Review: Nashville (Parts 1-4) by Inglath Cooper

Image & Description from goodreads.com

Part One - Ready to Reach 
Ever thought a dream might pass you by? 

Nineteen-year old CeCe Mackenzie is determined to make her dreams come true. She heads for Nashville with not much more to her name than a guitar, a Walker Hound named Hank Junior and an old car she'd inherited from her grandma called Gertrude. But when Gertrude ends up on the side of I-40 in flames, Nashville has never seemed farther away. Help arrives in the form of two Georgia football players headed for the Nashville dream as well. When Holden Ashford and Thomas Franklin stop to offer CeCe and Hank Junior a ride, fate may just give a nod to serendipity and meant to be. Because while CeCe is chasing after her dream, she might find love as well. 

Part Two - Hammer and a Song 
CeCe McKenzie grew up dreaming of a life doing what she loves - singing in Nashville. When she and her Hound dog Hank Junior set out to make her dream come true, life takes some twists she hadn't counted on. Like falling for Holden Ashford, a songwriter with a gift. And also a girlfriend. Can a country music star's hunky son help her forget about Holden? Or is that even possible when her heart insists on writing the song? 

Part Three - What We Feel 
Hunky musicians Holden Ashford and Thomas Franklin rescue Nashville bound CeCe MacKenzie and her Walker Hound Hank Junior from the side of the road when her car catches on fire. A less determined girl might have let her dreams go up in smoke as well, but not CeCe. She’s been singing all her life, and she just wants a chance to do the thing she loves in a place where music is part of the fabric of life. As it turns out, Holden and Thomas want the same thing, and it isn’t long before they’re all chasing after the dream together. 

Falling in love hasn’t figured in to CeCe’s plans, but the moment she sets eyes on Holden, her heart is asking why not? Holden is drawn to her as well, but he already has someone in his life, Sarah who still lives in Atlanta, Sarah who loves him. Who he thought he loved back until CeCe makes him realize he hadn’t really known that love could turn him inside out. 

But an unexpected visit from Sarah brings to light a terrible truth and Holden is faced with a choice between doing the right thing or permanently defining himself as a guy he never thought he would be. 

It is only in letting each other go that both Holden and CeCe will come to understand that in life and love, the part that’s real is what we feel. 

Part Four - Pleasure in the Rain 
Just as Barefoot Outlook begins to hit the big time, tragedy strikes when a rage-filled Nashville musician who hasn’t found the success he’s hoped for crashes an after-concert party and begins shooting. Among the victims are band members CeCe MacKenzie, Holden Ashford, Thomas Franklin, Beck Phillips and his country music star dad, Case. 

With each of them gravely injured, one will not survive, forever changing the lives of everyone involved. Will one man’s hatred and contempt demolish all of their dreams, or will they eventually reach a place where they can even take pleasure in the rain?

My thoughts: 
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved these book set & all the emotions it invoked.  At first it seemed like CeCe & Holden had nothing but one drama after the next that kept yanking them together or apart like a yo-yo.  But as the story progressed it became clear how connected they were.  Thomas was perfect as the country boy, yoda of the group.  His humor kept the story light in just the right places.  I envisioned Case looking & sounding much like Trace Adkins.  The grief that came through during the darkest parts of the story was heart wrenching.  It's what made the joy on the other side so much better.  I would love to have read an epilogue of what happened to all of the characters months or even years later.  I'm hoping there will be another box set including the last parts of the series.

Recommended for 16 & up.