Book Review: Our Song by Anna Carey
About the book
Tadhg and Laura used to be in a band together. They used to be a lot of things. Now he's a superstar, touring the world with his songs. And Laura tries not to think about all the big dreams she used to have.
Then she gets an email that could change everything: Tadhg wants to finish a song they started writing together sixteen years ago. Making music again would literally be a dream come true, even if it's with a person she swore she'd never speak to again.
And they can keep things professional, right?
As Tadhg and Laura start working together though, sparks begin to fly. Maybe music isn't the only thing that deserves a second chance...
Why we love it
There are some books which challenge us, making us question what we think we know. Others transport us into lives and worlds completely different from our own or break our heart into a million pieces.
And then there are the books we read just because they make us happy. Our Song falls firmly into that last category. Warm, funny and uplifting, it's an utterly joyful read.
OK so yes, you kind of know from the first page what the ending is going to be but that doesn't really matter. A book like this is always going to be about the journey.
Set across two timelines – the early noughties and present-day Dublin – the book follows Laura and Tadhg, who first meet as teenagers at an Irish language summer camp and then again as college students and bandmates in Dublin. They reconnect for a third time in their mid-thirties and as the story progresses, their shared history, the relationship they built through music and the choices that eventually sent them in different directions are all gradually revealed.
Novels based around a sense of nostalgia are always intriguing because who hasn't, at one time or another, looked back at a moment in life and wondered what if...? What sets this book apart is that it's not just about two old flames reconnecting; it’s about looking back at a past version of yourself and wondering whether you truly pursued your dreams or whether you compromised too much and are still allowing the same anxieties and fears to hold you back.
Laura, in particular, is such a compelling character and you can’t help but root for her as she slowly grows in confidence in her musical abilities throughout the book. The story also lightly touches on Laura's fertility struggles and her knowledge that she will never have children, a subject which Anna Carey handles with real sensitivity and compassion. In many ways, this book is just as much about Laura falling back in love with music and learning to accept her own path in life as it is about romance. It's this character journey which really elevates what might otherwise have been a fairly generic love story into something far more engaging and powerful.
If you enjoy second-chance romances with substance, believable characters and a strong sense of time and place, you'll definitely love Our Song. Pure joy and a book which will instantly brighten your day - highly recommended!
