Big Music

Gillian Wills

Hawkeye Publishing (2024)

ISBN: 978-1923105287

Reviewed by Elizabeth Upshur for Reader Views (12/2024)

Written by Australian arts writer and music reviewer Gillian Wills, “Big Music” packs a wallop of a punch. Typed as a contemporary romance, this story follows Beatrice Snow, who is affectionately known as “Beat” to her colleagues and husband Dan. Beatrice is the newly appointed dean of Turalong Arts, an organization which boasts some of the best and brightest classical educators and, shunted off in poorly kept buildings and with a shoestring budget, strong and inspiring rock educators. The two disciplines clash in both ideologies and in their appropriation of much needed funding, creating a monumental task for Beat as she aims to not only coalesce the two genres of music at Turalong Arts, but bring worldwide acclaim and notice to the institute.

But there are strong, discordant personalities at Turalong Arts—after all, one has to be bold, decisive, and just the slightest bit egotistical to stand in front of stilled audience and enthrall them with one’s powerful command over strings, woodwinds, soloists, etc as a conductor. On top of all that is Beat’s strained relationship with her husband Dan. With so many ringing chords clamoring for her attention, her time, and her heart, how can Beat turn this chaos into a melody that makes sense?

Gillian Wills demonstrates a deep knowledge and passion for music in each and every chapter, beginning with the lovely titles that utilize musical terms. Her language also takes advantage of every possible opportunity to make musical metaphors relying on sound, rhythm, and musical history. There’s also a strong visual component to Big Music, as the setting of Beat’s Wongara farm is lovingly described, painting images and sounds of its birds, its small animals, and Beat’s opinionated horses.

My favorite aspects of this contemporary romance are the twists and turns that Gillian Wills comes up with in crafting the love story that emerges for Beat. Beat is a very realistic contemporary female lead, and the audience will find her stresses and hopes compelling and relatable. I would love to have seen the plot (both romantic and political) start a bit earlier so that there’s momentum and more engrossing character development in the first half of the book, as I found some of the scenes towards the climax a bit choppy in conveying the political intrigue of the arts scene. I found the love scenes to be very tastefully orchestrated with a fadeout, so fans of more chaste romance will find this a great read.

This contemporary romance is going to resonate well with fans who are music fans and appreciate music puns and strong female characters. Grab a copy today!