Contemporary
A former star musician, humiliated by a disastrous performance, abandons her career. Years later, she mentors a gifted but underprivileged teen horn player. As her protégé’s big break approaches, Cate must confront her past and seek redemption through the music that once broke her.
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You’ve heard of ‘girl meets boy’? This isn’t that. It’s ‘girl meets horn’.
Cate was a top musician in a leading orchestra—until a disastrous solo humiliated her on the world stage. Traumatised, she abandons her instrument, retrains as a language teacher, reinvents herself online, and travels the world.
Ten years later, after her mother’s death, Cate returns to her bleak Midlands hometown, where she’s drawn into mentoring Sarah, a talented teenage horn player with no professional training. Sarah dreams of making music her career, but her family can’t afford a decent instrument or lessons. She learns by ear, her talent undeniable but her future uncertain.
Cate is the only one who can help.
When a local amateur orchestra announces a concert featuring the piece that once destroyed Cate’s career, Sarah’s big break is at stake. For Cate, helping her succeed could mean redemption—if she can finally face her own past.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
“Me and the horn are history.” After one disastrous concert, Cate made that decision. She walked away from the horn and reinvented herself as an English teacher. For ten years, her life was ruled by trauma. Instead of facing it, she spent those years in denial, chasing pleasure, traveling the world, partying in Italy, skiing, always running from her demons. On the surface, it all seemed wonderful. She had built a new life and was even close to buying a forever home in Tuscany. But everything changed when she suddenly had someone to protect and be responsible for. That was when the past could no longer be ignored. Watching the gifted Sarah bullied by her orchestra peer, struggling for the chance to learn and practice the French horn, brought Cate face to face with her younger self. This story shows that starting over is not about ignoring pain or trying to escape it. It is about finding the courage to confront the past. The disastrous concert was not her greatest failure. Walking away from the horn was. What I loved is how the book opens up the world of the French horn in such an engaging way. It is rich in detail but never dry or pretentious. The language is clear and steady, making it easy to follow. While reading, I often opened Spotify to listen to the repertoire mentioned—Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and many more. What a wonderful dive into the universe of the French horn. Now, whenever I go to a concert, I will listen for it with new appreciation. At the beginning, even halfway through, I found it difficult to like Cate. Fortunately, I stayed with her story until the end and witnessed the phoenix rise from the ashes. Bravo to horn player Catherine Jackson-Harper. Still, my favourite character is Sal. Friendship forever. “It is people that are more important. Everything else will follow.” — Solo, Caroline Swinburne Solo by Caroline Swinburne is published by The Book Guild on 28 September. Thank you to @NetGalley and @thebookguildpublishing for the eARC.
A wonderful story of a young girl and her passion for music making. Swinburne writes in a way which is utterly charming, and I found myself unable to put the book down. Would definitely recommend to anyone, musican or not!
