The Vinyl Frontier

de Lola West - SmartyPants Romance (2023)

Résumé : What happens when a uptight preppy frat boy sets his sights on a punk rock princess? #superherolevelchaos

Zack Worthington's life is a carefully curated performance. Controlled by his politician father, he stands on his mark and recites his lines. There’s no room for deviation, no time for comic books and no patience for obscure Trekkie facts. He's all business, polished to a shine--the sparkling jewel in his father's crown. Then one night, Zack lays eyes on a girl he can't unsee...

Open minded, self-sufficient, Deaf drummer, Molly Mills is working hard to find her rhythm in a competitive college music program. She's driven to prove herself to nearly everyone, even while living off of packaged noodles and thrift-store clothing.

Watching her alone on the dance floor, punky, free and wild, Zack told himself that opposites attract was totally not a real thing. But a couple days later when he realizes he's the teaching assistant in her research methodologies class, he can't ignore his instincts. He has to know her.

Only Molly isn't interested in his platitudes and superficial chit-chat.
Suddenly, all bets off because this buttoned up, rule-following rich guy actually wants to be more than meets the eye...


Note : 4/5 ♥♥♥♥

Cette romance n'est pas un coup de coeur, elle est loin d'être parfaite mais je l'ai trouvé très intéressante, et c'était pas gagné pour moi avec les romances étudiante.

Déjà le contexte "études" de l'intrigue est pas le plus important dans l'histoire, on quelques scènes qui présente ce que font les héros, les circonstances qui font qu'ils vont devoir interagir ensemble, et puis basta ! L'auteur se concentre sur leur relation, leurs problématiques personnelles. J'ai bien aimé le fait que les héros étant jeunes, ils font des erreurs, et parfois ils recommencent... Parce que c'est pas en une fois, qu'ils vont changer tous leurs aprioris.

Zack est un fils de sénateur, son père a de grandes attente à son sujet et surtout une image à laquelle il doit se conforter. Zack est donc le président de sa fraternité, pas le truc qu'il espérait faire, mais au moins il peut éviter aux relous de son groupe de faire n'importe quoi. Au fond de lui, Zack est un gros geek, il adore les films de SF, les jeux de société et lire des comics, mais tout ça, ça ne passe pas quand on est en représentation permanente, avec un père sadique prêt à lui ôter ce qui ne collerait pas avec son image. Zack n'a personne avec qui il peut relâcher la pression, le faire avec les gars de sa fraternité risquerait de remonter jusqu'a son père.

Un soir, sa route croise celle de Molly, habillée en punk, cheveux coupe pixie. Molly est sourde et joue de la batterie, son rêve est de devenir musicienne professionnelle. Zack est immédiatement fascinée par cette jeune femme qui fait des choses en dehors de ce que la société attendrait d'elle. Fort heureusement, il a suivi des cours de LSF, même si il est pas hyper doué, il arrive quand même à communiqué avec elle. Quand l'interprète de Molly la plante à un cours, Zack se propose de l'aider.

Molly n'est pas non plus parfaite, ses parents sourds également, lui ont toujours appris à se méfier des "entendants", qu'ils ne pourront jamais comprendre toute la subtilité de la surdité. Molly a donc des préjugés, qu'elle va devoir apprendre dépasser si elle veut vraiment être avec Zack.

Zack et Molly sont jeunes, ils ont toujours un certain mode de vie. Puis ils réalisent que ça peut changer, que leur vie peut être ce qu'ils veulent qu'elle soit. L'auteur a réussi a amené l'évolution des personnages d'une façon simple et ça fonctionne très bien.

This romance is not a favorite, it is far from perfect but I found it very interesting, and it was not a done deal for me with student romances.

Already the "studies" context of the plot isn't the most important part of the story, there are a few scenes that present what the heroes do, the circumstances that make them meet, and then basta! The author focuses on their relationship, their personal issues. I liked the fact that the heroes being young, they make mistakes, and sometimes they make them again... Because they will change all their preconceptions in one go.

Zack is the son of a senator, his father has great expectations of him and he must fit a certain image. Zack is therefore the president of his fraternity, not the thing he hoped to do, but at least he can refrain the goons of his group from doing anything stupid. Deep down, Zack is a geek, he loves SF movies, board games and reading comics, but all that doesn't go well with a sadistic father ready to take him away. Zack doesn't have anyone he can take the pressure off with, doing it with his frat guys would risk thing getting back to his dad.

One evening, his path crosses that of Molly, dressed in punk, pixie hair. Molly is deaf and plays drums, her dream is to become a professional musician. Zack is immediately fascinated by this young woman who does things outside of what society would expect of her. Fortunately, he took ASL lessons, even if he is not very talented, he still manages to communicate with her. When Molly's interpreter fails to show up her in a class, Zack offers to help her.

Molly is not perfect either, her parents are deaf too, they have always taught her to be wary of "hearing people", that they will never be able to understand all the subtlety of deafness. Molly therefore has prejudices, which she will have to learn to overcome if she really wants to be with Zack.

Zack and Molly are young, they always had a certain way of life. Then they realize that it can change, that their life can be whatever they want it to be. The author managed to bring the evolution of the characters in a simple way and it works very well.


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