Jane's Melody review

Jane’s Melody

Author: Ryan Winfield

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Australia

 

What boundaries would you cross for true love?

That’s the question a grieving mother must answer when she take in a young street musician she believes can shed some light on her daughter’s death- only to find herself falling for him. A sexy but touching love story that will leave you both tantalized and in tears, Jane’s Melody follows a fort-year old woman on a romantic journey of rediscovery after years of struggling alone.

Sometimes our greatest gifts come from our greatest pain. And now Jane must decide if it’s too late for her to start over, or if true love really knows no limits.

My review

My thoughts on the book: From reading the synopsis I knew that I was going to really enjoy reading Jane’s Melody but just how much wasn’t evident until I finished it. Jane’s Melody is about a woman called Jane who has tragically lost her daughter from a drug overdose. Within the first few pages of the book Jane is really struggling to deal with the death of her daughter and is even attempting suicide. But not long after she decides that she needs to find out exactly what happened to her daughter and who she had turned into before her death. Upon this journey she meets a young homeless busker named Caleb who she believes can help her with her quest for answers. And so Jane takes him into her home on the proviso that he works in her mammoth back garden and get it under control again, in hopes that he will spill some details about how he knew her daughter.

So what did I think of the book? Well I found it interesting that the main character was 40 and that the guy that she was falling for was in his early 20’s. Some might think Cougar Alert but I don’t think that is the case. Caleb was way more mature than his 25ish years, this could be accounted for the fact that he had been on the street so long and that he learnt a thing or two from this environment. And secondly Jane was a very young mum and I think she is able to click with Caleb more on his level because of this. I really felt throughout the book that they were about the same age and had to keep reminding myself that they weren’t and I think that is the problem that Jane had when first thinking about a relationship with Caleb.

I loved how most of the book is told from Jane’s point of view but we also get some parts from Caleb. I think my favourite part when Caleb was narrating was when he was rescuing the starving goat, although come to think about it most of the parts with the old goat were pretty funny. I mean the local police coming around to your house thinking someone was being murdered and finding out it was only a goat, how hilarious and I suppose awkward for the police.

I think overall the book is a fantastically written book about love, loss and finding yourself. I can’t wait for Jane’s Harmony to come out.

Favourite character: Hmm this is really hard. It would defiantly be a tossup between the two main characters, Jane and Caleb. Hmmm I think I will go with Caleb. He comes from the streets and has always fought so hard for what he has gotten in life, so when Jane decides that he can come and live with her and do her backyard and she will pay him, he makes sure that she takes out money for food, rent and clothes. He also makes her as many meals as he can to try and pay her back for her kindness. He never shy’s away from the fact that he finds her attractive and that he has no problem with the age difference between them, unlike her. He loves his music and has always wanted to go to Austin where he believes that he can make it big, but upon meeting Jane he feels that he can give all that up and live with her and he would still have the same amount of happiness as if he had gone to Austin.

Favourite quote/part:

“Okay. I don’t know if I have the right words, but love is this feeling I get when I look at you. A feeling that as long as you’re near me, or in the world even, then everything will be okay. That everything has meaning. It’s as if the world was all shades of sepia—like an old movie reel—and that everywhere I looked I saw suffering and pain. Then I heard your voice, I saw your face, and somehow the colour came into everything.”

Rating: 5/5