life.
This story was quite simply stunning and it will stay with me forever.
Meet the AuthorRachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
