by Julie Murphy
Part of Meant to Be
First published 2023
Ariel del Mar has spent her whole life performing. As one seventh of Siren Seven, she has sold out arenas, worn the red wig, smiled for the cameras, and done what her father says. Now the farewell tour is ending, and all she wants is one ordinary summer. Her father, who runs Atlantica Records, has a different plan: announce her solo career on a morning talk show, starting tomorrow. The night before that announcement, Ariel and her sisters sneak out of their Manhattan penthouse and end up at a rock concert in Brooklyn. There she meets Eric Reyes, the lead singer of a band on the rise. He does not know who she is. He invites her to join them on the road for the summer, and she says yes. For the first time, Ariel breaks the rule she has always followed and chooses her own path. The story follows her as she tries to figure out who she is when no one is watching, what she actually wants from music, and whether falling for Eric is something she can hold onto once the truth comes out.
Genres: romance, coming-of-age, contemporary, young-adult, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, introspective, liberating, romantic
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, friends-to-lovers, secret-identity
Setting: Manhattan, Brooklyn, New York
392 pages · Kindle Edition · Hyperion Avenue