Surviving an accident that takes his mother’s life, twenty-two-year-old songwriter, Santiago DeAngelo is consumed by grief, guilt, and the opiates he is prescribed for his injuries.
Nearing rock bottom, he receives inspiration for a song from his late mother. As he struggles to write it, he falls in love with Kitty Holladay, a music producer who offers a rare shot at fame with a hidden agenda. Kitty seduces him into the fast-paced world of pop music where he records a hit album while fighting his opiate addiction to write the one song that will help him make peace with his mother’s death.
But when their relationship ends over the betrayal of that song, Santiago must decide the real value of his life in a moment that nearly ends it.
The Music We Make is a story of overcoming our pain to achieve our dreams.
Winner of the literary titan
book award
listed in
"the 100 Best Indie Books of 2022"
nominated for the pulitzer prize for fiction
&
The Pen/Hemingway debut novel award
THE MUSIC WE MAKE
About
Read more...
By Jessica Bingaman
The Perfect First Novel
Read more...
By Sam Bland for Reedsy.com
The Music We Make is an electric whirlwind of every type of emotion. These emotions are displayed through the perspectives of Santiago, a lost soul who has just lost his mother to a terrible car accident, and Kitty Holladay, a music producer who offers Santiago another chance at life...
The Writing is a Treat for the Senses
Read more...
This story blooms slowly and strategically like a flower. The characters are flawed, which makes them so relatable and real; it's within the characters' flaws that...
By Author Laura Botten
Well Crafted, Page Turning Debut
Read more...
A Beautiful, Heart Shattering Debut
Santiago just lost his mother. With a strained relationship with his father and the guilt and sadness coursing through him after that loss, he falls deep into addiction...
By Author Caitlin Moss
Read more...
"To say that I loved this book is putting it mildly. It has serious Jackie Collins vibes in all the best ways. No subject is taboo, from drug addiction to the dynamics of various relationships, the music industry, to sex. It covers it all. . .
By Author Donna Scuvotti
Serious Jackie Collins Vibes
Read more...
"Few books published nowadays can be considered to be 'important art' as this book is. Despite the layered themes, complexity and depth of characters. . .
Important Art
By Author Hosam zaki
"Carefully captures the dynamics of grief and how inspiration can prevail over the darkest moments in one's life. . ."
Read more...
Bestowed on books that expertly deliver complex characters, intricate worlds and thought-provoking themes. the ease with which the story is told is a reflection of the author's talent in exercising fluent, powerful, and appropriate language.
As the story opens in 2017 in Redlands, California, 22-year-old Santiago DeAngelo’s friend Abby Wilson asks him if he’s going to make any New Year’s resolutions. Santiago, a talented musician who’s four years into a five-year architecture degree and plans to apprentice with his successful architect father, tells her he doesn’t need to make any resolutions: “I’m right on track.” But life has other plans:
Read more...
Kirkus Reviews
THE MUSIC WE MAKE
Remarkable Empathy
Reviews of
"It is uncommon to find a timely topic like addiction woven into a story with such humor, wisdom, and suspense.
Yet that is what Michelle Rene DeBellis has done in this perfect first novel.
"Life never supports our art. Our art supports our spirit and makes life worth living."
