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The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre
Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley has something for backstage rendezvous, deadly props, and a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to True Love.
Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything.
What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every time she falls for someone during a school performance, both the romance and the show end in catastrophe. So, Mel swears off any entanglements until their upcoming production of Les Mis is over.
Of course, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, rising star in the acting world, auditioning for the spring performance. And she definitely didn’t expect Odile to be sweet and funny, and care as much about the play’s success as Mel.
Which means that Melody McIntyre’s only plan now is trying desperately not to fall in love.
Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything.
What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every time she falls for someone during a school performance, both the romance and the show end in catastrophe. So, Mel swears off any entanglements until their upcoming production of Les Mis is over.
Of course, Mel didn’t count on Odile Rose, rising star in the acting world, auditioning for the spring performance. And she definitely didn’t expect Odile to be sweet and funny, and care as much about the play’s success as Mel.
Which means that Melody McIntyre’s only plan now is trying desperately not to fall in love.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2020
96 people are currently reading
11855 people want to read
About the author
Robin Talley
12 books1,513 followersI live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.
My website is at http://www.robintalley.com, and I'm on Twitter and Tumblr.
My website is at http://www.robintalley.com, and I'm on Twitter and Tumblr.
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February 11, 2020queer theatre kids queer theatre kids QUEER THEATRE KIDS
August 23, 2021
Melody, stage manager extraordinaire???? You cannot tell me that this book wasn't written specifically for me, Jamie, also stage manager extraordinaire (or so I like to think).
November 13, 2020
I’m sad because I really, really wanted to like this book. As soon as I learned about it I was so excited to read it because 1) sapphic romance, 2) theater kids and especially 2.5) backstage theater kids, 3) they’re doing Les Mis!! my fav musical!! and 4) a curse? ooooh sounds mysterious!
Sadly, the more I read, the less I enjoyed it. The biggest problem for me, was that I just couldn’t stand Melody, our main character. Which, when you don’t like the main character in a story, it’ll be way more difficult to simply enjoy so. Mel was, frankly, a terrible friend. She wouldn’t be there for them, or support them, and then she’d be “but why are they acting like that???”. And lie. She would lie, lie, lie. I couldn’t enjoy this book because of the way things happened.
It started with the crew choosing the superstition for their next show to be “Melody can’t fall in love”. Sounds easy at first. But then you have Mel, 16, who fell in love with like, a dozen people already. And the crew says it’s because every time Melody was dating someone during a show, there’d be problems, so THAT was the problem, which, honestly, sounds fake. I mean, the book starts with Mel’s girlfriend breaking up with her right during a show, during opening night but people kept saying it was Mel’s fault she kind of screw lights during the most difficult part. I want to say that this happened in the first chapter, and at that point I still liked Melody, and I was so angry at her (ex-)girlfriend to do that right in the middle of the show. But it was Melody’s fault alright…
Melody agrees to the superstition, saying it’d be “easy”, when she at the same time she says she falls in love very easily, so you can see there’s going to be a problem. Then the crew decides to not tell the cast about this superstition and invent a false one for them??? The crew/cast hate was too strong for me… You’re part of the same show! You gotta trust each other! But noooo, it got to the point where one of Mel’s friend, who was doing sound, said he’d like to audition for the next show, and she acted so betrayed and shocked? At this point, I was already thinking I wasn’t going to like this book as much as I thought I would be.
Then comes the love interest, Odile (who at one point says she feels like a failure because she’s 18 and has only gone out with one (1) people in total and??? Please don’t. This wasn’t even corrected, do not put something like that in a YA book where most readers would be teenagers that are easily suggestible). She is an actress, but more than that, she already staged on Broadway and is going to be in a big movie and all. Melody at first is like, rolling her eyes at Odile but the moment they meet and talk she switched to “oh she’s the most amazing!!!”. There weren’t even chemistry between the two of them. Mel kept her usual self of “uuugh actors, I loathe them” but the second it was about Odile she’d be all heart eyes. Right.
well maybe if YOU started doing that….
She’d start putting Odile above everything and everyone else. Her friends would try to warn her but she’d be “noooo there’s nothing going all at all :)”. Even putting Odile above her dream production of Les Mis, which didn’t sound like the person we met at the beginning? The one her girlfriend broke up with her because she was too focused on her show instead of her partner? That. Didn’t make sense.
And of course, lying. She lies to Odile, not telling her to the truth about the superstition and the curse, she lies to her friends and everyone on the show, pretending to the crew she’s following the superstition while she’s secretly dating Odile. Mel even says at one point she despises secrets. Well that certainly doesn’t seem like it.
SAY IT LOUDER
While I disliked many things in this book, I really enjoyed how it was structured, like a real play. We’d have act 1 and act 2, with scenes in them with the location that would make chapters. We’d have an intermission between the two acts, with real short chapters, full on dialogues, that felt really like an intermission. I really liked that. And at the end of each chapter there’d be some additional notes, like a cast list, or schedule for rehearsals and stuff. That really made the book feel like a show.
But, if you’re not into musical theater, I think it’d be hard to enjoy this book. Especially if you don’t know much about Les Mis, then you’d be really lost. For fans, like me, I enjoyed all the aspects of theater and Les Mis, but for someone who doesn’t know it, it’d be hard.
