nightlyreadandtea 's review for:

First Verse by L.M. Halloran

4.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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LM Halloran’s First Verse hit so many of my favorite things in romance: slow-burn longing, unresolved tension, second chances, and an undercurrent of emotional pain that makes the payoff feel that much sweeter.

From the start, I was completely pulled in by Wilder and Eva’s connection. There’s something so powerful about two people who are clearly in love — or at least on the edge of it — but can’t act on it because of everything in the way. In their case, it’s the fact that they were raised together (practically like siblings at times), and that they’re bandmates, meaning everything around them is wrapped up in shared history and very fragile boundaries. That tension was so delicious — every look, every unsaid word, every almost-moment carried so much weight, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

I haven’t read Halloran’s Breaking Love series, so I went into this without knowing the full backstory of the parents or the family dynamics. I knew going in that this was a second-generation story, and while I didn’t feel lost, I do think there were some emotional layers that might’ve landed harder if I had that background. That said, the story stands on its own — I still felt so much for these characters, especially Eva.

Eva really resonated with me. All she wanted was to feel safe, comfortable, and loved — not in a surface-level way, but in a deep, soul-settling way. And her love for Wilder? Completely hopeless and all-consuming in a way that was both painful and beautiful. She was willing to set aside so much pain just to have him, even when it meant compromising parts of herself. And the thing is, Wilder did love her, deeply — but he’s also carrying some really dark stuff that keeps getting in the way. His demons weren’t just obstacles; they were heartbreakingly real, and Halloran portrayed them with such raw honesty.

I didn't realize until I read the author's note at the end that Halloran has personal ties to some of the themes she explored here — addiction, trauma, grief, mental health — and it made everything hit even harder in hindsight. She did such an incredible job of capturing how love can be both salvation and destruction, how people can want the best for each other but still make devastating mistakes. The emotional highs and lows in this story were intense and deeply human.

The only reason this wasn’t a full five-star read for me is that I felt like we were kind of just thrown into the story. There wasn’t quite enough setup for me to feel fully grounded in the characters’ world right from the start. I found myself wishing for even just 50 more pages at the beginning to ease into things — not necessarily backstory from Breaking Love, but more from these characters’ present and past. A little more time to sit with where they were emotionally would’ve helped me connect even more deeply, especially in the early chapters.

But still — this book made me feel so much. It’s angsty, it’s heartbreaking, it’s hopeful, and it’s messy in all the ways that feel true to life. Halloran writes with a raw voice that sticks with you, and I’ll definitely be reading more from her — maybe even circling back to the original series now that I’ve met this next generation.

If you love romance that’s emotionally intense, beautifully flawed, and full of second chances, First Verse is absolutely worth picking up.