Review: Songs of Our Breakup by Jay E. Tria

Title: Songs of Our Breakup
Author: Jay E. Tria
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Release Date: August 2015
Rating: 4/5 Stars

The first book in the Playlist series, Jay E. Tria's Songs of Our Breakup follows Jill, a musician and songwriter, as she recovers from her breakup with bandmate Kim, and begins to navigate her feelings for an old friend, Shinta. I went into this book expecting a cute, light contemporary romance read and was pleasantly surprised that the story is a lot deeper than that, addressing how we grow apart from people that we love as we age, the rough emotional period in your early twenties when you're torn between what you want for the future and reluctance to grow up, and depicts a healthy breakup before jumping in to a new relationship.

Taking place in Manila, Jill and her band, Trainman, are making it on the indie music circuit, playing festivals and releasing EPs of original material. Jill is the only girl in the band, and had previously dated the band's leader, Kim, for seven years. When we meet Jill, she and Kim have only been broken up for a few months and, according to her best friend and bandmate, Miki, she is living in the three month recovery period after a breakup. Jill thinks he means that's how long it should take to get back together, but in truth it is the time she needs to decide to move on. The story flashes back to period of Jill and Kim's relationship, both the good and the bad, and to the present, as she tries to figure out how to stay in a band with an ex, and also recognizes that she may have feelings for Shinta, a friend of their group who is a successful, handsome actor in Japan.

Literally me while reading this book

What this book does really well is realistically depict a long term relationship and what it takes to recover from that kind of breakup. The vignettes of Jill and Kim's relationship are nostalgic and relatable, and it makes it easy to see why Jill would have trouble moving on even if she has a handsome friend who has long had a crush on her. I also enjoyed that Jill and Shinta have a backstory and have always gotten along, instead of a meet-cute or a enemies-to-lovers situation that can be so common in these types of stories. The factor keeping them apart is that neither Jill nor Shinta want to rush into a relationship before they are ready, and instead acknowledge the work they need to do before they could be ready to be together. I also loved that Jill is a songwriter, and the lyrics to he band's songs are featured throughout the book. This is the kind of story that is perfect for a beach read, or to read during a road trip. Jay E. Tria's writing is heartfelt but funny, nostalgic but sarcastic, and is so much fun to read. You really feel like you are hanging out with this group of friends when you're reading. The only aspect it lacks, in my opinion, is I wish Jill had female friends as I feel that is an important part of breakup recovery, although Jill is still growing so maybe that'll be part of her future!

Please give me all the books with hot Asian leads

Book 2 in the series focuses on another band member, and book 3 returns to Shinta and Jill's relationship. I'm a little nervous to read it because I only want the best for them! At the same time, I enjoy Tria's writing so much that I feel I need to read all of her other books ASAP. Basically, if you like romances that go beyond a present-day pairing and instead allow you to get to know the lead's past and watch them grow, or if you like musician-themed romances, or if you have yet to pick up a book by one of the many amazing Filipina romance authors, definitely check out this series! I'll be compiling a list of my favorite contemporary romances from the Philippines that are perfect summer reads and you best believe this series will be on it.

Until then, happy reading!