I received this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
you can also read this review on my blog
Sadly, the more I read, the less I enjoyed it. The biggest problem for me, was that I just couldn’t stand Melody, our main character. Which, when you don’t like the main character in a story, it’ll be way more difficult to simply enjoy so. Mel was, frankly, a terrible friend. She wouldn’t be there for them, or support them, and then she’d be “but why are they acting like that???”. And lie. She would lie, lie, lie. I couldn’t enjoy this book because of the way things happened.
First stop, the Beaconville High School theater tech booth, last stop, Broadway.
It started with the crew choosing the superstition for their next show to be “Melody can’t fall in love”. Sounds easy at first. But then you have Mel, 16, who fell in love with like, a dozen people already. And the crew says it’s because every time Melody was dating someone during a show, there’d be problems, so THAT was the problem, which, honestly, sounds fake. I mean, the book starts with Mel’s girlfriend breaking up with her right during a show, during opening night but people kept saying it was Mel’s fault she kind of screw lights during the most difficult part. I want to say that this happened in the first chapter, and at that point I still liked Melody, and I was so angry at her (ex-)girlfriend to do that right in the middle of the show. But it was Melody’s fault alright…
Melody agrees to the superstition, saying it’d be “easy”, when she at the same time she says she falls in love very easily, so you can see there’s going to be a problem. Then the crew decides to not tell the cast about this superstition and invent a false one for them??? The crew/cast hate was too strong for me… You’re part of the same show! You gotta trust each other! But noooo, it got to the point where one of Mel’s friend, who was doing sound, said he’d like to audition for the next show, and she acted so betrayed and shocked? At this point, I was already thinking I wasn’t going to like this book as much as I thought I would be.
Then comes the love interest, Odile (who at one point says she feels like a failure because she’s 18 and has only gone out with one (1) people in total and??? Please don’t. This wasn’t even corrected, do not put something like that in a YA book where most readers would be teenagers that are easily suggestible). She is an actress, but more than that, she already staged on Broadway and is going to be in a big movie and all. Melody at first is like, rolling her eyes at Odile but the moment they meet and talk she switched to “oh she’s the most amazing!!!”. There weren’t even chemistry between the two of them. Mel kept her usual self of “uuugh actors, I loathe them” but the second it was about Odile she’d be all heart eyes. Right.
They need to stop doing that. We’re all supposed to be one team, and we have to support each other.
well maybe if YOU started doing that….
She’d start putting Odile above everything and everyone else. Her friends would try to warn her but she’d be “noooo there’s nothing going all at all :)”. Even putting Odile above her dream production of Les Mis, which didn’t sound like the person we met at the beginning? The one her girlfriend broke up with her because she was too focused on her show instead of her partner? That. Didn’t make sense.
And of course, lying. She lies to Odile, not telling her to the truth about the superstition and the curse, she lies to her friends and everyone on the show, pretending to the crew she’s following the superstition while she’s secretly dating Odile. Mel even says at one point she despises secrets. Well that certainly doesn’t seem like it.
“You don’t make up for lying to someone by lying to them more.”
SAY IT LOUDER
While I disliked many things in this book, I really enjoyed how it was structured, like a real play. We’d have act 1 and act 2, with scenes in them with the location that would make chapters. We’d have an intermission between the two acts, with real short chapters, full on dialogues, that felt really like an intermission. I really liked that. And at the end of each chapter there’d be some additional notes, like a cast list, or schedule for rehearsals and stuff. That really made the book feel like a show.
But, if you’re not into musical theater, I think it’d be hard to enjoy this book. Especially if you don’t know much about Les Mis, then you’d be really lost. For fans, like me, I enjoyed all the aspects of theater and Les Mis, but for someone who doesn’t know it, it’d be hard.
I received this book from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
you can also read this review on my blog
April 17, 2021
A fun, queer, YA rom-com with theater kids performing
Les Miserables
, plus a theater curse? Sign me up for Robin Talley's
The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre
!!
The Beaconville High School theater program is well-known. Many of their shows have won awards through the years, and some students have gone on to bigger and better things. But a lot of peculiar things happen during productions, so each year the cast and crew have to follow a lot of superstitions to try and pacify the “theater curse,” and even have counter-curses in case someone slips up.
Melody McIntyre is thrilled to be the stage manager for the spring musical, Les Miserables . She has a terrific crew helping her out, and if the show goes well, she’s hoping it will help her get into a college program to be a professional stage manager one day.
Her friends and fellow crew members have noticed that things seem to go wrong in shows when Melody is in a relationship, and she always seems to be in a relationship. So she vows to swear off dating until the musical is done. And that should be easy—it’s not like she NEEDS to date or anything.
Of course, the last thing she’s counting on is for Odile Rose, the school’s most talented actress (she’s even done a Game of Thrones prequel and is rumored to be doing a Scorsese film) to audition. And more than that, Melody isn't expecting Odile to be funny or sweet or...into her. So now what? The production or her love life? Her college career or a potential relationship?
I was a theater kid way back when it wasn’t really cool to be one, so I really enjoyed The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre . I remember the relationships that cropped up and fizzled out during shows, the feelings of not getting the part you wanted (still bitter), and the rush of performing. And Les Miserables is one of the shows I would kill to be in—even now!
This is the second book of Talley's I've read, and I really enjoy the way she tells a story!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the last decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
The Beaconville High School theater program is well-known. Many of their shows have won awards through the years, and some students have gone on to bigger and better things. But a lot of peculiar things happen during productions, so each year the cast and crew have to follow a lot of superstitions to try and pacify the “theater curse,” and even have counter-curses in case someone slips up.
