This duology! Okay so the first book was rough for me. I struggled to get into it and once I did I was obsessed. I loved seeing these guys work on their band, try to make it big, and deal with their families. They come from the 'right side of the tracks' so they have kind of the rich snooty families meanwhile poor River who has been struggling to make ends meet, works multiple jobs just to afford the bills and go to school, and she's going to night school. So like all of the odds are stacked against this girl, we see it all play out in the first book, and when that one ends, we see how the guys left her. Granted there was a lot of sabotage that went into their leaving, but at the end, they Whispered Words made it big and left this girl behind. Not just left her she was literally on her own, just lost her mom, and about to have a baby! It was insane! In this book we jump about 5 years into the future and our girl didn't just survive she made herself! She is living her best life out in California, she's reunited with her family who has a very messy background on their own, and she's now a badass boss lady! I love how these guys were forced back into her world against their will and she freaking owned it. She showed them what they lost and not just her but freaking Lyric! River is an amazing mom, and one of the best scenes is whenever Lyric officially meets one of her dad and she is like why don't know my name? It's both heartbreaking and hilarious because she knows who they are because River never kept them a secret! It takes an amazing person to not allow the bitterness she was left with to phaze her child. By the time the boys start meeting her she's already obsessed with them and loves like any child. By this point Lyric's about 4-5 years old, so she has no filter, and she's never actually met them. Plus the shock that each man goes through as they realize what they've missed and how much they messed up. The band is forced to be near River again because they are falling apart and about to lose all of their contracts. So the dream they all shared back in the first book has turned into a nightmare and River is known as the fixer and I'm kind of shocked it took so long for them to run into one another since they have been signed to her family's company since the very beginning. But her older brothers explain why they kept them apart because she's honest with them and told them everything from day one. I need more of their family because they have a super crazy family dynamic because River has like 13 half siblings and we kind of meet some of them in this book along with their spouses and families and I just love that River's no longer on her own. Her and her daughter have created an amazing life out in California. Plus she didn't just walk away from Odette and her family. Odette was River's neighbor and best friend and after she made it big she continued to help her friend and they stayed close regardless of the distance. I loved every second of it, and even though it's only been a few months since I've read it, I've really wanted to reread them and I might do that. I already bought copies of them since I originally read them on KU. I need read more of Beck's other books because I think one of River's siblings has a book or series all about them and I think it'd be a lot of fun.