Guilty Pleasures Review: Nashville by Heart Tina Ann Forkner

I know we normally review literary fiction and “high brow” literature but we all have guilty pleasure reads and I’m a break from literary fiction to bring you one of my guilty pleasure reads. Check out my review and let us know what sorts of guilty pleasure books you enjoy.

Nashville by Heart by Tina Ann Forkner
Published in: 2016
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: ★★★
Find it here: Nashville by Heart

This ARC was provided by Velvet Morning Press (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Small town girl Gillian Heart moved to Nashville to get a record deal—not end up on some playboy’s arm. That’s why she tells herself she can’t get too personal with sexy music agent, Will Adams. Will makes her heart flutter, but he’s also broken plenty of hearts in this city.

Will thinks Gillian has what it takes to make it in Nashville, but he can’t help being wildly attracted to her in a way that has little to do with music. She inspires him to change his ways, but he’s still wary about mixing business with pleasure. He did that once before and got burned.

But neither Will nor Gillian can deny the spark between them. As things heat up, Gillian dares to imagine a life with Will—even though she knows he’s not a forever kind of guy. And then Will makes a move—bringing back memories of the father who abandoned her—that makes her question him and her whole life in Nashville.
Can Gillian get over the disappointments of the past and find her place in Nashville, and with Will?

Book Worm’s Thoughts: Time for shocking confession number 3. If you are a regular reader, you already know that: 1) I don’t like short stories and 2) I don’t really like non fiction. Now for confession number three.  I love cowboy romances! There is a very specific for reason for this. I am a line dancer (not professionally, just for fun) and I love country music. My dream holiday would be a trip to Nashville. So this book ticked all the boxes for me. Even before reading the first page I knew I would love this book. My only disappointment was that there was no mention of the Blue Bird Café and the hit TV series Nashville (which we in the UK are impatiently waiting for season 4 to hit our screens) has lead me to believe that the Blue Bird Café is the center of life for country music stars.

I have given this a rating of 3 stars for the blog because it is not a deep or literary book. If I was rating it on sheer enjoyment I would give it 4 stars.

I have had a lot of things going on in my personal life lately and this lighthearted romantic fiction provided the perfect escape from a sad and stressful time. Sometimes the best gift a book can give you is to transport you to another place where away from your real life.

This is a straightforward, love-at-first-sight romance with a few small hitches along the way. The chemistry between the main characters is believable and the “happy ever after” left me feeling happy. I loved the details about life in Nashville for those struggling to make it in country music. I also enjoyed reading the lyrics to the songs the protagonists writes in the book and I would have liked to see more of them.

Favourite quote: “She personally loved line dancing. It was great exercise, and the songs were always fun.”

She is so right about the exercise, although some of the songs we dance to are what I would class as “dead dog” songs. Overall, this is pure happy escapism served up on a Kindle.

Who would like this book? I would recommend this to those who like straightforward romances and need some escapism in their lives. It’s a fun read for those who love country music and the series Nashville. And of course line dancers like me, who can put themselves in the place of the heroine and imagine that the hero is Deacon Claybourne, will find this book swoon worthy.

Want to try it for yourself? You can find a copy here: Nashville by Heart

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think? What kind of book is your guilty pleasure read?