Book Blitz & Giveaway: Chasing Harmony by Melanie Bell

Hello again fellow readers, happy Friday junior to you all! I hope that your week has been smooth sailing so far, and that you’re just as eager for the weekend as we are over here at HDB. I’ve got a great spotlight for you today. Complete with a giveaway! So let’s get to it!

A refreshing YA debut from Canadian author Melanie Bell, perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertalli, and Nina LaCour.

Melanie Bell has created a compelling coming-of-age story, featuring a bisexual protagonist, for those that can relate to the search for untapped potential. Told in alternating timelines on Prince Edward Island and Vancouver, Chasing Harmony reminds us of the exhilarating feeling that comes with hearing your heart’s song.

Piano prodigy Anna Stern is used to having all eyes on her. As she becomes a teenager, Anna struggles to find her identity without the soundtrack of sonatas and concertos. There’s also the worry that comes with the crushing expectations of her musical gift and her parents’ imploding marriage.

Anna finds refuge in her best friend, Liss, who is full of magic and escape plans. However, now their relationship is changing and Anna is starting to fall for her. Adding to the complicated status is new kid Darien, who is always vying for Anna’s attention.

As the haunting spectre of burnout lurks close by, an upcoming performance with Liss will determine both of their futures. With everything building to a crescendo, what follows is an authentic life in the making.

Liss’s violin, marbleized wood luminous as eyes. Her foot’s proximity. Liss outshining her. An inch between sole and polished body. Liss so satisfied. Hesitation. Liss’s lips touching her, Liss’s gifts untouchable. Impact before she realizes there’s been an impact. Hideous cracking sounds. Again, again, encore.

There is a sense of cold grandeur in Anna’s eyes. In the keys of every piano are salamanders, scorpions, grass snakes, rats. Anna is made of piano keys. The violin is on the floor and the pinchy flat of her right foot is through it and touching the uncolorful speckles. The music room has windows but they’re high and hard to see through. Anna’s pulse is doubled where the veins stick out. Beethoven is a musical negative. Everyone had loved them. Past is a negative sometimes set to music. The violin is in two main pieces with a hole scrunched in the middle and assorted splinters. The violin is back in the case on the shelf. It has a name on it. Adrenaline has Anna’s veins alight. Liss now owns two halves of a violin. The splinters would be hers too but Anna has picked them up and thrown them on top of the lint and pizza box in the garbage. A piano is too big to stomp through. Love? She shudders. A splinter is lodged in Anna’s index finger just below the nail.

Melanie Bell is a Canadian multi-genre writer living in the UK. Her books include a short story collection, Dream Signs, a nonfiction title, The Modern Enneagram, and the YA novel Chasing Harmony. She has written for several publications including Contrary, Cicada, The Fiddlehead,
and Huffington Post. She loves music, art, and nature, and aspires to see as much of the world as she can.

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melanie Bell will award a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour!