Original Photo Credit: Pixabay @ Pexels.
I think country music is popular – has been popular and will always be popular because I think a lot of real people singing about a lot of real stuff about real people. And it’s simple enough for people to understand it. And we kind of roll with the punches – Dolly Parton
I’ve just finished reading the fantastic You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn, which gave me total Nashville (2012-18) vibes and inspired me to go back through my Goodreads and make a list of My Favourite Country Music Romances.
P.S. I’m always on the lookout for recommendations so if you’ve got any, please let me know in the comments.
All the best, Louise x
(Young Adult) You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn
Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.
But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.
Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.
Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn
OK so technically this might be cheating because it hasn’t actually been released yet but the reason I picked up ‘You’d Be Mine’ in the first place is because I was super impatient to read ‘Friends Don’t Fall in Love again’ but sadly I’ll have to wait until it’s published on 17 October 2023. Built to Last was a Five Star Read – January 2023 and ‘Friends Don’t Fall in Love’ features the MC’s bestie (and ex-country music singer) Lorelei.
Lorelai Jones had it a thriving country music career and a superstar fiancé. Then she played one teenie tiny protest song at a concert and ruined her entire future, including her impending celebrity marriage. But five years later, she refuses to be done with her dreams and calls up the one person who stuck by her, her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig.
Craig Boseman’s held a torch for Lorelai for years, but even he knows the backup bass player never gets the girl. Things are different now, though. Craig owns his own indie record label and his songwriting career is taking off. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves―and maybe win her heart in the process.
But when the two reunite to rebuild her career and finally scratch that itch that’s been building between them for years, Lorelai realizes a lot about what friends don’t do. For one, friends don’t have scratch-that-itch sex. They also don’t almost-kiss on street corners, publish secret erotic poetry about each other, have counter-top sex, write songs for each other, have no-strings motorcycle sex, or go on dates. And they sure as heck don’t fall in love… right?
A Very Merry Bromance (Bromance Book Club #5) by Lyssa Kay Adams
Series: The Bromance Book Club (#1), Undercover Bromance (#2), Crazy Stupid Bromance (#3) & Isn’t It Bromantic? (#4)
I totally heart this series. Isn’t it Bromantic? wasn’t just a Five Star Read – March 2022, it was also one of My Favourite Books of 2022 #TeamVlad
Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.
It’s hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she’s unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family’s whiskey brand. No big deal…
Colton agrees to consider Gretchen’s offer in exchange for three dates before Christmas. With the help of the Bromance Book Club, Colton throws himself into the task of proving to her there’s a spark between them. But Gretchen and Colton will both need to overcome the ghosts of Christmas past to build a future together.
Music of the Heart (Runaway Train #1) by Katie Ashley
Series: Beat of the Heart (#2), Music of the Soul (#3), Strings of the Heart (#4) & Melody of the Heart (#5)
Plus if you can’t enough of the Runaway Train universe, there’s also the Jacob’s Ladder series featuring Abby’s brothers: Gabe & Eli.
For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn’t in his bed on purpose.
Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.
Beauty from Pain (Beauty #1) by Georgia Cates
Series: Beauty from Surrender (#2) & Beauty from Love (#3)
They agreed on three months…but their love knew no boundaries.
Jack McLachlan is a winemaking magnate and easily one of Australia’s most eligible bachelors. His success and wealth make him no stranger to the complications of romantic relationships and that’s why he goes to extreme measures to avoid the hassle. He prefers simplicity in the form of a beautiful female companion with no strings attached. He arranges relationships like business deals and they’re always the same. No long term relationships. No real names.
It’s his game and his rules. He’s content to play as usual, but when Laurelyn Prescott enters his life, his strategy must change because this player is like none he’s ever encountered. His world is turned on its head after he begins a three month affair with the beautiful American musician. Nothing goes according to plan and as he breaks more and more of his own rules for her, she’s exceptionally close to becoming something he never thought possible. His ultimate game changer.
(Young Adult) Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfil her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…
Good Girl by Lauren Layne
OK so we’ve already established that as a Lauren Layne Superfan, I can’t have a My Favourites List without including at least 1 x Lauren Layne novel. I’m so happy that we’re getting another novel from Lauren (co-written with her husband, Anthony LeDonne) titled Emergency Contact on 24 October 2023.
Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.
Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has made her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.
Second Verse (#2) by Emily Snow
Series: First Verse (#1)
Kinsey Brock knew Emmett Hudson would be a star the moment he swaggered into her life. Hell, by the time she was released for the crime his scheming sister accused her of he already had a number one single.
Now, eight years and a helluva lot of heartache later, Kinsey’s long since given up on the boy who stole her breath away and took all the love she had. She has someone in her life, and he’s all she needs. She’ll challenge anyone who tells her otherwise. But after a chance encounter sends Emmett hurtling back into her life, every emotion she’s forced herself to forget since he gave up on her is pushed to the surface.
Because this time, the country megastar’s not giving up on her.
No matter how furious he is about the discovery of the other man who’s become Kinsey’s world.
Louise Hall 
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