Jazzed Up by Laura M. Baird

Jazzed Up by Laura M. Baird
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jaz Reynolds needs a new lead for his band. One note, one look is all it takes for him to know Cheryl Mathers is the one. Now to convince the sultry jazz singer to make the leap to a different genre and tour with him. When their chemistry rockets off the charts, can he convince himself this is business only? Or will he take a chance to find his own love of a lifetime?

Cheryl Mathers has always wanted music to be center stage in her life. The offer to tour with world-renowned pop-rock band, Jazzed Up, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With each day in Jaz’s presence, she falls more and more for his charm and allure. But she’s been burned by love in the past and is hesitant to risk her heart.

As the two find their rhythm and embrace their attraction, a life-altering revelation rocks their world. Will the power of promising of love be enough to bring them back into harmony?

Musicians need love, too.

There was a plot twist close to the end that I thought was handled nicely. It involved both Jaz and Cheryl’s pasts and them having more in common than they already knew they did. Ms. Baird did a good job of keeping this under wraps until it was time to reveal it. Not everything needs a lot of foreshadowing in order to be effective, and this was a good example of how to keep an audience guessing and interested about what might happen next until the final sentence.

I was surprised and confused by how quickly certain business decisions were made in this novella. The main characters were willing to make huge changes in their lives based on limited information, and most of the people around them didn’t seem concerned about how fast things were changing. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to have more information about why everyone was okay with this as it isn’t something that happens too often in real life in my experience.

With that being said, the whirlwind romance made much more sense. Sometimes two people meet and instantly click. It’s rare, but it can be truly beautiful when it happens. I also liked the way the author dove into the difference between clicking with someone and actually taking the time to figure out if there is as much compatibility with them as there seemed to be at first glance. That was a mature and sensible expansion to this theme that only made me enjoy it more.

Jazzed Up was a fluffy and uplifting romance novel.