And Then He Pressed Play: Track One

This book is a heartwarming story of finding love where you least expect it, in a different country a over quarter of the way around the world. Starting from an awkward introductory week, we get to watch the story of A.J. and Bren grow from a strained and forced friendship (Bren trying all the wrong ways to get A.J. to open up and A.J. hiding in his music at every opportunity) and blossom into a love that transcends and disrupts the status quo. There are some dark scenes in the book. There is a full list of content warnings in the book, but a few of note are hate speech, hate crimes, violence, and ptsd. In a story of LGBTQIA+ love, topics like this in our community are a necessary conversation we must have in today's society, and Robert Halliwell handles that conversation very well in this book. He does not linger too long in scenes and does not go into any details unnecessary to the story. Instead, focuses on the uplifting of hurt individuals and relying on biological and found family in times of need and protection. This is a beautiful story with so much character. As someone that has never touched the Irish countryside, I felt like I was there living with the characters in the story, feeling the chilly humidity and smelling the burning turf. The characters themselves have so much life and personality to them. Most characters you will surely come to love and many you will definitely love to hate! And the music! Robert Halliwell includes references to so many familiar…

A great feel-good narrative, this book is about first love and has about all of the emotions that exist in it. Read it. You’ll be glad you did.

This is one of the cutest books I’ve read this year. Both Bren and A.J. were lovable and made this such a cozy read. Lots of humor and lots of depth. Definitely recommend this book to cozy readers.