If you saw it, would you read it? Want by Stephanie Lawton #ReadOrNot

About the front:
When I first saw this cover, I had to click to see more. Not because it contains my favorite colors of all (raspberry) or the pretty girl, but because of the piano. Being a pianist myself and having played since I was a little girl, I needed to see more. I do have to admit, at first, I thought this was an erotic novel with her laying that way, hands on her chest, arm up. And laying on the velvet/satin on the piano … there are so many dirty images that this conveys. So, sorry to the creator of this cover, but it’s got a few thousand possible words that could be said/interpreted. I do, however, think it’s quite compelling as it kept my eye drawn and made me wonder just what it was all about.

Now let’s look at what the back says:

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche.

Julianne can’t understand why Isaac suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it before she inherits her mother’s madness. Isaac knows he must resist his attraction to a student ten years his junior, but loneliness and jealousy threaten his resolve.

Their indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Will Julianne accept the help she’s offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her?

Does it match? Front to Back without the in between?

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche.

Excellent. The blurb ties in the piano element. Yeah! And the counting the days, I’m assuming this is from high school to college, going to the Conservatory being the college part. And now, I’m also going to guess this is a romance. So is this dude 4 years older than her? More? I’m wondering what the age spread is from that little wording. Let’s keep going.

Julianne can’t understand why Isaac suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it before she inherits her mother’s madness. Isaac knows he must resist his attraction to a student ten years his junior, but loneliness and jealousy threaten his resolve.

So there’s a madness? Is this an illness or a teenage angst? We were in Julianne’s perspective in this blurb and all the sudden switch to ‘he’ = Isaac? not knowing stuff. But then in the next sentence, he knows … stuff? I’m a little confuzzled.

However, I do see the age gap and that makes me wonder. Is she 17? 18? 10 years isn’t that bad when you’re in your 20s, 30s, higher … but at 17, there’s a bit of weirdness going on. So, let’s discount that then. So this is definitely a romance.

Their indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Oooh, an indiscretion (perfect southern word) and the ball is well reflected in the cover. Now since of the past? But … isn’t she really young? Who’s sins? theirs? I was good with the opening of this sentence, but the end is a bit confusing. Carrying on … this is also starting to sound like that erotic idea I had … but since she’s young, I’m guessing it’s not.

Will Julianne accept the help she’s offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her?

Wait … self-destruct? Where did that come from? And I thought this was a romance, is it not? I’m not sure what this is about anymore … is it literary about Julianne and her piano life? That alone would sway me to read because I’m all about the lives of pianists, but this blurb has me a LITTLE lost.

Will I read it?
Actually… I’d quite like to. 🙂

Will you add it to your bookshelf virtual or otherwise? Share in the comments!