Book Review: Perfect Harmony by Emily Albright

Hello, everyone! How have you been? As always, I’m currently preparing for exams. ✏  In the meantime, today’s post is extremely exciting because I am reviewing my first ever ARC. 😱

Perfect Harmony gets 2/5 stars. ⭐⭐ I instantly fell in love with the cover of this book the second I laid eyes on it, and its punny title made me smile. I really enjoyed how Emily Albright crafted a fun storyline; however, the lack of development for the characters, romance, and romance hindered it from being a truly great read. 🎵

Spoiler-free Summary: Pippa Wyndham is a top cellist―she’d never settle for anything less. Determined to get into the nation’s most prestigious music college, nothing’s going to stand in her way . . . Until her senior year of high school when a new guy from a fancy New York conservatory transfers to her school.

Declan Brogan’s cocky, and he knows how amazing he is at the cello. He has every intention of knocking Pippa out of first chair and showing her who really belongs on top. Forced together when assigned a duet, their personal competition and mutual dislike transform into a teasing friendship.

Torn between her childhood crush and the boy who threatens her dreams, Pippa finds herself at risk of losing her best friend, her future, and the boy who makes her heart melt. Struggling to make things right, Pippa discovers that sometimes the thing you want the most doesn’t always end up being the thing you need.

The writing of the story was incredibly simple, and while simple writing makes for an easy read, it read like an early rendition of someone’s fanfiction rather than a final, edited piece. 😕 We are told by the author when something happens rather than having it shown to us, making the pacing feel sporadic and all over the place. We’re also shown every cliche in existence from enemies to lovers to finding the perfect dress. I personally love many of these cliche tropes, but this book has one occur every other chapter and the story became too predictable.

Perfect Harmony has the cutesy elements to be an all-star Disney movie but it leaned more towards cheesy Lifetime/Hallmark classic. Truthfully, I wish we had a greater focus on Pippa’s love for music and less angsty teen drama.🎻 I really wanted to love this contemporary because it had great potential, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

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HAVE YOU READ PERFECT HARMONY? WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS! 💕