Book: Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
Pages: 292
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Source: Library
Short Synopsis: Carmen has always been a focused professional violin player. Her whole future may depend on winning the upcoming prestigious Guarneri competition. But all that's about to change when she meets her number one competition, Jeremy King.
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this novel, but there were some parts of the novel that I wish didn't happen the way it did.
Carmen Bianchi has always loved the violin. Being a professional violinist at a very young age, winning a grammy, and already having a CD out, Carmen's world couldn't be more perfect. Except winning the Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole career as a violinist might in fact be over if she doesn't win this prestigious competition.
Things start becoming sticky as the competition heats up and a new player is in town. Jeremy King is rumored to be the latest competitor who might just give Carmen a run for her money. Carmen is suddenly obsessed with Jeremy and is determined to beat him. She fears that Jeremy is the exact male version of herself, and might actually have a chance of loosing with Jeremy involved. And if things weren't bad enough, both Carmen and Jeremy start to have feelings for one another. But Carmen can't focus on her feelings of love, when she's got a competition to win. Can Carmen beat Jeremy without getting her feelings involved?
I must admit that this wasn't my usual typical romance read, and I really liked the change of pace that it held. I loved how we could all relate to the main character, Carmen, as she strives for perfection and has a strong motivation for being competitive. I also loved how obsessed she was with her main competitor, even though it was borderline stalker-ish.
It was interesting to read the world of musicians and what they had to face with each performance. I also loved how this novel wasn't all about competition but about their personal lives as well, and how the least likely individual became their closest confidant.
Jeremy and Carmen's relationship was very unique. Though both strived to become the winner in the competition, neither wanted the other to loose, and felt awful about how the situation turned out. The novel was also interesting as it also shows how the parents will stop at nothing to see their child succeed, even though it means demeaning themselves along with the competitors. I'm trying not to give away any spoilers, but the one thing I hated about this novel was what Jeremy had asked Carmen to do for the competition. He had no right to ask her such a personal favor, and was glad that he was redeemed in the end. I also wasn't too fond of the ending, which felt like there should be a second novel. Overall, great characters and story line. Very original, and I can't wait to read more from this author.
Would I recommend this book: Yes
Rating: I give this book a 4/5.
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