Guest post written by The Breakup Tour co-authors Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka met and fell in love in high school. Austin went on to graduate from Harvard, while Emily graduated from Princeton. Together, they are the authors of The Roughest Draft and Do I Know You?, as well as several novels about romance for teens. Now married, they live in Los Angeles, where they continue to take daily inspiration from their own love story.
Releasing on January 23rd 2024, their latest swoony romance release The Breakup Tour follows a rising-star musician who has a second chance at love with an old flame she remembers all too well.
We’re in our reading era (okay, when are we not)? Whether or not you’ve experienced the worldwide phenomenon of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, these music- and fame-focused romance and YA novels have everything, from heartfelt writing and memorable characters to sweeping scope and iconic contemporary resonance. Non-Swifties needn’t worry—every reader will find something charming and compelling in these picks. Loving them is re(a)d.
1. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
Greta James is an indie music star whose reputation couldn’t be worse. Embarking on a cruise with her father following the death of her mother (and possibly her career), Greta reckons with old mistakes and new love. Smith’s lyrical and introspective writing resonates the way our favorite songs do. This romantic, multifaceted drama peers into the quiet parts of what life looks like when the lights go down and reckons with public criticism and how to find one’s way back onstage.
2. Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
Sussman’s second novel for adults, following her equally incisive and compelling Funny You Should Ask, squares with the challenges and complicated legacies of pop stars. Its central character, former number-one pop singer Kathleen “Katee Rose” Rosenberg, stars in a Broadway production directed by the man she blames for destroying her career. Friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers tension foreground a story about the ways we judge our idols, and Sussman’s keen characterization and unflinching cultural eye make this a must-read for pop fans.
3. The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford
Holford’s debut young adult novel is marvelously complex and deeply heartfelt, a timeline-shifting Mamma Mia! story following future country superstar Tori Rose in the past, making life-changing career and romantic decisions, and in the present, her daughter Mia, unraveling the love(s) and legacy of the now-deceased Tori in a scavenger hunt hidden within Mia’s late mother’s letters and lyrics. This one comes out on April 9, and its perfect mix of intrigues and heartrending emotion is unmissable.
4. Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban
A recognizable title sets the tone for debut author Emma Alban’s wonderful period romance, a sapphic Bridgerton meets The Parent Trap about two debutantes who conspire to set up their widowed parents and end up falling for each other, leading them to contend with the quandaries and priorities of the Marriage Market. Like our favorite songs, Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend is a little classic and a little modern, a lot romantic and a whole lot of fun. Following a motif, its sequel You’re The Problem, It’s You comes out in August.
5. Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova
Córdova’s contemporary update of the Little Mermaid, featuring singer Ariel Del Mar, eager to escape her youthful career and the aegis of her father, the head of Atlantica Records. When Ariel encounters rock singer Eric Reyes, she wants to be part of his world, even if it means leaving behind the life she knew. The music industry combines perfectly with the Disney classic in a wonderfully clever update that will have readers humming some of their oldest favorite songs.
6. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ask anyone—the ultimate literary musical romantic drama, Daisy Jones is exactly as excellent as you’ve heard. The story of larger-than-life singer Daisy Jones and conflicted frontman Billy Dunne in the 1970s classic rock scene, Reid’s immortal work intertwines the stuff of real Rolling Stone legends—borrowing from Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen and more in one immaculately realistic rendering—with a heart-shaking emotional core.
7. The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
Laura Hankin writes with depth and razor intensity about The Daydreams, a former cast of a popular teen music show whose fame imploded during a live TV special, and who open old wounds and fan old flames for a reunion special thirteen later. Lyrical and unputdownable, it’s a compelling and sharply entertaining look into the perils of fame.
8. The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
Centered on a newly famous pop star who goes on tour with the ex who inspired her career-making breakup hit, The Breakup Tour is our ode to our every favorite song and every tour we couldn’t wait for. We hope it sweeps readers up as a second-chance romance and resonates as a discussion of the passion, pain and sacrifice hiding within the most famous music in the world. It’s out January 23, and we can’t wait for readers to join Riley and Max on tour.
9. Bonus: Intercepted by Alexa Martin
Okay, this one doesn’t center on popstars or music. It does, however, center on a football player. Alexa Martin writes with warmth, wit and steam about NFL girlfriend Marlee, whose relationship with one player implodes only for a new superstar to enter her life. Anyone who’s noticed a certain couple at Chiefs games will doubtless enjoy the addictive, high-drama romance of Martin’s The Playbook series.
