When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops. I was the awkward musician, and she was the high school queen. The only things we had in common were our music and our loneliness. Something in her eyes told me her smile wasn’t always the truth.Something in her voice gave me a hope I always wished to find. And in a flash, she was gone. Years later, she was standing in front of me on a … she was standing in front of me on a street in New Orleans.
She was different, but so was I. Life made us colder. Harder. Isolated.
Caged.
Even though we were different, the broken pieces of me recognized the sadness in her.
Now she was back, and I wouldn’t make the mistake of letting her go again.
When I first met Jasmine Greene, she came in as raindrops.
When we met again, I became her darkest storm.
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Intense…..heart-achingly beautiful…..magnificent….Definitely worthy of more than 5-stars. This page turner will have you hooked from start to finish.
Behind the Bars has all the feels and will take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride. It will rip you apart but will put you back together again. There are not enough words to describe how touching this story was.
With complex, well-developed main characters who were likable and relatable and secondary characters who all they gave support and balance throughout the story, this well-crafted story about healing, hope and family will leave you speechless .
This novel was hands down a phenomenal read and I would highly recommend it.
Holy cannoli I completely devoured this book! I had no clue what it was about, but of course I wanted to read it because it’s a B. Cherry book. That woman makes my cold dead heart feel…things. Blech this book got to me. Got. To. Me. I highlighted like 57 million different passages. I even had a little wetness shoot from my eye. Ugh, sooooo good. This is such a fantastic story and I’m so glad I read it tonight. I was in a slight book funk and this one got me out of it. Gah, it was so dang amazing! I totally want to read it again!
Book One in the Music Street Series
– To every soul who has lost themselves. May your favorite lyrics lead you home.
Oh my soul…this book. I fell in love with Ms. Cherry’s work when I saw the cover of The Air He Breathes. That cover with Franggy Yanez, yummy! When I opened the book on my Kindle, I was sucked in and have been reading every word she has put out since!
Behind the Bars – this title means so much in this story, literally and figuratively. The dedication above just moved me. You are introduced to two old souls in Elliott and Jasmine, young in age, but so emotionally mature. You are going to need tissues when you read this, you will cry tears of joy, tears of pain and tears of love with this book. The comedic interaction with Jason and Elliott made me laugh out loud (got a few “Mom’s crazy” looks from my kiddos and dear husband) while reading, but I just ignored them. You will feel the whole gamut of emotions with this book. It’s so romantical! The friendship and love between Elliott and Jasmine is just phenomenal. Yes, there is sexy times, but the build up to that point is so much more! I can’t say more without giving too much away, but if you never believe anything else I say or write, believe this…..
GET THIS BOOK, READ IT, LET IT FLOW OVER YOU LIKE SMOOTH JAZZ….. you will thank me later! I promise!
“Take it slow. There’s no need to rush it. Let the harmony fall together the way it’s meant to. There’s nothing worse than a rushed note that could’ve been so perfect.”
I love Brittainy C. Cherry’s books. Normally, the blurb of this book wouldn’t be one that would be high on my TBR list. I normally stay away from romance stories with music related elements, but I trusted this author to deliver a great and original story. She definitely did in the first half of this story. Jasmine Greene has been home schooled her whole life but finally is allowed to attend high school. There she meets the skinny bullied shy boy Elliot. Jasmine is popular and Elliot doesn’t understand why she is showing interest in befriending him. These two characters both don’t have an easy life. Elliot is being bullied daily and Jasmine has a mother who’s putting a lot of pressure on her. However they have one thing that connects them, and that is their love for music.
“One can’t truly heal if they pretend the cracks don’t exist.”
Behind the Bars isn’t always an easy book to read. It has a lot of very emotional and heartbreaking scenes that had me in tears. I would’ve rated this book higher if it wasn’t for the second part of this book. I was a bit disconnected from the characters in the second half of the book. I would’ve wanted the author to focus a bit more on the personal development of the main characters. What they had been through in the years these two were apart. I was especially missing this for Elliot. He changed the most but it didn’t fully come across as authentic. Being disconnected to them as individuals made it harder for me to fully be engaged in their second chance at love.
“You’re the music in a mute world, and my heart beats because you’re here.”
