Stefan Holt left home at nineteen, guitar in hand, determined that couch-surfing would be better than staying with his mother. He finally lands with Megan, an old band-mate, and they decide to resurrect their rock n’ roll dreams to get them out of their opioid-riddled small town. Unfortunately, neither of them is much of a lyricist.Han Westfall works at the local library, where he lives to rec … poetry to the handsome, mysterious guy who brings his in guitar and stays all day. Han writes lines of his own, and when Stefan finally asks to see them, their musical chemistry clicks-and it brings them closer, faster than either of them imagined possible. They name their new band Virginie, ostensibly in honor of their Appalachian roots.They’ll have to fight through band in-fighting, revenge porn, homophobic taunts, family addictions, parental drama, and their own inner demons to make things work, both in love and in music. But if they can make it, maybe they won’t just get out of town. Maybe they’ll rise up and take everyone with them.All profit from this book goes to help people dealing with addiction and their families in West Virginia.
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Rough, raw and so honest! It’s a pleasure to read a book that’s more than just a romance! Aside for being a riveting and touching interracial love story, it touches on many current social issues and personal struggles. It is a trigger warning for sure, but all in all, it’s a very well written story that leaves you with a hangover. And a smile.
The Rise of Virginie by Katey Hawthorne is a contemporary m/m romance that has emotion, angst, sweetness, sexiness and musicians. Stefan and Han are interesting and wonderful characters and I love them together. The story kept me engaged. There were parts that pulled at my emotions and overall I enjoyed the journey these characters went on.
I enjoyed this low-key book by a new-to-me author, although it was not always comfortable to read. A Chinese adoptee and the son of an active opiate addict bond over music and form a band.
If reading about addiction, especially Oxy and heroin, trigger you, you may want to skip this book, because it’s as much about the relationships around an addict as it is about the two young men who fall in love.
There is no deus ex machina in it, no miraculous turnarounds in any of the conflicts, which added to my appreciation of the story. Sure, the title is The Rise of Virginie, with Virginie being the name of the band, but it’s not an unrealistic magic-wand rise, and the relationships that populate the book aren’t perfect either, which makes the book that much better to me.
My first book by Katey Hawthorne
I have to be honest, The Rise of Virginie wasn’t an easy book for me to read; it deals with some pretty heavy subject matter. The author is from the area where the book is set and her Author’s Note at the end indicates that she did extensive research into the subject of addiction. I had no idea that there was such a problem in Appalachia.
The story is gritty and doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the feelings of those affected by addiction. There’s also a good love story contained within the pages of all of the heavy stuff so that’s what I chose to concentrate on.
Stefan and Han meet in the library where Han works. They share a love of music and discover that they make a great song writing team. Han can also sing so it made perfect sense to include him in the band that Stefan and his friend Megan were forming.
Han’s father is a preacher but he is really accepting of Han’s relationship with Stefan and I found this kind of refreshing. It’s not all hearts and flowers though as Han’s mother isn’t so accepting – but not because Han is gay, but because of the background that Stefan comes from (still not OK but it does get better).
While I ultimately enjoyed reading this story it’s probably not the type I would be able to read too often. I plan to try a different book by this author soon to see if it might be a bit more on the lighter side.
A copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
Han is working as a librarian at the local library. As the adopted son of Reverend Westfall he is his mother’s showpiece at the church, and he hates it.
Stefan is friend-couch-surfing through town. No home because his mother is a heavy addict and has never been a mother to him. Life was unbelievably hard to him, away from his mother works better. In the daytime he sits in the library, reading the books the beautiful librarian gives him.
Both are creative, music is what combines. Guitar, bass, lyrics, drums, rhythm, it’s all about music. When they create their first song together, it shows how perfectly they fit. With two female musicians, the four of them. In no time ‘Virginie’ is born, West Virginia’s first queer band.
When it’s about music Stefan and Han’s souls are open, lyrics, rhythm, all the right things popping out of them like sparkles. Music makes them constantly hard for each other, and music is what brings them closer as lovers. I thought it was pure magic what they created.
Especially Stefan’s life during this process is heartbreaking.
At some point there was a devastating moment where is all seemed to fall apart.
Outside the band, their lives are complicated. This story gives us a look over a short period into it. We see Stefan trying to live without his mother, which is hurtful to watch, Han’s mother who disapproves of their friendship.
I loved the way Han handled his stubborn, short-sighted mother. His dad is one of the best, honest, and kind and his attention and smiles are warm and genuine. The religious part was positive and uplifting.
Their friendship and love life are going well. The band is getting famous. So the prospect is good. The music and lyrics are nicely pictured just like their creators.
The story was well written, still, I have some minus points. I missed development here and there. Even though both characters were lovable I couldn’t fully commit to them, I missed something, I’m not sure, maybe some depth, some deeper inner conflicts, for a heavy content it was all quite easy going.
Besides these few points, I found it overall a nicely entertaining and enjoyable story
I would rate this 4 stars.
Stefan is homeless, couchsurfing from friend to friend. Whilst staying with Megan, they decide to start a new band. Since she had a previous bad experience dating her bandmade Deanna, they make a vow to not have sex within the band. Sounds simple, yet Stefan’s fear that no one will want him around without sex highlights what his life has been like since leaving home. When he meets Han, who works at the library, they eventually bond over poetry and music. Han is one of the only POC in this small town in West Virginia. Being the reverend’s adopted son, he’s set up as a good boy; a virgin who sings in the church choir. This alternates between the first person point of view of Stefan and Han as they grow closer. Once they add Deanna as the base player, the four of them form a queer punk band named Virginie.
Stefan and Han are writing original songs together in between working at their jobs and practicing covers with the band. I liked the song lyrics in this, the poetry. The no sex rule actually allows Stefan to get to know Han without falling into his default of meaningless sex or friends with benefits. Once they start having sex (because of course they do) everything is playful; Han gets to experiment and learn from a friend. Things start moving forward for them when they get noticed by a promoter and talent agent. Of course, that’s went everything implodes, both with jealousies within the band, and Stefan’s mother Angela, who is a drug addict in an abusive relationship.
What I really liked about this was the things I expected to be a big deal (e.g. Han coming out, premarital sex, religion) weren’t. Addiction is a major storyline in this book, so petty dramas fall by the wayside. Most of the conflict comes due to Stefan’s past abuse and trauma. This book also tackles many issues through the music: Big Pharma, the opioid problem, and condescension towards the poor and Southerners. I did wonder if the difference in upbringing between Stefan and Han would be too huge a crevasse to bridge, but Han works hard to educate himself so he can be a good friend and support to Stefan. It was nice to see Han’s father be a positive and supportive Christian character. Han’s mother takes longer to come around, but Han’s issues with his mother are not all about Stefan. Caring too much what other people think, judging children because of their parents, lack of empathy and shaming others–these things divide communities. So while this is a cute story about young adults trying to become a successful band, with lots of fun sex, the author puts the band in it’s context geopolitically, and that makes all the difference to elevate this above many similar works.