Put on your boots and grab yourself a cold drink as you dive into the small town bar of Rosie’s Cantina. Rosie's is owned by Lina, who inherited the bar from her Aunt and Uncle. Lina originally thought that singing would get her out of the small desert town, but soon came to appreciate the roots and stability that owning the bar brings.
Rhett is the fire captain in their town, and he also happens to be the brother of Lina's best friend. We really meet Rhett when he is restoring Lina's grandfather's old car. Rhett seems to always be available to help when something needs fixing at the Cantina. Lina has a crush on Rhett and Rhett has a crush on Lina, and the entire town has bets going on when they will actually get together.
From left field enters Elias. Elias is a musician who is playing in small town bars on his way to Nashville to get discovered. He's a lot of flash and quickly sees the situation for what it is between the two and decides that he may need to push them a little. Elias begins flirting with Lina, and we follow the three along as they each work out what it is that they are looking for.
Once Elias realizes that Lina can really sing, he begins to envision a life where they are touring together, his name with top billing of course. He keeps bringing up that it's just fear holding her back from leaving the small town, and how stifling it is to be there. He tries to tell her that she's meant for something bigger than just slinging drinks and teaching line dancing in a small town dive bar.
"Some places are meant to be launching pads," he says, while Lina responds with, "Some people confuse running with freedom."
Meanwhile, Rhett and Lina open up a little more to each other. When mentioning his ex-fiancee and how it didn't work out, Rhett says, "All I want is someone who sees me and doesn't wish I was someone else." This resonates with Lina as she seems to be pulled in two directions. I think one of the best lines in the book is when Lina compares Elias and Rhett to a firework and a campfire. She's not sure which one she needs, but she knows only one can stay lit.
Where Elias is all grand gestures, even when his grandest of gestures goes up in flames ... literally, Rhett is solid, steady and reliable. When mentally comparing himself to Elias, Rhett claims, "I don’t make scenes or declarations. I fix things; quietly, steadily, I show up."
Ultimately Lina has to make a decision on the firework or the campfire; the grand gestures or the steady reliability, roots or wings.
Once I started reading this one, I couldn't put it down. It was a quick read and everyone gets what they want in the end.
Comments
Post a Comment