Melody McIntyre is thrilled to be the stage manager for the spring musical, Les Miserables . She has a terrific crew helping her out, and if the show goes well, she’s hoping it will help her get into a college program to be a professional stage manager one day.
Her friends and fellow crew members have noticed that things seem to go wrong in shows when Melody is in a relationship, and she always seems to be in a relationship. So she vows to swear off dating until the musical is done. And that should be easy—it’s not like she NEEDS to date or anything.
Of course, the last thing she’s counting on is for Odile Rose, the school’s most talented actress (she’s even done a Game of Thrones prequel and is rumored to be doing a Scorsese film) to audition. And more than that, Melody isn't expecting Odile to be funny or sweet or...into her. So now what? The production or her love life? Her college career or a potential relationship?
I was a theater kid way back when it wasn’t really cool to be one, so I really enjoyed The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre . I remember the relationships that cropped up and fizzled out during shows, the feelings of not getting the part you wanted (still bitter), and the rush of performing. And Les Miserables is one of the shows I would kill to be in—even now!
This is the second book of Talley's I've read, and I really enjoy the way she tells a story!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the last decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
January 14, 2021
I LOVED this book! Which I honestly didn't expect because I don't care about theater at all, but this book was such a joy to read. I highly recommend it to fans of rom coms, contemporary, theater--or just reading in general. :)
January 19, 2021
Was this cute? Absolutely. And I was enjoying it all through the first half. But I hate the ending. To me, having Mel apologize to the whole cast and crew constantly for things that weren't her fault was ridiculous. Yes, she made some mistakes, and obviously lying isn't cool, but the crew and cast put a huge amount of blame on someone who gave 200% to the show. Nobody else took any responsibility for their parts in this. It switched to a moral of "things don't have to be perfect" at the end and nothing flowed properly.
And choosing a superstition that Mel can't be in love? What? 1) nobody chooses to fall in love, 2) there was absolutely no proof that her being in a relationship caused any problems, 3) it was absolutely NONE of the crews' business. I was mad the entire ending.
Bonus: she was slut shamed so many times in the book and her "friends" rarely came to her defense. Another thing they never apologized for.
And choosing a superstition that Mel can't be in love? What? 1) nobody chooses to fall in love, 2) there was absolutely no proof that her being in a relationship caused any problems, 3) it was absolutely NONE of the crews' business. I was mad the entire ending.
Bonus: she was slut shamed so many times in the book and her "friends" rarely came to her defense. Another thing they never apologized for.
November 14, 2021
This was such a cute read. I did really enjoy this, but I was super annoyed about the whole love curse and Melody’s reaction to how things were going. Trying to keep secrets from a bunch of your friends is generally never a good idea and never works out. So this is 3 1/2 stars rounded up for me.
But other than that, this was super cute!!! Melody and her girl, to remain unnamed due to spoilers, are really sweet together!! I rooted for them the whole time and wanted things to work out!!
I didn’t like all the turmoil between Melody and her friends, but that’s to be expected in this type of book, otherwise, where’s the story?! There is a fair amount of drama, but like I said, all part of the fun!!
The book was an easy read and flowed quite well! It’s very descriptive, which is great when it comes to visualizing the scenes. I just adored reading about all the theater scenes and how it reminded me of being in theater myself. So I recommend this one to those who love theater and theater romances. So much drama!!! Lol I also recommend this to those who enjoy YA romances. This is a cute one to pick up!
But other than that, this was super cute!!! Melody and her girl, to remain unnamed due to spoilers, are really sweet together!! I rooted for them the whole time and wanted things to work out!!
I didn’t like all the turmoil between Melody and her friends, but that’s to be expected in this type of book, otherwise, where’s the story?! There is a fair amount of drama, but like I said, all part of the fun!!
The book was an easy read and flowed quite well! It’s very descriptive, which is great when it comes to visualizing the scenes. I just adored reading about all the theater scenes and how it reminded me of being in theater myself. So I recommend this one to those who love theater and theater romances. So much drama!!! Lol I also recommend this to those who enjoy YA romances. This is a cute one to pick up!
November 22, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Alexandra Nae
Before picking up this book, I wondered, “will this be my new favourite?”. I asked myself that question because everything about The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is right up on my alley and I was really looking forward to reading it. Now that I’ve finished it, I have the answer to that innocent question: a big fat YES.
With humour and wit, great writing style, relatable characters, irresistible and swoony sapphic romance, and a flair of drama and theatricality, The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is one story that will stay with you for a long time.
The writing style of the author is light and full of humour, but it also packs quite a punch when needed. There’s also something so beautiful with the storytelling in this book, particularly in the part where Mel and Odile were getting to know each other. In the book, there was a section full of dialogues (and only dialogues) and yet, I could clearly visualise Mel and Odile falling in love.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
Before picking up this book, I wondered, “will this be my new favourite?”. I asked myself that question because everything about The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is right up on my alley and I was really looking forward to reading it. Now that I’ve finished it, I have the answer to that innocent question: a big fat YES.
With humour and wit, great writing style, relatable characters, irresistible and swoony sapphic romance, and a flair of drama and theatricality, The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is one story that will stay with you for a long time.
