Audiobook Review: "Porcelain Keys" by Sarah Beard

Description

Porcelain Keys 

by Sarah Beard

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Aria's life is full of secrets--secrets about her mother's death, her father's cruelty, and her dream to go to Juilliard. When Aria meets Thomas, he draws out her secrets, captures her heart, and gives her the courage to defy her father. But when tragedy strikes and Thomas disappears, Aria is left alone to transform her broken heart's melody into something beautiful. Porcelain Keys is a captivating love story that will resonate long after the last page is turned.

Links:

Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Review

Ever since her mother’s death, Aria’s father has hated Aria’s music. He starts drinking and becomes volatile and abusive. One day, after escaping her father’s anger by hiding in the neighbor’s tree house, Aria wakes to find a boy invading her sanctuary. Thomas is the neighbor’s hot grandson and has moved in next door to clean up the place to sell. But trespassing and a bed-head is not the greatest first impression.

Porcelain Keys by Sarah Beard is the classic story of a senior in high school falling for the new boy who moved in next door. In some ways, it was a story that has been told a million times. You’ve seen it on TV and read it in a dozen books about high school, with the popular girl trying to steal the boy away and that girl’s ex-boyfriend using the main character to make his Ex jealous. But this book had a lot more going on that just that. It reached deeper levels, touching on abuse, grief, music, and the lasting effects of love. For those reasons, I enjoyed this book as more of an original.

Another reason why I like this story is because it does not stop at the end of high school. The characters get through a couple years in college, family changes, deaths, heartbreak, second loves, and much more. Yet, they find their way back to each other through the mess. Forgiveness and grief are major themes in this story, and they were addressed well, considering how hard such topics are. Each of the characters reacted to their grief in a different ways and had to come to terms with it in their own ways. They then had to learn how to forgive each other for the hurt they inflicted while in pain themselves. And the healing power of music had a part to play. There were a lot of hard topics in this book, and I enjoyed it all the more for it.

The audio version was pretty well done. There were a couple times in which the reader's voice would change in loudness, but she did a very good job giving voice and emotion to each of the different characters.

I enjoyed Porcelain Keys. I wish it was more original in some ways but appreciate the minor differences and hard topics addressed. I recommend it to those who enjoy a good, clean YA/NA romance.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.