Review: In Harmony by Helena Newbury

Rating:★★★★★ stars
Date Published: September 21st, 2013
Publisher: Foster & Black New Adult 
Synopsis: Everyone expects her to succeed...

Karen plays the cello like an angel, and it’s the only thing that makes her truly feel alive. But her father’s dream—for her to join a prestigious orchestra—leaves no time in her life for anything but music...not even love. Trapped on her path, she doesn’t know how to rebel.

Everyone expects him to fail...
Connor plays rock guitar like the devil himself, and his ability has got him all the way from a dead-end life in Belfast to a scholarship at Fenbrook Academy. But beneath his arrogance and charm, he doesn’t believe he has what it takes. He’s spent his time in New York drinking and partying, and the only future he sees is a return to Ireland as soon as he flunks out.

But what no one expects...
When Karen’s duet partner is injured, the bad boy guitarist and the shy, sheltered cellist are forced to team up. Neither likes the idea, but what begins as anger and distrust slowly spirals into love...and lust. If they can face up to their feelings, they might just have a chance together. If Connor will allow Karen to stop his fall, maybe he can show her a life she never thought possible...

This New Adult Romance is recommended for readers 17+

A note for readers of Dance For Me
A self-contained romance with no cliffhanger ending, this book focuses on Karen and Connor, but Natasha, Darrell, Clarissa, Neil and Jasmine from Dance For Me all appear as well.

What I Thought:

I absolutely loved this book. I think it's because I was really surprised by both Karen and Connor.  Neither was what I expected them to be and the story I thought was going to be smooth sailing, turned out to be anything but that.

I really enjoyed seeing Karen come into her own.  She went from being this extremely driven person to seeing, trying, and enjoying new things.  I think the best part was being in her head and just seeing how her thinking changed.  I loved seeing her be more assertive and finding out new what she liked and wanted.  I also loved how instrumental she was in helping her friends with what was bothering them

The chemistry Karen and Connor had was amazing.  I loved how their relationship slowly developed.  Granted Karen had the hots for Connor from the beginning, but she didn't really get to know him until they were forced to work together. Their relationship wasn't easy, but it was very satisfying to read about.  So far this is my favorite book of the series.  I definitely related more to Karen and Connor.  It was great to see Darrell and Natasha again, as well as Clarissa and Neil.  

Being surprised by both the characters and the story was definitely the highlight of this book.  I love how much Helena's writing has improved with this book and I can't wait to read Jasmine's book and see what her real story is.  She and Ryan also give off a lot of sparks.

About the Author

I’m a New Adult Romance author with a love of bakingly hot summer days, strawberry gelato, good coffee and interesting people. Unlike the characters in my book, I cannot dance, act or play anything (though I am substantially more flexible since I started writing Dance For Me and tried doing dancer’s stretches, so I’m hoping that something will rub off on me from each book). My first book was published in June 2013 and hit various bestseller charts across the US, UK and Canada. In September, just before the sequel came out, I became a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author, at which point I fainted.

I sometimes write in a very noisy, very busy coffee shop which means I end up mainlining caffeine to keep my seat. You’ll know when this happens because I’ll still be on Twitter that night at 4am.

I love meeting and talking with other authors, traveling to new places and discovering new books. You can find me on Twitter, Goodreads, Google+and Facebook, or just drop me an email at helenanewburyauthor@gmail.com

http://helenanewbury.com/ 

*Thank you to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*