Charm City Rocks

April 17, 2023
In this gentle romance, Norman (All Together Now) takes a thoughtful look at finding love in one’s 40s and how it balances against family, career, and other obligations. Cheerful single father Billy Perkins is content living in his Baltimore apartment over a record store, teaching music, and raising his son, Caleb, who’s almost ready to head off to college. But Caleb thinks his father needs more love in his life and engineers a meeting between Billy and his longtime celebrity crush Margot Hammer, former drummer for the all-girl rock band Burnt Flowers. After some initial awkwardness, Margot and Billy realize they enjoy each other’s company, and embark on a quietly satisfying relationship. Then a viral performance at a local bar thrusts Margot back into the spotlight and her newfound happiness is threatened by both old colleagues and the reappearance of her actor ex-husband. With Billy and Margot forced to reevaluate their goals and priorities, their time together may be cut short. Both protagonists come with plenty of baggage, whether it’s Billy’s attachment to the status quo, or Margot’s checkered rock star past, and the way their chemistry pushes them both out of their comfort zones seals the deal on this romance. This is a joy. Agent: Jesseca Salky, Salky Literary.

Starred review from May 1, 2023

Billy Perkins has a pretty great life teaching music lessons to people of all ages and living in a funky Baltimore neighborhood with the best neighbors. His son Caleb is a good kid, close to graduating high school, and Billy has a great co-parenting relationship with his ex and her husband. Billy doesn't really miss having a love life, but Caleb wishes his dad would find someone special. When Caleb accidentally catfishes Billy's reclusive musical crush Margot Hammer, the powerhouse drummer of the band Burnt Flowers, things get horrifically awkward. Margot, persuaded by a junior-level record label publicist that a viral moment is an easy way back into the public eye after the messy breakup of her band two decades earlier, heads to Baltimore to meet fans. Making the best of a bad situation, Billy takes a shot and invites Margot for a beer, and just maybe they can both find happiness despite their messy introduction. VERDICT Norman (All Together Now) has created a compulsively readable rom-com with nostalgic flair, unexpected twists, and affable characters whom readers will care about. Highly recommended.--Nicole J. Suarez

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2023
An average Joe gets a chance to date the rock star he used to crush on as a teenager, and it's nothing like he would have expected. Billy Perkins is the most likable guy. Everybody thinks so, including Billy's 18-year-old son, Caleb; Caleb's mom, Robyn; and even Robyn's husband, Aaron. Billy is a piano teacher who lives above a record store in Baltimore, and on nights when Caleb stays with him, Billy tries to impart wisdom on the topics of "Art and Manhood." One such night, when they're watching a documentary about the all-female rock band Billy loved as a teenager, Billy confesses how he used to pine over the drummer, Margot Hammer. That's when Caleb concocts a plan. If he could somehow get Margot to meet his dad, she would love him, just like everybody else does. Too bad Margot has turned into a recluse in the years since the band broke up. Luckily, Caleb is a pretty smart kid, and he lures Margot out of hiding through a cockamamie scheme that he conceives while accidentally high on gummy bears laced with weed. Once Margot gets over being duped, she does actually fall for Billy's charm. They start spending time together, and it's only a hot second before pictures of them begin circulating on the internet. Suddenly, everyone remembers how much they once adored Margot, from fans to former band mates to her movie-star ex-husband. As people from her old life reappear, Margot has to choose between new possibilities with Billy or the world she lost so many years before. The story follows the characters as they navigate the messy emotions of growing up, growing closer, and growing apart. Full of tongue-in-cheek adoration for the city of Baltimore, from its beers to its obsession with crabs, the story is also packed with witticisms and nostalgic rock references that will be best appreciated by Gen Xers. With clever dialogue, unpredictable twists, laugh-out-loud moments, and heartwarming joy, this is really a book about nice guys. Pure fun.

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Starred review from June 1, 2023
A professional music teacher with a penchant for cardigans, Billy Perkins usually operates on a pretty even keel--give the man a couple of beers, some classic rock, and his beloved Baltimore Orioles, and all is well. Then Billy's teenage son, Caleb, contacts Billy's long-ago crush, and his world suddenly gets much bigger. Margot Hammer was the drummer for Burnt Flowers, a hard-rocking girl group that imploded spectacularly many years ago. Margot has largely stayed out of the spotlight since then, but an overeager publicist, a trip to Baltimore, and an instant connection with Billy change everything. Now in each other's lives, but unsure where the future leads, Billy and Margot grapple with adult responsibilities, the baggage of past relationships, and the all-seeing eye of the internet. Norman (All Together Now, 2021) applies his signature wit and warmth to an unlikely relationship while making a convincing case for Charm City at the same time, leaning on Baltimore the same way Adam Langer highlights Chicago in Crossing California, or Richard Russo mines Maine for Empire Falls--they're more than settings, they're cultural heartbeats. Readers looking for something new after Daisy Jones & The Six or Hello Beautiful will adore the effervescent Charm City Rocks.

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