After Midnight [NOOK Book]

A Romace that will pull on your heartstrings

Grimm fashions a story that will pull on your heartstrings. Isabeau Montgomery is a child prodigy. By the age of twelve, she's an accomplished pianist, but when she looses her mother in a car accident, her world shatters into a thousand pieces. Can Noah tear down the battlements that surround her heart? "After Midnight" is set in Long Island. Noah Clark is the front man for Black Phoenix, a rock and roll band recording a demo for a come back record. Noah ventures into the nearby bar and finds Isabeau. Izzy intrigues him like no other woman he's meet, but she's cold and aloof and friendlier with his friend, Dominic. If it's one thing Noah has though, it's patience and persistence. Noah continues to visit the bar and wears Izzy down. Slowly, she lets down a wall or two and allows herself to get to know Noah. Noah discovers Izzy has a down on his luck step-brother who drowns his sorrows in booze. Izzy can play piano, but chooses not to. Izzy also has to deal with a jealous pianist, Gregory Howard. She also hates to be touched. All these clues set Noah on fire to unlock the chains surrounding her heart. Izzy reluctantly admits to herself that Noah has gotten under her skin. When he loses his grandfather, she travels to England to support him. There's no denying the sparks of attraction between then anymore. Izzy and Noah make love, but when a series of accidents begin to look more than accidental, Noah realizes he's fallen for Isabeau, but can he convince her what he feels for her is real? Grimm pulls the reader into the story with a gripping look at Isabeau's world. Noah storms into her heart just as he storms into the bar, setting the stage for a powerful tug of emotions between each of them. Grimm's writing style is easy to read, but clipped at times, almost reflective of Izzy's clipped heart. The dialogue captures the rich authenticity of the city which Grimm paints with skilled ease. Suspense blends effortlessly against a contemporary backdrop leaving the reader feeling the same restlessness that Izzy does. The characterization is the most enjoyable part of the novel. Izzy is haunted by demons that continue to fester inside her. Loss and disappointment have forced her not to play the piano, but Noah challenges her. His presence eases her pain. Noah has his own issues. He's fought off a drinking problem, but he's never been in love before. The novel's love scenes are sensual as well as tasteful, embodying the fierce intensity of Izzy and Noah's emotions. "After Midnight" will take the reader on an achingly romantic story and will resonate long after the last page.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have read several books with singers and piano players, even o

I have read several books with singers and piano players, even one with a karkoake bar. But I have never read a book where I could *hear* the music. Sarah Grimm does just that. She allows the reader to experience the music through the pages of her newest release, After Midnight. That itself is a great feat, but the sound she weaves through her words is only an accompaniment to the characters she has created. Noah Clark...mature rock star and caring soul, seeking a second chance at the one thing he loves--music. He's going about his career differently in this "comeback" tour, and he's not up for any unexpected bumps. And then he meets her, Isabeau Montgomery. Izzy is a now-grown child prodigy who abandoned music as a too painful part in her past. But once she meets Noah, the music she's drowned out of her head for so many years demands to be heard once again.

There is a sensuality between Noah and Izzy that defies description. More mature than sexy, more beautiful than mere chemistry, it is a source of envy to all those around them. Noah understands Izzy on a base level. All the qualities she hates about herself, he admires. At Noah's hands, she learns to see herself through his eyes, find her beauty though she never thought it existed. Who wouldn't want a hero like Noah--rich, handsome, and able to see you (and love you) as you really are instead of how you think you should be? The perfect hero deserves the perfect soul mate, and Sarah provides. Izzy is smart, resourceful, and beautiful in her own way. She's survived more than the average person, walked down paths most of us will never glimpse. And yet we feel her pain, we understand her hiding, and we admire her strength. Add them to the beautiful prose of music, a touch of suspense, and extremely lovable secondary characters, and you have one fabulous read. You have After Midnight.

captivating

Reviewed by Ellen H. for Readers Favorite

Isabeau Montgomery is the proprietor of a bar. One night she was playing the piano after hours when in walked Noah Clark. Noah was the lead singer of a band called Black Phoenix, trying to make a comeback. Isabeau was a child star pianist but stopped playing after she was in an accident where her mother lost her life. Her father battled for her custody with her stepfather; he won, but the only reason he wanted her was to make money off her talent. So, Isa decided it was better not to love music. Noah and his band rented space for a studio down the road from Isa's bar. He could not believe how talented she was and went about trying to get her back into playing. But, at what cost would it come? Isa is afraid it will destroy her instead of giving her back her life.

There was instant chemistry from the beginning between Isa and Noah. Each comes to the relationship with baggage, and each wants to help the other get over theirs. The story was very easy to follow from beginning to end with just the right mix of description and dialogue. I enjoyed some of the minor characters like Dominic. Ms. Grimm weaves a captivating story and keeps you wanting to keep reading to see where her characters lead her. I loved the cover of the book and think it fits very well. This is a book very worth picking up and reading.

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