The writing style of the author is light and full of humour, but it also packs quite a punch when needed. There’s also something so beautiful with the storytelling in this book, particularly in the part where Mel and Odile were getting to know each other. In the book, there was a section full of dialogues (and only dialogues) and yet, I could clearly visualise Mel and Odile falling in love.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
January 6, 2021
It's been a while since I've read a book I've disliked this much. I felt like it would never end, it was physically painful to read this. It's entirely too long for a YA contemporary, but I would never complain about that if it was good. But it really, really wasn't. I was bored out of my mind reading this, and the writing was awful and just... made no sense at times. I've loved Robin Talley's historical fiction novels I've read (Pulp and Music From Another World), but I really wouldn't recommend this one, unless you truly can't get enough of theatre.
December 9, 2020
This was such a lovely, sweet sapphic read and I had such a good time reading it. If you’re looking for something fun, lighthearted, queer, and totally theatre geek centred this is the perfect book for you.
March 3, 2021
There's no such thing as a perfect show...
This YA sapphic romance was super cute! It's got queer theatre kids, a production of Les Mis and strong teenage friendships. There's SO much theatre drama, with superstitions and rivalries between the cast and backstage crew, and the ROMANCE! It's fabulous!
I read this via the Libby App.
This YA sapphic romance was super cute! It's got queer theatre kids, a production of Les Mis and strong teenage friendships. There's SO much theatre drama, with superstitions and rivalries between the cast and backstage crew, and the ROMANCE! It's fabulous!
I read this via the Libby App.
May 30, 2021
A sweet and diverse YA theater romance
Melody McIntyre loves theater with all her heart. She puts everything she has into her role as stage manager for her high school's productions. But when Mel's love life affects her latest show, she realizes that maybe her romances and the success of the shows go hand in hand. After all, it's pretty well known that their theater is cursed. So Mel swears off love for their current spring production of Les Miserables. Then she meets Odile Rose, a rising actor, who has a role in their spring show. Odile seems as invested in the show in Mel, and she's also kind and funny. Mel can't fall in love, but what if she has no choice?
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
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Melody McIntyre loves theater with all her heart. She puts everything she has into her role as stage manager for her high school's productions. But when Mel's love life affects her latest show, she realizes that maybe her romances and the success of the shows go hand in hand. After all, it's pretty well known that their theater is cursed. So Mel swears off love for their current spring production of Les Miserables. Then she meets Odile Rose, a rising actor, who has a role in their spring show. Odile seems as invested in the show in Mel, and she's also kind and funny. Mel can't fall in love, but what if she has no choice?
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ PaperBackSwap ~ Smashbomb
October 29, 2020
3 stars
After reading Robin Talley's "Music from another world", I was really excited to read this book! A queer romance based on a school production of Les Miserables? What's not to like?! Sadly quite a bit...
Firstly the things I enjoyed. This was a fun book, it made me smile and I did enjoy reading it.
I haven't read a YA book so focused on theatre (especially backstage) before so that was really interesting. Also I adore Les Miserables so I enjoyed all the references and could picture the set and hear the songs in my head. I also loved that there was a bi lead female who wasn't afraid to be herself, has two gay dads and there isn't any homophobia in the book from any of the characters. That was a breath of fresh air.
What I didn't enjoy was how over the top aloy of it was. Firstly our lead female Melody is 16 years old yet she has been in love more times than she can count?? Just no. I also felt there was a lack of chemistry between Melody and Odile (her love interest).
Alot of the drama was very high school, which I realise they are in but to make a YA book enjoyable for more ages, you have to have a character that everyone can relate to and a story that isn't so immature. Melody's problems in general just felt OTT and really blown out of proportion.
If you haven't seen or read Les Miserables, you may get a little lost in this book. Also I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it if I didn't have an interest in theatre and musicals. The idea of a curse of the theatre was interesting at first but got really silly. There is much more to say on that but I don't want to gice away any spoilers!
The character development of the main characters was also really lacking and there were so many side characters, I often got a little lost with all the names.
Overall it was a cute queer YA read but the fun was overshadowed by alot of ridiculous drama.
Please note that I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
After reading Robin Talley's "Music from another world", I was really excited to read this book! A queer romance based on a school production of Les Miserables? What's not to like?! Sadly quite a bit...
Firstly the things I enjoyed. This was a fun book, it made me smile and I did enjoy reading it.
I haven't read a YA book so focused on theatre (especially backstage) before so that was really interesting. Also I adore Les Miserables so I enjoyed all the references and could picture the set and hear the songs in my head. I also loved that there was a bi lead female who wasn't afraid to be herself, has two gay dads and there isn't any homophobia in the book from any of the characters. That was a breath of fresh air.
What I didn't enjoy was how over the top aloy of it was. Firstly our lead female Melody is 16 years old yet she has been in love more times than she can count?? Just no. I also felt there was a lack of chemistry between Melody and Odile (her love interest).
Alot of the drama was very high school, which I realise they are in but to make a YA book enjoyable for more ages, you have to have a character that everyone can relate to and a story that isn't so immature. Melody's problems in general just felt OTT and really blown out of proportion.
If you haven't seen or read Les Miserables, you may get a little lost in this book. Also I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed it if I didn't have an interest in theatre and musicals. The idea of a curse of the theatre was interesting at first but got really silly. There is much more to say on that but I don't want to gice away any spoilers!
The character development of the main characters was also really lacking and there were so many side characters, I often got a little lost with all the names.
Overall it was a cute queer YA read but the fun was overshadowed by alot of ridiculous drama.
