Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin

By: Mariana Zapata

Narrated by: Carly Robins

Twenty-six-year-old Gaby Barreto might be a lot of things (loyal, sarcastic, one of the guys, and a pain in the butt, depending on which family member you ask), but dumb isn't one of them. When her twin brother invites her to go on tour as his band's merch girl, she isn't exactly screaming at the top of her lungs with joy. But with no job opportunities pounding on her door, an ex-boyfriend she would still like to castrate, and no end in sight to moving out of her parents' house in Dallas, it would be dumb to say no to the chance of a lifetime.

Two bands, three continents, one tour. Spending the next 90-plus days with three beloved idiots and eight complete strangers shouldn't be a big deal, right? If only the singer of the headlining band didn't have tattoos, a great personality, and a fantastic body, and if he weren't so funny.... Let's be real: Gaby never had a chance against Sacha Malykhin.

©2015 Mariana Zapata (P)2015 Tantor

I wish they'd redo this with Callie Dalton

I enjoyed the story, but I'm glad it was free with the Escape package. The narrator's male voices are as bad as the other reviews say, and the further into the book I got, the more it detracted from the story. I found myself wondering how much more I'd like the story if Dalton were doing it instead.

Rhythm

Mariana, such a talent, her stories always have me up all night; missing my exit, running long errands just to hear MORE! This book and these characters were fun, family brutal and so touching! Thx you thx you for another great read!

Another Mariana Zapata winner!

More Mariana Zapata goodness!

Not quite as good as some of the others I've read, mostly because there was no real angsty moment to overcome (so nothing to bring me down only for me to rejoice when it's over). That being said, she killed it with her characters and their relationships. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I loved Gaby's relationships with her brother and his bandmates more than with Sasha, and I loved her and Sasha together! I laughed so hard listening to this right from the start.

Some things worth noting that were particularly great:

- Gaby's best friend has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair sometimes, but it wasn't An Issue. She was so chilled and confident about it all, and I cheered internally because yay for a character with a disability who a) isn't defined by it or b) isn't a sympathy case.

- Gaby deals with her ex in a wonderful way that made me want to high five a random person on the street.

- Gaby gets her period on tour and all the guys' reactions were both funny and eye-roll-worthy. But the guys were generally hilarious and annoying.

- Gaby is 26 years old and has no clue what to do with her life. Yup. That is relatable.

- Finally, the one that hit me the hardest... Gaby goes into a lot of her insecurities about her body, especially in the past before she got breast implants. You see...for the first time in a book, especially a romance, a heroine did not have perfect boobs. Instead, she had asymmetrical breasts that made her ashamed of her body, which she then decided to do something about. Breast asymmetry is something that more than half of women deal with, and yet it's never talked about in books! Given how society puts such a focus on breasts, when yours don't meet some imagined standards, it can really mess with your head, so I'm glad that Mariana not only included this detail but also expanded on it.

I'm making my way through all of Mariana's books, and I have yet to come across one I don't absolutely love! Maybe From Lukov with Love next?

Love on Tour

I absolutely love this story. Sassy and Flabby really know how to do things right. They didn’t rush the attraction, instead they took the time to really know each other before making it official.

Love happens

I love this books. I have read it so so many times. Gabby and Sasha are two of my favorite couples. I just was so glad I read the books many times before listening. While I enjoyed hearing it. It definitely didn’t give me the new feels I normally get when I listen to a book I already know. And the narrator was a bit overdramatic at times and made some characters seem less than how I felt they where.

Mariana writes wonderful characters so when you listen let your imagination take over. M

Super cute and entertaining!

This book was so well written. The couple only knew each other for a couple of months, but it felt longer. The pacing was excellent. The couple was super cute. A nice fluffy rock star romance.

Compared to other of Mariana’s work, not the best. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad! It’s still an over all enjoyable book. I recommend checking it out when you are in the mood for a rock star romance.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I just kinda hoped for more. But that’s just mean.

Over all, Mariana Zapata did not fail in this book! Another great book by her!

laugh out loud

I got through this in an afternoon. It was a fun real romance. The friendship between friends made me lol.

Looove the story, narrator meh

I’ve always been a huge Mariana Zapata fan so I know I love reading the book and have recently been into listening to my favorite books. I always seem to catch something I hadn’t read before, love it. Anyways, love this book but this performance almost ruined it 😩 and that’s tough for me to say. I stuck it out though but her portrayal of male voices I never got used to through the whole book.

A favorite author

I am a fan of Mariana Zapata and will always buy her audio books.

I thought Carly Robins was a great narrator except in the voice of all males in this story. I could only imagine cartoon characters and not real men.

ok story subpar narrator

The biggest problem that I have with the narrator is that she has the same teenage raspy voice for every male character. It's fine it's a story that have only one female character. The story is sweet and simple.