Nonetheless, Behind the Bars was still a very beautiful contemporary second chance romance. Even though there were some elements that didn’t touch me as much as others, I still believed in the Elliot and Jasmine’s love. These two were perfect for each other, I just wish the second part was executed a bit differently or that it was longer. I loved all the side characters because they added so many different layers to the story. Especially Elliot’s neighbor TJ played such an important role and touched so many lives in this book. And Jasmine’s dad Ray, who was just the most protective and supportive person ever. I also loved the title because it was just perfect for this book.
Brittainy’s books are always very anticipated for me, and this was no exception. Her previous series is one of my favorites and my expectations were high for this first book of her new series.
I must say that the subject that is treated in Behind the Bars is very close to me. I felt very identified with the characters, I felt a connection with them. The first half of the book was beautiful and painful at the same time, simple but deep. However, in my opinion, the second half of the book wasn’t what I expected. I felt that some things were going very fast and that it didn’t focus on the main characters that I wanted to know so much, and although I understand the reason why it wasn’t the same for me.
It was a good book, a good start of a series, and it’s Brittainy, you know her words will come to you, but I expected more, especially at the end.
Hopeful and utterly moving, it stirred my soul and seared my memory, one of the best books I have read all year!!
“If it weren’t for Elliot, I would’ve always thought love was supposed to be jaded. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have ever learned what it meant to be young and free. All my life, I’d been caged, and Elliot opened my door and allowed me to fly.”
A poignant glimpse into an unlikely friendship between two loners, each with their quirks, sharing their love of music, that blossoms into a love of a lifetime type connection that had me swooning, blubbering, and grinning like a fool! This Author nails it each and every single time, this is romance at its very best!
“My lover, my friend, my beginnings, my ends. He was everything I wanted to have and everything I had thought I would never witness again.”
Filled with triumph, losses, angst, pain, lessons, forgiveness, and beautiful, beautiful love, it just touches your heart and swirls within your soul. I can’t tell you how much you need to experience this unique story for yourself and I thank the Author for providing a copy to review.
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
This book was one heck of an emotional, soul searching and gut wrenching journey.
I honestly can’t even write a review to do this book justice. I will do my best but can’t make any promises. The only thing I can guarantee you is that this book will stay with you a long time after you finish reading.
“We weren’t meant to fall for one another, but when we blended together, we were some kind of beautiful.”
Jasmine and Elliot come from seemingly different backgrounds but they are eerily similar in a lot of ways. I loved the development between Jasmine and Elliot. Their friendship started in high school because of tough circumstances and these parts weren’t easy to read. I applaud the author for writing about this topic as this has become such a big issues in the school. As time marches on something unimaginable happens and I didn’t know how anyone including myself would recover from this event.
“Life was hard sometimes, but maybe God gave us music as his apology.”
After such a life changing event Elliot becomes cold and distant. I can’t say that I blame him and I probably would have done the same thing as well. Jasmine has baggage as well. I loved how Cherry took these two beautifully flawed and broken characters and made them whole. They aren’t perfect but they don’t need to be because they have each other and a wonderful support system within their friends and family. I have to say I loved the family and friends who never gave up on Elliot. They wanted him to be the man he could be once he let the past go. Ray was such an awesome father figure to Jasmine and I loved the love he had for her throughout this book.
After the first 20% I knew I would never be the same once I was done with this journey.
This book isn’t just a romance story. This book was a journey and the journey was about healing, forgiveness and closure. I haven’t read many books by Cherry but the ones I have read touched my heart and this book CRUSHED my soul and brought me back to life. I also loved how music played such a big role in this story. Music is so important it me and I related to the characters feelings when it came to music. So I basically rambled on to say I can’t recommend this book enough! This book has dethroned all others and has become my favorite and top read of 2017.
It all started with when a young , broken boy fell in love with a young damaged girl and they never lived happily ever after ……….
An incredible story of strength, To be found in human spirit . Strength of the human heart, which may get trampled, bullied, shattered, devastated , emptied, hollowed and dessicated, Yet it beats again. Its a tremendously intricate web of emotions Brittainy traps us in. Sticky characters that jump from the book and latch onto your soul , never to leave again. Brittainy has penned some very memorable lines and worded them poetically, I’ve highlighted most of my book. I have sat , unmoving, reading this book , just letting the music play in my ears and emotions swirl in my heart. I have felt sharp pointed pain and giant lump in my throat , choking me into muteness. I’ve not done anything today, except let the word currents let me Swim and sink with them.I’ve read this book non-stop, with continuous stream of tears down my face. Elliot Adams has stuttered the words softly into my ears and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him.