Please note that I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 13, 2021
The entire premise of this book was slut-shaming one teenage girl... but don’t worry she’s actually a virgin! 🙄🤢 All of these *ssholes act like Melody owes them 1) to be single 2) to inform them if she is not. I couldn’t stand Melody, but I still wanted to tell all of her “friends” to f*ck off.
November 9, 2021
When I finished this I was like yeah!! Finally a Robin Talley book that I can rate more than three stars!! But now I'm not so sure??
The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is about high school stage manager Melody. After getting dumped on opening night, the show ends in catastrophe. Believing she's cursed, Mel swears off any romance until after her school's upcoming production of Les Mis is over. But Mel didn't count on Odile, rising star in the acting world and spring performance lead. Now Mel's plan is to try hard not to fall in love.
This was cute. The school play parts reminded me a lot of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda which is always a plus and Mel and Odile were very very cute together. But the whole curse thing and how everyone treated Mel about it was so ??? gross???
They go out of their way to blame her for everything even when she has literally nothing to do with it, like someone getting injured. The cURsE beWArE oF tHE cURsE. She's a teenage girl who falls in love too easily and they slut shame her too many damn times and was half ass defended once. Then there is all this cast / crew hate and it was so pointless. Then I actually have no idea anything about Les Mis so I was??? because apparently you need knowledge of that to understand half of this rip.
Mel spends a lot of time lying to her friends and hiding a relationship and it was lame. Then she even lies to Odile and it was just too many layers of Mel lying to everyone. It didn't even seem like there was a point to all of this?? She was not dating because of a superstition and they LITERALLY acted like she killed their new kitten right in front of them. She was messy as hell and lied but they were so annoying in how they blamed her for every single thing. It didn't even seem like they were even mad she lied, just that she was dating. She never calls THEM out for being shitty and just endlessly apologizes for falling in love and that was even lamer.
Also nitpick but she was a completely different character in the beginning when she was rabid about having a perfect play when she later just... doesn't care and spends half the time sneaking around with Odile. I mean I support but what happened to the character that got dumped because she cared TOO MUCH about the play?
But this book was cute when it was cute and sapphic stage manager x actress was adorable. This is probably my favorite Robin Talley book that I've read but I'm still not there yet.
The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is about high school stage manager Melody. After getting dumped on opening night, the show ends in catastrophe. Believing she's cursed, Mel swears off any romance until after her school's upcoming production of Les Mis is over. But Mel didn't count on Odile, rising star in the acting world and spring performance lead. Now Mel's plan is to try hard not to fall in love.
This was cute. The school play parts reminded me a lot of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda which is always a plus and Mel and Odile were very very cute together. But the whole curse thing and how everyone treated Mel about it was so ??? gross???
They go out of their way to blame her for everything even when she has literally nothing to do with it, like someone getting injured. The cURsE beWArE oF tHE cURsE. She's a teenage girl who falls in love too easily and they slut shame her too many damn times and was half ass defended once. Then there is all this cast / crew hate and it was so pointless. Then I actually have no idea anything about Les Mis so I was??? because apparently you need knowledge of that to understand half of this rip.
Mel spends a lot of time lying to her friends and hiding a relationship and it was lame. Then she even lies to Odile and it was just too many layers of Mel lying to everyone. It didn't even seem like there was a point to all of this?? She was not dating because of a superstition and they LITERALLY acted like she killed their new kitten right in front of them. She was messy as hell and lied but they were so annoying in how they blamed her for every single thing. It didn't even seem like they were even mad she lied, just that she was dating. She never calls THEM out for being shitty and just endlessly apologizes for falling in love and that was even lamer.
Also nitpick but she was a completely different character in the beginning when she was rabid about having a perfect play when she later just... doesn't care and spends half the time sneaking around with Odile. I mean I support but what happened to the character that got dumped because she cared TOO MUCH about the play?
But this book was cute when it was cute and sapphic stage manager x actress was adorable. This is probably my favorite Robin Talley book that I've read but I'm still not there yet.
November 11, 2020
This is very different in terms of style than the books I’m usually reading, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I found the writing to be refreshing and perhaps that’s due to it being YA, but it’s definitely also down to the writer.
Melody is the stage manager for the performing arts productions at her high school. She’s known as a serial monogamist, even as a junior. Like most people involved in theatre she follows a number of superstitions and her crew manages to convince her that for the sake of their productions she needs to be single or the curse will strike again.
Odile is the school success story. She’s already been to Broadway, featured on some TV shows and is up for a movie. She returns to school for her senior year, adding a certain star quality to the school musical.
The majority of the book explores the things that take place in order to put on a musical - in this case Les Miserables. I love musicals, did perform in them at school, but have managed to not somehow not see Les Mis, so some of the references went over my head a little bit - but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the narrative.
Both the narrative surrounding Mel and Odile falling for each other, and the storyline of the curse and the production itself work really well, especially when they intertwine. Naturally as the book centres on a group of teenagers there are some moments of drama but none of it feels out of place or overblown.
All of the characters, even the bit part ones, fit in the narrative and despite the large ensemble I was able to keep track of who was who - which is an achievement on Talley’s part as far as I’m concerned. I also really enjoyed the diversity throughout the book.
It’s a longer book than I was expecting, but I still read it one sitting as it became quite the page turner and was very disappointed when it finished.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Melody is the stage manager for the performing arts productions at her high school. She’s known as a serial monogamist, even as a junior. Like most people involved in theatre she follows a number of superstitions and her crew manages to convince her that for the sake of their productions she needs to be single or the curse will strike again.
