August Lane

By: Regina Black

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin, William DeMerritt, January LaVoy, Stephanie Cannon

From the author of The Art of Scandal comes a small town romance about the visibility of Black women’s voices in country music, for fans of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev.

Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own.

August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother's shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.

When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.

©2025 Regina Black (P)2025 Grand Central Publishing

Critic reviews

Praise for August Lane

“August Lane is taut, voicy, emotional, and propulsive. In a word: spectacular. Regina Black is hands-down one of romance’s must-read authors.”
—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners

“I need Regina Black’s words fresh when they drop, because I know I’m always about to have my mind blown and my heart cracked open in the best possible way. It’s a beautifully crafted story of yearning and angst, forgiveness and down-bad devotion worthy of any country song.”—Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of The Art of Catching Feelings

“Black’s emotionally resonant and swoon-worthy prose will keep you captivated and eager for more!”—Terah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah

“August Lane is acoustic soul. August and Luke set the pages on fire with sultry chemistry as thick as any southern summer night. Whether you have guitar strings or heart strings, August expertly plucks them both. A love letter to the South and Black Southerners who stayed, August Lane cements Regina Black as the new vanguard of Black romance authors.”—Nikki Payne, author of Sex, Lies, and Sensibility

“August Lane, like a good country song it breaks your heart and mends it all at once. A deeply emotional second chance romance that honors the place of Black artists in country music and affirms that no matter the how far you’ve drifted from your dreams there is always a chance to make a comeback.”—Adriana Herrera, USA Today bestselling author of An Island Princess Starts a Scandal