Charm City Rocks is a novel about a forty-something piano teacher and single dad who meets his rock star crush decades after she left the public eye. 

After rock drummer Margot Hammer’s career and marriage imploded she left fame behind and lives quietly in her apartment in Chelsea. But when a well-meaning teenager in Baltimore devises a way fix her up with his piano teacher father (Billy Perkins) she is thrust into back into the limelight as people watch their romance unfold in real time on social media. Their relationship will be challenged by the various things older couples encounter (moves, careers, children and exes) plus the complications of fame. 

I really enjoyed this “Notting Hill” style romance of the unassuming local good guy who falls for the famous rock star. Baltimore makes a fantastic backdrop for their love story especially for those of us that learned everything about the city from five seasons of The Wire. Now I really want to check out Billy’s neighborhood and go to an Oriole’s game. I loved the humorous banter and affection between parents, children, neighbors, friends and exes. This made for a fun but realistic romance that had me rooting for Billy and Margot from beginning to end (although I may have a small crush on Margot’s philandering ex-husband Lawson Daniels). 

I highly recommend Charm City Rocks! 

Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️