Odile is the school success story. She’s already been to Broadway, featured on some TV shows and is up for a movie. She returns to school for her senior year, adding a certain star quality to the school musical.
The majority of the book explores the things that take place in order to put on a musical - in this case Les Miserables. I love musicals, did perform in them at school, but have managed to not somehow not see Les Mis, so some of the references went over my head a little bit - but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the narrative.
Both the narrative surrounding Mel and Odile falling for each other, and the storyline of the curse and the production itself work really well, especially when they intertwine. Naturally as the book centres on a group of teenagers there are some moments of drama but none of it feels out of place or overblown.
All of the characters, even the bit part ones, fit in the narrative and despite the large ensemble I was able to keep track of who was who - which is an achievement on Talley’s part as far as I’m concerned. I also really enjoyed the diversity throughout the book.
It’s a longer book than I was expecting, but I still read it one sitting as it became quite the page turner and was very disappointed when it finished.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 12, 2022
Slut shaming, but make it incredibly nonsensical, dramatic and sapphic.
The premise is already ridiculous: the superstition in theatre kids apparently extends to randomly policing their friend's love life, especially when her ex, in a completely ridiculous move, decides the only possible way to break up is during a show over a mic. However, this is completely Mel's fault somehow and she's roped into promising not to fall in love during the show?
Assuming you're going to suspend disbelief on that initial premise, literally everyone in this cast of so-called friends stands by and lets their friend be slut shamed constantly. The main character is also quite unlikeable because she chooses to lie constantly and ignore her friends, then be surprised that they're mad at her about it.
I nearly DNF'd this book when
The love interest is incredibly bland in that her literal problem is that she has everything on a platter but is not sure what she wants. Nobody is even pushing her to do this (no stage parents, no obnoxious manager, nobody), it's literally just that she needs to decide what she wants and just tell someone that's the plan.
The only redeeming quality of this book was some interesting info-dumping about the technical aspects of managing a show in a theatre.
The premise is already ridiculous: the superstition in theatre kids apparently extends to randomly policing their friend's love life, especially when her ex, in a completely ridiculous move, decides the only possible way to break up is during a show over a mic. However, this is completely Mel's fault somehow and she's roped into promising not to fall in love during the show?
Assuming you're going to suspend disbelief on that initial premise, literally everyone in this cast of so-called friends stands by and lets their friend be slut shamed constantly. The main character is also quite unlikeable because she chooses to lie constantly and ignore her friends, then be surprised that they're mad at her about it.
I nearly DNF'd this book when
The love interest is incredibly bland in that her literal problem is that she has everything on a platter but is not sure what she wants. Nobody is even pushing her to do this (no stage parents, no obnoxious manager, nobody), it's literally just that she needs to decide what she wants and just tell someone that's the plan.
The only redeeming quality of this book was some interesting info-dumping about the technical aspects of managing a show in a theatre.
February 21, 2021
This book had me so stressed out! The lying, the drama, the mishaps, I swear I was about to tear my hair out!
Also, I don't know who I am this month having read two books revolving around acting and plays, the other book being Roman and Jewel. Not to mention the fact that I liked both of them!
I will say that this was a really fun and addictive read. I was questioning many of our MC's decisions, but this is a YA book and insta-love and friend drama is prevalent. The fact that I was so invested in & affected by the story is enough for me to rate it highly. I also LOVE the unapologetic queerness that is pervasive throughout the whole book! That was just a cherry on the top. Though I knew going in that this would be a f/f romance there was so much queerness besides our MCs that was just so great.
Also, I don't know who I am this month having read two books revolving around acting and plays, the other book being Roman and Jewel. Not to mention the fact that I liked both of them!
I will say that this was a really fun and addictive read. I was questioning many of our MC's decisions, but this is a YA book and insta-love and friend drama is prevalent. The fact that I was so invested in & affected by the story is enough for me to rate it highly. I also LOVE the unapologetic queerness that is pervasive throughout the whole book! That was just a cherry on the top. Though I knew going in that this would be a f/f romance there was so much queerness besides our MCs that was just so great.
January 28, 2021
525 ⭐
This was so cute! It made my nerdy theater heart so happy haha.
This was so cute! It made my nerdy theater heart so happy haha.
January 11, 2021
oh my god it’s queer theater kids
the only part of this that turned me off and made it 4 stars instead of 5 was the section written entirely in dialogue. it really annoyed me and made it hard to read. otherwise, 5/5. was mel really fucking annoying? yes! but she was trying, and i can vibe with that. also, i just really liked the concept :,)
the only part of this that turned me off and made it 4 stars instead of 5 was the section written entirely in dialogue. it really annoyed me and made it hard to read. otherwise, 5/5. was mel really fucking annoying? yes! but she was trying, and i can vibe with that. also, i just really liked the concept :,)
January 25, 2021
Well, this was absolutely delightful. God, I miss theatre.
September 12, 2020
This book is full of the kind of theatre people I avoided in high school: vapid, annoying, narcissistic, egotistical, overly dramatic, super sensitive, whiny, entitled children.
If you read this and it makes you nostalgic for your high school theatre experience, I'm sorry to say you were probably one of these theatre kids.
If you read this and it makes you nostalgic for your high school theatre experience, I'm sorry to say you were probably one of these theatre kids.
December 17, 2020
theater but make it extra gay
December 20, 2020
Pandered directly to the former theatre kid in me, but with a cute queer couple. Needless to say, I loved it.
