The Sound of Forever

This is Keane’s story.

Somehow, I was surprised Keane got his own story, cuz, he was kind of the villain in Ophelia’s story. But trust Claudia Burgoa to take all the broken, fragile, people and put them through the angst wringer and somehow get them so that their broken parts align into something damaged, but stronger.

Keane’s foil is Julianna. She had a neat orderly life but when her sister died, she took on raising her niece. Julianna was an interesting choice for the vain, shallow playboy, drug and alcohol addict, Keane.

Recommend.

The Sound of Forever is a follow-up standalone to The Fault In Forever. Admittedly, I wasn't much of a fan of Keane's while reading TFiF — until I got to that bonus chapter from his POV. So I was very excited that he was getting his own book, because I really wanted this broody, broken musician to start living life again after his five-year coma and find his other half.

And he finds that in Julianna. They seem to be a very unlikely pair — he's a loner and she's a free-spirited yoga instructor. At least at first glance. But these two characters are both dealing with so much grief and are unsure how to manage their current station in life. Keane is trying to piece himself back together after a life-changing car accident. I loved getting to know him through his journal entries while he was in rehab, and getting inside his head to see just how devastated he was by the way things fell apart with Ophelia. Meanwhile, Julianna has suddenly and unexpectedly found herself the guardian of her estranged sister's daughter. She and Rayne are strangers to one another, struggling with navigating their new situation. Then in comes Keane, and he somehow manages to bridge the gap between them. All the while, Julianna helps Keane realize there's more for him in life than what he's resigned himself to after his accident. She and Rayne make him want to be a better person. And together, these three broken souls heal one another.

Parts of this story felt rushed to me, and I thought there was an unnecessary road bump with Rayne's biological father that came out of nowhere. The story would have been fine without that twist, in my opinion. I was much more invested in Julianna repairing her relationship with her own estranged father, and I would have liked to have seen more of that. But at its core, The Sound of Forever was a lovely story about grief, healing, hope, and second chances.

I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.