Set to Music by Negeen Papehn
Reviewed by Cardyn Brooks
Contemporary romance
Hot
★★★★★
Six months into her position as an ER doctor at a busy Los Angeles, California hospital, Darya Zameeni has a professional close encounter of instant personal intrigue with Anthony Castillo, lead singer for international rock band sensation Ternura. When his younger brother's health requires daily monitoring by a trusted medical expert, Anthony makes a generous offer to entice Darya into going on tour with them. She resists temptation until her family's sudden increase in financial need changes her mind.
On the surface Darya and Anthony seem like incompatible opposites: nerdy physician and bad-boy rocker, introvert and extrovert, Iranian Muslim and Mexican Christian. Spending time together on the road allows them to see beneath each other's labels to their similarities as responsible older siblings, dutiful offspring, and trustworthy friends who are proud of their cultural heritages and touchstones. They both have relatable daddy issues and deep empathy for others. As they get to know each other readers are treated to the evolution of a friendship that becomes a seductive courtship, moving from affection to warmth to flaming sexual heat.
Set to Music incorporates specific details of the individual Iranian and Mexican cultures to celebrate universal themes of familial love, duty, and expectations, and character traits connected to sibling birth order. Threads on fame, social media, and privacy tally the unexpected costs of achieving success in the entertainment industry. All the drama of a juicy star-crossed lovers romance plus multifaceted characters and nuanced layers of family drama make Darya and Anthony’s love story an emotional journey full of laughter and tears, challenges and triumphs.
Entangled Publishing, March 15, 2021