January 28, 2022
How to sum this up? Queer theatre kids! The main couple is sapphic and the bisexual rep was great!
I loved Odile, she was such a sweetheart 😍
I loved Odile, she was such a sweetheart 😍
March 16, 2021
"If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
A young adult rom com in which the stage manager, who everybody says is cursed, falls in love with one of the actresses and shenanigans ensue.
The book was structured beautifully, and reading it was a breeze (even though it felt quite long for a light rom com). The romance part was of course my favorite part, as it has a tiny bit of forbidden romance vibe to keep you on your toes. Mel and Odile are really super sweet with each other and communicate in a real natural way. The one thing that brought the whole thing down for me was Mel's friends and how dramatic they can be.
I felt like it was extremely unfair of the other kids to expect Melody to prevent herself from dating/falling in love for the amount of time it took them to get through the production. The whole curse thing worked for the story, but it did make me really mad when the team came at Melody for the ridiculous curse and she just... accepted it. It just rubs me the wrong way, even though that is the only way the book could have feasibly gone. It seems theater kids are really super dramatic, who knew!? They blamed everything that went wrong on Mel, while expecting her to continue doing her job perfectly under such scrutiny.
Mel was not perfect by any means. She could be super into her job, the hours these kids spent on the theater department really makes you wonder how they could also keep up with their grades, to the point where she would neglect her relationships and friends. This is why the first scene we get Rachel, her then girlfriend, breaking up with her WHILE A SHOW WAS GOING ON, and even that somehow gets blamed on Melody later. Give this girl a break, this is high school, not Broadway.
Odile was a surprise. She is this very talented actress, who has been already on Broadway and was cast for a Martin Scorsese movie. Everybody idolizes her, but she just wants to enjoy her senior year like any other kid. Broadway, movies, etc., are not all glamour and it can be quite lonely when you are left alone to tackle these things. Her trepidation with where her future career makes her vulnerable, also she is a huge theater nerd which is what attracted Mel to her in their first real conversation.
Overall super cute YA rom com with LGBTQ+ rep. Robin Talley makes reading about the backstage prep of the theater super interesting, and her writing is pretty seamless. The "obstacle" between Mel and Odile could be a tad over the top unbelievable, specially how the theater kids reacted to it, which kind of took me out of the reading rhythm.
PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!
A young adult rom com in which the stage manager, who everybody says is cursed, falls in love with one of the actresses and shenanigans ensue.
The book was structured beautifully, and reading it was a breeze (even though it felt quite long for a light rom com). The romance part was of course my favorite part, as it has a tiny bit of forbidden romance vibe to keep you on your toes. Mel and Odile are really super sweet with each other and communicate in a real natural way. The one thing that brought the whole thing down for me was Mel's friends and how dramatic they can be.
I felt like it was extremely unfair of the other kids to expect Melody to prevent herself from dating/falling in love for the amount of time it took them to get through the production. The whole curse thing worked for the story, but it did make me really mad when the team came at Melody for the ridiculous curse and she just... accepted it. It just rubs me the wrong way, even though that is the only way the book could have feasibly gone. It seems theater kids are really super dramatic, who knew!? They blamed everything that went wrong on Mel, while expecting her to continue doing her job perfectly under such scrutiny.
Mel was not perfect by any means. She could be super into her job, the hours these kids spent on the theater department really makes you wonder how they could also keep up with their grades, to the point where she would neglect her relationships and friends. This is why the first scene we get Rachel, her then girlfriend, breaking up with her WHILE A SHOW WAS GOING ON, and even that somehow gets blamed on Melody later. Give this girl a break, this is high school, not Broadway.
Odile was a surprise. She is this very talented actress, who has been already on Broadway and was cast for a Martin Scorsese movie. Everybody idolizes her, but she just wants to enjoy her senior year like any other kid. Broadway, movies, etc., are not all glamour and it can be quite lonely when you are left alone to tackle these things. Her trepidation with where her future career makes her vulnerable, also she is a huge theater nerd which is what attracted Mel to her in their first real conversation.
Overall super cute YA rom com with LGBTQ+ rep. Robin Talley makes reading about the backstage prep of the theater super interesting, and her writing is pretty seamless. The "obstacle" between Mel and Odile could be a tad over the top unbelievable, specially how the theater kids reacted to it, which kind of took me out of the reading rhythm.
PS; I was provided a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Thanks go to the publisher!
December 27, 2020
Bad bad bad, hate hate hate.
I'm tentatively giving this book 2 stars for being bad without being downright offensive, but it was almost offensively bad, to be honest and I might bump it down to one depending on how pissed I am at it in a few days' time. I definitely had a one star time with it, except for the bit where I got to roast it mercilessly over messenger with Emma. That was a good time. Everything else? An extremely bad time.
To be fair, I picked this book up with pretty cynical expectations. I just had to know what a story staged around a production of Les Misérables - one of my favourite musicals - looked like, but I never expected to get much out of it. Which was good I guess because all I got was deeply annoyed. This book was so predictable and employed all of my least favourite YA romance tropes in the most by-the-numbers way possible. Not to mention the whole concept of the curse and the following dumbassery was ridiculous and I hated almost every single character SO MUCH. They were all terrible friends and all of the mean, thoughtless, idiotic things they did were barely address, let alone resolved in a just and sensible manner.