This beautiful ,shy boy, gifted and talented Saxophone player , gets beaten and bullied every day in school. He finds silent companionship in Jasmine ,a beautiful gentle soul, who holds his hand stands & up for him. An unlikely friendship later , things get worse for both for them. At school and at home. Their chaotic life swirls around them at hurricane speed and they snatch some moments in the calm centre , sitting on the dumpster listening to the music from the various clubs drifting around them.
Music is the third main character of the story. It’s a solace blanket for Elliott when his life is tough In the form of jazz and soul song in Jasmine’s heart.
“Jazz is… um, jazz is the reminder that when I’m alone, I’m not really alone.”
“That’s what soul music is to me,”
Music is like a veritable enemy or an unsurmountable mountain for Jasmine to climb , in order to make her mother proud and fulfill her dreams , whilst killing her own soul.
Music is weapon for her mother’s greed in pushing Jasmine beyond her limits ,callously throwing a good man away and clinging to a snake, all in name of fame and fortune.
Music is what is silenced one fateful night, muting all the lives involved.
Music is what plucks the heart strings one more time and breathes life into empty corridors of their lives.
If music be the food of love……play on !
And Brittainy has played it , AND HOW
One fateful , unfortunate night, a tragedy strikes them all. They all get trapped Behind Bars. Virtual and literal. They are ALL trapped, prisoners of their own individual guilt cages , not able to touch each other or hold each other. Burning, helpless, crying. I broke down so bad at this twist in the story, I forgot to breathe !
The story is immortal. No other words to describe it !once you read it, it’ll be there, Imprinted in indelible ink on your heart. I’ve been her ardent fan , for like forever, but this particular story will consume you whole. Wrap around you like jazz music echoes around Frenchmen street in New Orleans.
A beautiful story of two hearts held together by love and even though split apart 4624 miles away, still manage to find back to each other because they hold a key to each other’s heart .
what’s your truth ? What drives you? What motivates you? What breaks you and heals you all at once? What keeps you going each day? What’s your truth? What are the saddest parts of your soul? What causes your hear to shatter?
My answer —>You Ms. Cherry. Your sensitive soul, your acute knowledge of tender loving emotions and your words, that we’re so honored to read in this life. Unequivocally -your books .
Every one of you will walk away with something from this book, it’ll echo pieces of your life. I found shards of mine too !!
Closure wasn’t a fairy-tale ending with equal goodbyes. Closure was simply one person finding their voice, their own strength, and learning to let go by themselves.
I found my one-sided closure 5 years ago, haven’t felt more at peace in my life .
For a person so young, Brittainy possesses a deep understanding of pits and falls of life , which amazes me a lot. How she delves so far down in all the sadness and yet manages to keep hope alive in every book of hers, it’s astounding ! This characteristic she projects in her characters. TJ , Mama & Ray are the solid beams of the story , who carry the burden of grief and abandonment , holding these young hearts on their strong shoulders , to carry them through horrible circumstances and most importantly they have a warm home waiting for them to come back to when Jasmine and Elliott are lost !!. What remarkable parents they’re.
The seam of strength is again holds the story together in the end . Forgiveness is the utmost test of strength, proven so eloquently by Brittainy
“Being strong is loving the broken pieces of your loved ones.
Being strong is crying yourself to sleep at night and waking each morning still believing in beauty. Being strong is forgiveness.”
I hope we all get inspired by this amazing story to inculcate this much strength of character in our lives. Keep a GIANT box of tissues handy , and A GIANT bottle of wine. I hope to see you Grinning wide on the other side
6 , yes SIX “Katlyn Rae Adams” stars
I’m almost at a loss for words…Brittainy Cherry, you are amazing! You broke my heart, and then somehow put it back together! This was an incredible love story!
“I’d always say I saw him first, but he’d argue that was a lie. Technically I didn’t see him at first—I felt him, felt his music crawl along my skin. The chords and bars of his saxophone sent chills down my spine. It sounded magical, the way the notes danced through the air, so hauntingly beautiful.”
