The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes

3.5 stars. I read the entire 400+ pages in one day (which tells you either something about how good the book is, or how pathetic my life is). I'm a sucker for stories about rock bands, and it's obvious that Xio Axelrod knows her way around the music business. The second chance love story didn't quite work for me; I wanted to see more flashbacks to Toni and Seb's early relationship, and present-day Seb enabled some pretty toxic behavior of one of band members for way too long. But I was caught up in Toni's journey from spotlight-averse bar singer to temporary member in a rock band on the cusp of stardom, and her fledgling relationship with each of the Lillys.

There are obviously more stories to be told about the band members, most notably the complex relationship between lead singer Lilly and troubled heiress Candi. This is Axelrod's mainstream publisher breakthrough novel, and I hope it's successful enough that she is able to tell them all.

Bonus points for Philadelphia setting - and Tastykakes!