Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass (Blog Tour: ARC & Audiobook Review)

Where the Rhythm Takes You Tour Schedule

Title: Where the Rhythm Takes You
Author: Sarah Dass
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer & Bray (HarperCollins)
Date published: May 11, 2021

A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher through the blog tour host, Literary Bound Tours, in exchange for an honest review.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Where the Rhythm Takes You is a romantic, mesmerizing novel of first love and second chances.

Seventeen-year-old Reyna has spent most of her life at the Plumeria, her family’s gorgeous seaside resort in Tobago. But what once seemed like paradise is starting to feel more like purgatory. It’s been two years since Reyna’s mother passed away, two years since Aiden—her childhood best friend, first kiss, first love, first everything—left the island to pursue his music dreams.

Reyna’s friends are all planning their futures and heading abroad. Even Daddy seems to want to move on, leaving her to try to keep the Plumeria running.

And that’s when Aiden comes roaring back into her life—as a VIP guest at the resort.

Aiden is now one-third of DJ Bacchanal—the latest, hottest music group on the scene. While Reyna has stayed exactly where he left her, Aiden has returned to Tobago with his Grammy-nominated band and two gorgeous LA socialites. And he may (or may not be) dating one of them…

⤖ My Review ⬻

It’s not often that a contemporary YA book pulls me in like this, but Where the Rhythm Takes You was so good! You might have noticed that I read and review YA contemporary books very rarely in the last few months. I think I kind of overdid it and need to switch things up for a bit. Something about Where the Rhythm Takes You really called to me though, and I’m so glad that my instincts about it were right!

I loved being transported to the Plumeria hotel in Tobago and follow Reyna around on the island as the story developed. As someone who has not read Jane Austen’s Persuasion (yes, I know it’s very shameful), I went into Where the Rhythm Takes You without any idea of how the plot would evolve. And I have to say that, not knowing anything about the plot of Persuasion actually worked in my favour because the plot was unpredictable for me, making it even harder to put Where the Rhythm Takes You down.

I flew through this book in just a few days, which is quite quick for me considering how busy my work schedule has been. I also wanted to mention that due to said busy schedule, I listened to parts of the book on Scribd. I really liked the narrator as she really helped bring the story to life by giving the characters the proper accents (as far as I’m aware anyway). It definitely made my experience more authentic and immersive. Honestly, I feel like I personally spent those few days of reading in Tobago, and I miss it (or the idea of it, since I’ve never physically been there).

I really enjoyed Sarah Dass’ writing because it was immersive even without the accompaniment of the audiobook and it also made the characters feel very real to me (I felt as if I spent time with them and got to know them better and better with every passing day). The events that take place in Where the Rhythm Takes You also felt so credible! And I could go on and on about the chemistry between some of the characters, but I won’t get into that because spoilers. I really enjoyed Where the Rhythm Takes You and definitely recommend it to those who read YA and also those who don’t normally read YA!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Sarah Dass was born in Trinidad but has lived in Tobago since she was two years old. She graduated from University College London. She now works in Tobago as an office administrator by day and writes stories about the Caribbean by night. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or taking walks with her dachshund, named Stella. Sarah’s debut novel is inspired by her childhood, spent in a seaside hotel.