Click Here To Purchase B-sides and Broken Hearts

Author: Caryn Rose
ISBN: 978-0983502906
Publisher: Till Victory Press

B-Sides and Broken Hearts is the story of 37 year-old Lisa, who is finding it hard coming to terms with the death of Joey Ramone, one of her favourite musicians.  His death forces her to think about her life and she finds that she is not happy.  Her relationship with the predictable, Ian, is not the type of relationship she had envisaged for herself when she was young.  The death of Joey Ramone leads to a torrent of emails from Lisa’s music-loving friends, and puts her back in touch with Jake, the singer with a successful band, Blue Electric.  Lisa had been there with Jake and the rest of the band right from the start when they were unknown and penniless.  She watched them grow into a band that could fill arenas.  However, for the past 5 years her relationship with the band has been overshadowed by the fact that her boyfriend shows little interest in getting to know them.  From the outside, all of Lisa’s friends have always thought she should have ended up with Jake.  None of her friends like Ian.  After Joey Ramone’s death, when Ian fails to understand why she is so upset, Lisa makes the decision to visit her old friends in LA.  She packs some belongings, mainly CDs for the journey, and drives all night to revisit her past.  Lisa goes on a journey in this novel, to find the person she really is.  After a tragic relationship when she was younger, she had lost her way.  Will her old friends in LA help her reconnect with the real Lisa?

This book is about dreams, friends, love, relationships, and above all it is about music and how music can have a profound influence on our lives.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt that the world had ended because their favourite band split up, anyone who obsessively waited for new albums to be released by their favourite bands and spent their last pennies on gigs and records, anyone who has ever screamed the lyrics to their favourite songs while driving in their car...  This is a book for dreamers, and reaffirms the importance of believing in your dreams, and following your heart.
It is well written and engaging.  I found myself feeling sad when I knew that the story would soon end.  The ending is poignant and uplifting at the same time.  This is a must read for music lovers.


Click Here To Purchase B-sides and Broken Hearts