Jasmine and Elliot are classmates, but they don’t travel in the same social circles. Eli is the quiet and somewhat nerdy boy who is the target of bullying at school, and she is the beautiful, popular, new girl. When Jasmine sees him playing the saxophone, she sees him in a whole different light. The two form a friendship, and as they spend more time together, their feelings deepen. But, life can be cruel, and it is to both of them tearing them apart until years later. Fate isn’t done with them, and the two find their way back into each other’s lives. Time and pain have changed Eli from a sweet boy into a cold man. The question remains of whether these soulmates can find their way back to one another and find their happy ending.
Jasmine and Eli are characters that will stay with me long after I have finished the book. Jasmine is drawn to Eli because she recognizes the loneliness in him. She knows what that is like because she has lived with it her entire life. Both of them have been rejected and hurt. Eli faces it every day at school. Jasmine faces every day with her mother. Her mother pushes her towards fame as a pop star, never asking or caring what Jasmine wants. She is never good enough for her mother. She is popular in school and enjoys it in the beginning because she has been homeschooled much of her life. Eli hates school because of his tormentors. Despite these differences, the two of them are indeed kindred spirits.
I will be honest, without spoiling anything. At times, this book was extremely hard to read. People are cruel, even those that are your family. However, Cherry also shows how compassionate and loving people can be as well. Jasmine takes up for Eli even though it’s social suicide for her. Eli sees the true beauty in her that her mother never sees. Eli has a wonderful mother and sister who adore him. Jasmine’s mother’s boyfriend is the father to her that she never had. The author illustrates that family isn’t always the one you were born into, but one your heart creates.
“Maybe it wasn’t the norm, but I had a family. A family that my heart created, a family that cared for me through the darkness, and the light, a family that would go to war for me.”
Brittainy Cherry is a new author to me, but I am in complete awe! Oh my gosh, this woman is so incredibly talented. There are books, and then there are books that tell stories. This one told quite a story and took me on quite a journey. I’m not sure I will be the same after reading this. I thought I knew what closure was until I read this book…how empowering.
I love when the title tells the story of what the book is about, and she couldn’t have picked a better title. So much of the emotions and lessons were illustrated through music which made this book even better. I have never read a book that broke my heart but yet was so beautiful at the same time. Brittainy Cherry is destined for wonderful things!
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
Breathtakingly beautiful, heartbreaking and this story has the key to my heart. Jasmine is a beautiful girl on the outside but inside she’s screaming. Elliot is that one boy or girl trying to be unnoticed and afraid daily. This book truly opens your mind and makes you think about everyone you pass around your daily life and see that looks don’t mean nothing. Who you are and who loves you for the person you truly are is the meaning of family. I felt each character like i was part of each of there lives. I cried through out this story and even had to take a breather because I felt the author’s words deep in my soul. Definitely my top read of 2017! You are beautiful 5/5 stars ****Reviewed by Sweet & Spicy Reads a voluntarily Advanced Reader Copy of this book ****
5.5 Stars
There are stories that we read and forget about the minute we move on to the next one. Then there are stories that are so hauntingly beautiful that they stay with us, days and weeks after we finished it, the words and story ingrained into our subconscious. Behind the Bars is one such story. This poignant love story left me feeling wrung out, but oh so satisfied when I finished it, as most angsty reads tend to. I cried at times, sobbing ugly tears, this story is such an emotional read and I absolutely loved it! It’s divided into two parts; the first takes place when both Jasmine and Elliott are sixteen years old and in high school. The second part is ten years later, after so much heartbreak, and both of them are amazing! Make no mistake about it, it’s a true love story, and of course I cried happy tears at the end, too. I’ve included a warning on the bottom, for those of you that have trigger issues, please read it.
“You were, are, and will always be my Jazz. You are every beat, every note, every bar. You are the lyrics, the harmony, and the melody. You were, are, and always will be my favorite song.”
Jasmine Greene has lived a lifetime at sixteen. Her mother, Heather, is the very definition of a stage mom; forcing Jasmine to ballet, acting and singing classes, homeschooling her only child. It’s her full-time job to become the next big star. Each and every time Jasmine doesn’t land a part, that Heather is sure she’s perfect for, she’s blamed for not trying harder. They’ve moved around her entire life, from city to city, until Heather’s longtime boyfriend, Ray a musician, finds steady work in New Orleans and they settle down. It’s there that Ray convinces Heather to let Jasmine attend high school and she befriends Elliott, who she’s familiar with, after seeing and listening to him playing his sax.
