ARC Review: Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass

Title: Where the Rhythm Takes You

Author: Sarah Dass

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Publication Date: May 11th, 2021

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Reyna has spent most of her life at her family’s gorgeous seaside resort in Tobago, the Plumeria. 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…
 

I received an advanced copy of WHERE THE RHYTHM TAKES YOU by debut author Sarah Dass in exchange for an honest review, and I'm so glad that I did, because this ended up being a FANTASTIC book that I can't rave about enough. So without further ado, let's get into my review! 

As the summary explains, Reyna is living in Tobago and helping run her family's resort after the passing of her mother. In addition to juggling all of her responsibilities, she's also struggling with her best friend moving to London to pursue art, a former dream of hers that she gave up to run the hotel, while also still getting over the loss of her ex-boyfriend, Aidan, who moved to America and became a Grammy award-winning musician. But what she isn't expecting is for, after a few years, Aidan to visit the hotel and to see her exactly how he left her -- all while stirring up old feelings.

As I said, I absolutely LOVED this book. For starters, Sarah Dass does a brilliant job of painting the island of Tobago so vividly on the page. Even though I've never been there, I felt like I could close my eyes and visualize the island -- especially with all of the beautiful descriptions of the food! It made me so hungry -- and definitely eager to travel! I also really loved seeing Aidan come back to his home island after achieving success all over the world, and seeing what ways it did and didn't change him. Watching the mounting tension between him and Reyna was great, too! Overall, I just loved everything about this book, from the cast of incredible, hilarious characters, to the setting, to the tension and drama. I flew through this book because I just loved it so much and didn't want to put it down! 

Something else that I really appreciated about WHERE THE RHYTHM TAKES YOU is Reyna's growth from the beginning to the ending of the story. Without spoiling anything, all I'll say is that it was really incredible to watch her change from the beginning to the ending of the book. I totally understand her feeling of wanting other people to stay with her because she doesn't want to be left behind, which is something that resonates with me a lot more as I get older and so many of my childhood friends get jobs in other states and move away. So I get that feeling of wanting to fight change with every fiber of your being, which makes me really sympathetic to her.

Overall, WHERE THE RHYTHM TAKES YOU was a spectacular read that I will be recommending to friends and fellow readers alike for the foreseeable future. If you're looking for a story filled with love and loss, starting over and second chances, and learning to live for you in tandem with helping out those around you that you love, then look no further. WHERE THE RHYTHM TAKES YOU is Sarah Dass's stunning debut that will keep you hooked from the very first page until the very last. I'll definitely be reading more of her work in the future, that's for sure! 

And don't forget to be on the lookout for our 2021 debut interview with Sarah, coming soon!