And also they had very bad takes about Les Mis. So, y'know, fuck them for that as well :'D But mostly it was just bad. I also haaated the audiobook so that didn't help matters.
Like I said, this wasn't like super offensive or anything, the representation was okay and the dating drama not that much worse than what I'd already read in two sapphic YA romances this year, so if you're into these kinds of queer YA romance books with a ton of misunderstandings and annoying, terrible friendships and mostly incredibly awkward pop culture references, you might very well have a good time with this as well. But I sure didn't.
Alas, "I had a dream this book would be so different from this crap I'm reading." Victor Hugo said that. (lol)
I'm tentatively giving this book 2 stars for being bad without being downright offensive, but it was almost offensively bad, to be honest and I might bump it down to one depending on how pissed I am at it in a few days' time. I definitely had a one star time with it, except for the bit where I got to roast it mercilessly over messenger with Emma. That was a good time. Everything else? An extremely bad time.
To be fair, I picked this book up with pretty cynical expectations. I just had to know what a story staged around a production of Les Misérables - one of my favourite musicals - looked like, but I never expected to get much out of it. Which was good I guess because all I got was deeply annoyed. This book was so predictable and employed all of my least favourite YA romance tropes in the most by-the-numbers way possible. Not to mention the whole concept of the curse and the following dumbassery was ridiculous and I hated almost every single character SO MUCH. They were all terrible friends and all of the mean, thoughtless, idiotic things they did were barely address, let alone resolved in a just and sensible manner.
And also they had very bad takes about Les Mis. So, y'know, fuck them for that as well :'D But mostly it was just bad. I also haaated the audiobook so that didn't help matters.
Like I said, this wasn't like super offensive or anything, the representation was okay and the dating drama not that much worse than what I'd already read in two sapphic YA romances this year, so if you're into these kinds of queer YA romance books with a ton of misunderstandings and annoying, terrible friendships and mostly incredibly awkward pop culture references, you might very well have a good time with this as well. But I sure didn't.
Alas, "I had a dream this book would be so different from this crap I'm reading." Victor Hugo said that. (lol)
January 10, 2021
Okay. Off to the barricades: Let’s talk about "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre"!
THIS. BOOK. IS. EVERYTHING.!❤️🎭
Did you ever ask yourself if a book was especially written for you? I did and "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre" was one of them! This book got me helpless, I just HAD to love it. My inner musical-gay-heart was thriving the whole time whilst reading!💕
The book was full of musical references and oh damn, I LOVED it! Even tho I have to (re-)listen to all of them immediately now!😂
The characters were amazing and especially Mel grew onto me so quickly. This girl owns my heart❤️
But I do also love Odile so much, her and Melody together are the cutest. In general, the characters in this book were awesome! Dom, Gabby, Mel‘s dads, and and and🙌🏻
Also: This book was so GAY. Casually queer, just the way I love it🏳️🌈No big coming out drama (even if I love coming out stories so much too!), just queer characters existing and living their lives🥺
The story was such a cute and entertaining one, full of humour, it just made me feel super happy whilst reading it!🥰
And the setting! Musical theatre! My heart (went boom)!🥺😭 I loved it! I was in a Musical theatre group for five years myself and this brought back so many memories and all the feels! (We‘ve played Dance of he Vampires, Fame, You‘re a good man Charlie Brown, Footloose and Little Shop of Horrors, the LSoH references in the book were amazing!💚🌱)
I could feel the stress before the performance backstage so much, especially Mel‘s! But hey... stage manager calm!
If you haven‘t already realised it: I love this book with all my heart and it has become one of my favourite books! I wish I would have one day more with the book, I’m so sad it‘s already over!🌈💕
But let‘s put it like that:
My life would be misérables without that book😌😂
So at everyone: GO AND READ THIS BOOK!❤️🎭
Sincerely, me.💙
THIS. BOOK. IS. EVERYTHING.!❤️🎭
Did you ever ask yourself if a book was especially written for you? I did and "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre" was one of them! This book got me helpless, I just HAD to love it. My inner musical-gay-heart was thriving the whole time whilst reading!💕
The book was full of musical references and oh damn, I LOVED it! Even tho I have to (re-)listen to all of them immediately now!😂
The characters were amazing and especially Mel grew onto me so quickly. This girl owns my heart❤️
But I do also love Odile so much, her and Melody together are the cutest. In general, the characters in this book were awesome! Dom, Gabby, Mel‘s dads, and and and🙌🏻
Also: This book was so GAY. Casually queer, just the way I love it🏳️🌈No big coming out drama (even if I love coming out stories so much too!), just queer characters existing and living their lives🥺
The story was such a cute and entertaining one, full of humour, it just made me feel super happy whilst reading it!🥰
And the setting! Musical theatre! My heart (went boom)!🥺😭 I loved it! I was in a Musical theatre group for five years myself and this brought back so many memories and all the feels! (We‘ve played Dance of he Vampires, Fame, You‘re a good man Charlie Brown, Footloose and Little Shop of Horrors, the LSoH references in the book were amazing!💚🌱)
I could feel the stress before the performance backstage so much, especially Mel‘s! But hey... stage manager calm!
If you haven‘t already realised it: I love this book with all my heart and it has become one of my favourite books! I wish I would have one day more with the book, I’m so sad it‘s already over!🌈💕
But let‘s put it like that:
My life would be misérables without that book😌😂
So at everyone: GO AND READ THIS BOOK!❤️🎭
Sincerely, me.💙
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