EST. 2010

Summary

The Last Verse illustrates the complexity of emotions translated into music as a young woman’s coming-of-age experience is shattered.

5-STAR REVIEW: THE LAST VERSE by Caroline Frost

The Description

Publication Date: March 5, 2024

Set in the country music world of 1970s Nashville, a struggling musician writes a hit song that both promises her long-sought-after fame and implicates her in a heinous crime. 

Nashville, 1977: A broken heart. A terrible crime. A song the world would sing.

When aspiring musician Twyla Finch arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1977, the nineteen-year-old Texan is dazzled by the fringe-and-rhinestones country music scene. Live music flows from bars, open mic nights tempt with the chance of stardom, and record label execs seek the next hot new act.

As Twyla finds her way in this vibrant town, she soon falls for Chet Wilton, country music hopeful and son of blue-blooded Nashvillians. When a night out with Chet goes terribly wrong, Twyla finds herself involved in a shocking crime. Hoping to process what happened that fateful night, she composes a haunting ballad that she performs only once in an empty bar. But weeks later, when she turns on the radio, she hears another woman singing her song.

Twyla must decide: Should she claim her ballad and secure the fame she’s always wanted? Or stay quiet and avoid implicating herself in the terrible crime she’s desperate to put in the past?

Seductive and bold, tense and unflinching, The Last Verse is the story of a woman’s ambitions, obsessions, and determination to claim her voice.

The Review

Nineteen-year-old Twyla Higgins chafes at the religious restrictions enforced by her mother, particularly when it comes to music. Elvis Presley’s death sparks a rebellion that ultimately sets Twyla on a new path.

Set in the 1970s, The Last Verse serves up a coming of age novel as innocent Twyla travels to Memphis and later to Nashville. Author Caroline Frost delivers a powerful story that showcases the reality of consequences.

Twyla’s simple dreams of performing her own songs are complicated by one rash decision with lasting implications. She is genuinely a good person, which is evident through her actions in taking responsibility.

What’s compelling about the storyline is the fact that the main character essentially trades one prison for another. Add in the fact her song was stolen and recorded by a rival. Despite the initial downward trajectory, Twyla finally gets the Opry performance.

The Last Verse illustrates the complexity of emotions translated into music as a young woman’s coming-of-age experience is shattered.Buy Links

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About The AuthorCaroline Frost has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California. She is the author of Shadows of Pecan Hollow, which won the Crook’s Corner Prize, was a finalist for the Golden Poppy Award, and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband and three small children, but her roots in Texas run deep.

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REVIEW AUTHOR

Amy Wilson
Amy Wilson
My name is Amy W., and I am a book addict. I will never forget the day I came home from junior high school to find my mom waiting for me with one of the Harlequin novels from my stash. As she was gearing up for the "you shouldn't be reading this" lecture, I told her the characters get married in the end. I'm just glad she didn't find the Bertrice Small book hidden in my closet. I have diverse reading tastes, evident by the wide array of genres on my Kindle. As I made the transition to an e-reader, I found myself worrying that something could happen to it. As a result, I am now the proud owner of four Kindles -- all different kinds, but plenty of back-ups! "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets high marks on my favorites list -- not for character development or dialogue (definitely not!), but because it blazed new ground for those of us who believe provocative fiction is more than just an explicit cover. Sylvia Day, Lexie Blake, and Kristin Hannah are some of my favorite authors. Speaking of diverse tastes, I also enjoy Dean Koontz, Iris Johansen, and J.A. Konrath. I’m always ready to discover new-to-me authors, especially when I toss in a palate cleanser that is much different than what I would normally read. Give me something with a well-defined storyline, add some suspense (or spice), and I am a happy reader. Give me a happily ever after, and I am downright giddy.

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The Last Verse illustrates the complexity of emotions translated into music as a young woman’s coming-of-age experience is shattered.5-STAR REVIEW: THE LAST VERSE by Caroline Frost