Title: The Melody Thief
Series: Blue Notes Series
Author: Shira Anthony
Genre: MM/ Contemporary
Length: Novel
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 24 th, 2012)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts
Blurb: Cary Redding is a walking contradiction. On the surface he’s a renowned cellist, sought after by conductors the world over. Underneath, he’s a troubled man flirting with addictions to alcohol and anonymous sex. The reason for the discord? Cary knows he’s a liar, a cheat. He’s the melody thief.
Cary manages his double life just fine until he gets mugged on a deserted Milan street. Things look grim until handsome lawyer Antonio Bianchi steps in and saves his life. When Antonio offers something foreign to Cary—romance—Cary doesn’t know what to do. But then things get even more complicated. For one thing, Antonio has a six-year-old son. For another, Cary has to confess about his alter ego and hope Antonio forgives him.
Just when Cary thinks he’s figured it all out, past and present collide and he is forced to choose between the family he wanted as a boy and the one he has come to love as a man.
Product Link: http://dreamspinnerpress.com/blog/2012/08/24/melody-thief-shira-anthony/
Reviewer: Thommie
Review: This book is quite different from the lot I’ve read. It starts of full power introducing Cary, a very talented, famous cellist who has serious issues underneath the façade he plasters for the stage. When lights go out, he lets his troubled self emerge, using a different identity, becoming a man who cares for nothing other than anonymous sex on the darkest corners of Milan. After one such night he gets mugged on a dark alley ending up with some bruises and a broken wrist. Fear consumes him, but to his rescue comes Antonio, a stunning man, and helps him through the recovery. Antonio seems genuinely interested on Cary, but he makes no move toward him and resists all Cary’s advances. Until Cary comes clean to him about the lies, the fake identity and the way he leads his life.
For a man who has lived all his life staying away from relationships and romance, even more so family, as Cary claims over and over that he hates kids, he finds himself trapped with emotions toward Antonio and his son. The feelings he’s had for himself for 28 years, that he’s and unworthy man, unworthy of love, soon subside and although scared to death he makes the decision to let himself be loved as well as return it.
Up until this point the story is fast and furious one might say. The author is rough and blunt in her description of Cary’s messy life and it suits him well. The intensity is there and when Cary finally couples with Antonio, it is liquid fire. The heat is incredible, yet it nearly stops there. The story continues with their joint life, the efforts to make it work and the lessons Cary has to learn in order to be in a partner and a parent. The inner fight he has to battle between his addiction, his guilt and a past that still burns. The rush slows down and the story goes quite mellow. The appearance of Cary’s (for 28 years dead) father somehow charges the story with a different kind of rush. It is plain that The Melody Thief revolves around Cary’s life and emotions. The intensity rises up a notch when Cary finds himself in a crossroad between his juvenile dreams and his present and future; however that notch is quite small. The events that follow and the way the story ends were by this point quite predictable. I would have loved to see a bit more about Cary’s brother though, since he was mentioned so much, yet we never saw a glimpse of him
As I said this book was quite different, enjoyable nonetheless. A romance with a very realistic approach, and a beautiful introduction at the world of classical music that was not as heavy as I imagined it might be. On the contrary, it was easy to follow and accept. If you’re a romantic this book might string a cord or two. Recommended.