Elliott is counting the days until he graduates from high school. Tall and extremely thin he wears glasses and stutters and as a result he’s bullied by just about everyone in school. His older sister, Katie, tries to defend him as best she can but she’s a social outcast too, because of a scandal she was involved in. His music teacher and neighbor, who he calls Uncle TJ, makes Elliott play his saxophone on a street corner on Frenchmen Street as a kind of therapy. It’s there that Jasmine first sees him.
“We were polar opposites. We weren’t meant to fall for one another, but when we blended together, we were some kind of beautiful.”
In what little time they had together before they were split apart, by so many unforeseen circumstances, they formed a bond that would be forever ingrained in their souls.
There’s so much more, so devastating and tragic, that kept me spellbound and reading through the tears. I absolutely loved Elliott, and the majority of my tears were wept for him, and what he went through. These two may have been complete opposites but they were exactly what the other needed, made for each other, and while they lost their way for years, it seemed there was an invisible thread that tied them together. I consider this book a slow burn, which I love, and when they finally got together it made all the time and distance worthwhile.
**Just a very important note…there’s a very sensitive subject matter that is handled with so much care, it’s dealt with some detail, and what is mentioned is very painful and may be a trigger for some. Please ask someone, if you have any doubts about it, if this is something you shouldn’t read.
Three days and a nasty cold later and I am still a wreck. Still feeling incapable of describing each and every thing that this book made me feel. BEHIND THE BARS by Brittainy C. Cherry is EVERYTHING. Stunning. Haunting. Magical. A tear-jerker. And the reason I can’t stop smiling. I ached and cried and laughed and screamed. The book is as unique as it is beautiful. There are just no adequate words for it. Sigh. Swoon. Seriously, if you read only one more book this year – make it this one! You won’t be sorry!
I have already mentioned I loved everything about it, right? So, let’s see:
• the title: its meaning – there’s so much more to it than I would have ever realized!
• the setting: beautiful New Orleans – the city of jazz and soul – a city I cannot wait to finally visit – especially Frenchmen Street!
• the couple: him having caramel skin and her being light-skinned
• the heroine’s name: Elliott’s love for jazz and Jazz – just … SWOON!
• Elliott! As shy and insecure as he was, as closed-off and buff as he became: I loved every version of him – inside and out. His stuttering only made me love him more. Sigh.
• the plain fact that music is key in this story – it’s goosebumps-provoking and awe-inspiring
• the secondary characters: Ray and TJ and Elliott’s mum – just: LOVE!
• the tradition with the keys: you will need to read it to know what I mean – what an enchanting tradition!
The list is endless, but, seriously, people: Just… READ THIS PHENOMENAL BOOK!!
This one calls for all the Kleenex! Brittainy C. Cherry has written a truly magnificent work of art that will make you think and reconsider how you look at others. Behind the Bars gives you all the feels and everything that you come to expect from a novel by Brittainy.
“Find the music when life makes no sense.”
Jasmine and Elliott are seemingly from two separate worlds, but something inside calls to the other. They form a bond over the Jazz music that they love, but they are soon torn apart when Jasmine must move to placate her mother. Years later they meet again, and this time their passions are a hurricane neither are prepared for.
“Just give it a minute. Feel what you need to feel. You can’t rush feelings. You just gotta let yourself ride the wave of them.”
Tears. All the tears. This book. Elliott. I can’t even process my feelings, yet alone make complete sentences. But I am going to try.
There is much going on in this book, but I want to point out the fact that the one thing that could have been turned into a major issue/storyline wasn’t, and that is the biracial relationship between these characters. I for one am so glad that this is a nonissue, because that is what it should be. Then we have the bullying. I am so pleased, though teary eyed, that this was not sugarcoated and glamorized as I have seen many times before. This is a problem in our society and I am glad that it is presented as such. My heart hurts so bad after reading these situations, but my mind realizes the necessity of representing the truth of this matter. I applaud Brittainy for a job well done.
“One can’t truly heal if they pretend the cracks don’t exist.”
There are so many great lines in this novel, and I want to give you them all, but I won’t. This is just a sample of the amazing writing that is in these pages. The emotion, the connectivity that you experience with these characters is Brittainy’s talent for words at its best.
“Every person had lyrics in their life that were too painful to sing.”
Ok so I couldn’t resist one more quote, but seriously, you need to pick this one up. It is easily one of my favorites of the year, and that is hard to say when you spend most of your days reading book after book. FIVE stars.