The blurb to Melody’s Key has a pretty interesting ring to it. Here’s what it says:
“Tegan Lockwood’s dreams were dead, sacrificed on the noble altar of duty before they ever had a chance to live. Her entire existence was disappearing into the abyss of apathy as she labored her days away keeping her family’s struggling business alive. There would be no emotion, no color, no beauty in her life. That is, until a mysterious visitor begins to draw her out of the darkness of her past towards something that will challenge the boundaries of her world, and unlock the most deeply held secrets of her heart.”
Tegan Lockwood is thoughtful, practical, and considerate, enough to acknowledge that not everything happens according to our wishes. This, after her dreams come crashing down around her. Many-a-times, you feel outraged on Tegan’s part, an ode to how well the author has written the characters and the story. And this, despite Tegan being insufferable at times.
The book starts off on quite a comic note, one that many people find themselves in. The somewhat complicated sentences bring forth excellent descriptions of perfectly normal instances. The narration has a certain poetry to it that fits in amazingly at some places and makes you smile. It’s pleasing to the eye as well as to the mind, and is written in a way that could be deemed engaging.
There is a certain historical aspect to the story and though the lingo used in connection with that time and age does not seem fully genuine, the author makes a considerably visible effort in pulling it in that direction. Coryell uses big words in some places. They are like footwear one size too big; they fit well, but maybe smaller, simpler words could have been used.
As you progress through the pages, just the mere mention of Mason Keane and the reactions of people bound to get in touch with him makes you feel like the book is more like a fanfiction that you find online. On the other hand, Tegan’s character remains mixed: sweet yet tough. Her fighting spirit pops up in the unlikeliest of times and is a fairly nice example of how we could model ourselves.
The physical romance in the story is tastefully written, unlike numerous other stories that make you cringe in disgust and abandon the book. There’s passion and fire, both, in what the protagonists feel about one another and also in what they feel about music and art. It’s heartening to see them bond over them.
Since Melody’s Key is partly about music and since Dallas Coryell is a musician himself, it is fair enough that at some points in the book, music lingo blows up in size. For people like me who are not well-versed with the nuances of music, it just means that something beautiful is going straight over my head!
The book turns from being light and carefree to serious in under just a few pages. Not that it clamors for you to take it seriously – its writing does the job. But it does get your pulse racing. I am a sucker for happy endings, so through the whole scenario, I’m going “Pls, pls, pls, pls, pls!” But what actually happened further ahead blew my mind. (I know I sound like a clickbait headline, but hey, what do I know? ;)) A twisted thought emerged at the possibilities of how the story could end and I end up bracing for disappointment.
Dallas Coryell’s novel Melody’s Key is a simple, sweet story with well-rounded and well-developed characters. The conflict of the story jolts you and makes you feel angry and bad – thanks to good writing. The characters and the story are something that call to you on an elemental level.
If you want to enjoy a super-romantic, cheesy novel, then Melody’s Key is a good option to keep in mind!
Rating: 3/5 stars
About the author:
Dallas Coryell is a musician and author residing deep in the untamed wilds of Michigan, USA, where he desperately attempts to assign meaning to his world through bouts of maniacal creative catharsis and pitifully doomed hopeless romantic fantasies.
All of the songs written by the characters in this novel are real and can be viewed on the author’s YouTube channel.
Selfies and other assorted randomness can be found on the author’s Instagram profile.
The Melodramatic Bookworm 