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September 26, 2025
  • Kate Golden
  • September 26, 2025

If Not for My Baby

4
Ellie Gossage (Narrator), Eric Nolan (Narrator)
READ VIA: Libby Audio ABOUT: Clementine, who has never once left her small Texas town while being her mother’s primary caregiver, finds herself, through a series of improbable events, a backup soulful singer on Tom Halloran’s US tour. He is immediately obsessed with her, and she fights the idea of being in love with every fiber of her being. They sing together on stage and fall in love between cities. They both have to confront their pasts, but they kinda don’t? MY THOUGHTS: Overall, I really enjoyed this book. However, at times, I felt I had to suspend reality to prolong that enjoyment. This is one of those books where the lush writing is so strong that it hides the lack of plot development. The story had excellent pacing, but our sweet FMC has near-zero growth! Given that the book is about a musician, there are innumerable romantic lyrics throughout the story; however, this overshadows the fact that we were being told they were longing for each other rather than seeing it organically. The spice in this book was top-tier, hot, and featured multiple descriptive scenes, which really drove up the rating for me. AUDIO: Ellie Gossage and Eric Nolan bring this single-person point of view to life through a duet narration. Ellie absolutely nailed this narration with a performance that felt perfectly in sync with Clementine’s emotional rollercoaster. It pains me to say this, but Eric Nolan‘s performance felt a little flat, as if he were reading and not performing. SIMILAR BOOKS: Something with rock star x normal person vibes SHOULD YOU READ: Definitely yes, for those who love musician-based stories and want a glimpse of romance while traveling on a tour bus.
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ISBN: 9798217074945
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Libby Audio
ABOUT:

Clementine, who has never once left her small Texas town while being her mother’s primary caregiver, finds herself, through a series of improbable events, a backup soulful singer on Tom Halloran’s US tour. He is immediately obsessed with her, and she fights the idea of being in love with every fiber of her being. They sing together on stage and fall in love between cities. They both have to confront their pasts, but they kinda don’t?

MY THOUGHTS:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. However, at times, I felt I had to suspend reality to prolong that enjoyment.

This is one of those books where the lush writing is so strong that it hides the lack of plot development. The story had excellent pacing, but our sweet FMC has near-zero growth!

Given that the book is about a musician, there are innumerable romantic lyrics throughout the story; however, this overshadows the fact that we were being told they were longing for each other rather than seeing it organically.

The spice in this book was top-tier, hot, and featured multiple descriptive scenes, which really drove up the rating for me.

AUDIO:

Ellie Gossage and Eric Nolan bring this single-person point of view to life through a duet narration. Ellie absolutely nailed this narration with a performance that felt perfectly in sync with Clementine’s emotional rollercoaster. It pains me to say this, but Eric Nolan‘s performance felt a little flat, as if he were reading and not performing.

SIMILAR BOOKS:
Something with rock star x normal person vibes

SHOULD YOU READ:
Definitely yes, for those who love musician-based stories and want a glimpse of romance while traveling on a tour bus.

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