About the book: Aria’s life is full of secrets—secrets about her mother’s death, her father’s cruelty, and her dream to go to Juilliard. When Aria meets Thomas, he draws out her secrets, captures her heart, and gives her the courage to defy her father. But when tragedy strikes and Thomas disappears, Aria is left alone to transform her broken heart’s melody into something beautiful.
Praise for Porcelain Keys:
"Emotionally rich, elegant description, beloved characters--Sarah Beard delivers a fresh,
new novel that will go on my list of classics." --Stephanie Fowers, author of With a
Kiss.
"Aria is a heroine worth rooting for, and the plot is an emotional melody that weaves a
spell so potent, it can only be broken by reaching the end. And even then, I couldn’t stop
thinking about Aria and her story." --Heather Frost, author of The Seers Trilogy
"Emotionally gripping, this beautifully crafted young adult romance will pull at readers’
heartstrings from tragic beginning to happy ending. A must-read for fans of
contemporary romance, both young and seasoned. " --Julie Ford, author of Replacing
Gentry
"Porcelain Keys is a fresh, heart-wrenching take on boy-meets-girl. Using fantastic and
musical imagery to tell the poignant love story of Aria and Thomas, the author leads the
reader to a swelling crescendo as if we're part of the song—and what a beautiful song it
is." --Cindy C. Bennett, author of Geek Girl and Rapunzel Untangled
"A lyrical love story that will leave your heart singing. Porcelain Keys is a masterpiece
with emotional depth, young love, and family angst. Beard takes us on a journey of self-discovery, second chances, and ultimately, sweet resolution." --Heather Ostler, author
or The Siren's Secret
My Review: 17 year old Aria is still trying to make sense of her life after her mother's death. It doesn't help that her father has taken away any reminders of her mother, including not allowing her to practice the piano that both she and her mother loved so much. After his latest drunken rampage leaves her bruised and her heart broken yet again, Aria heads for the safety she feels deep in the woods in the tree house that she's taken refuge in for years. It's there the next morning that she meets her new neighbor, Thomas. At first she's embarrassed to have had Thomas see the bruises that it had to be obvious that her father had left on her, but gradually Aria is able to open her heart and take courage from him. When her father refuses to allow Aria to allow her to have anything to do with Thomas, she simply ignores him and continues to do so anyway and allows Thomas to help her find Nathaniel, a man willing to help her with her dream of going to Juilliard and play piano professionally. When her father finds out, she knows that he will not be happy and probably leave more bruises. But sometimes dreams are the most important things. When tragedy strikes for Thomas and he disappears will Aria's dreams disappear with him?
This is an amazing story of music, secrets, love, rebellion and healing that will leave you wanting to read more of Aria's story. I really loved the main character, Aria, she's so confused and searching for anyway that she can do what she loves at the beginning. She can't understand why her father would treat her the way that he does. Thomas was also an amazing character, you feel his steadiness and strength throughout the first part of the book, but when the tragedy happens you realize that even Thomas, for all his seemingly perfectness, has secrets and lies in his background. The ending of this book came as quite a surprise to me, but I loved every second of it! I can't wait to read more books by this amazing author!
I was sent a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Buy a copy for yourself: Amazon
About the author: SARAH BEARD is the author of Porcelain Keys, a YA contemporary romance. She has a degree in communications from the University of Utah and splits her time between writing and raising three energetic boys. She is a cancer survivor and a hopeless romantic. She enjoys reading and composing music, and lives with her husband and children in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can follow Sarah on twitter at @authorsarahb, or at facebook.com/authorsarahbeard. Her website is www.sarahbeard.com.
Labels: Cedar Fort, clean ya, Sarah Beard
