The Girl with Stars in her Eyes age rating

Average rating 3.89  · 

 ·  3,675 ratings  ·  730 reviews

Start your review of The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes

Wow! This book ripped my heart out! It truly sledgehammered and broke it into million pieces! My face stained with tears! They still drip, they won’t stop!

This is heartfelt, real tear jerker, poignant story of Antonia Bennett: a musical prodigy, a unique, outstanding talent who could captivate your heart and enchant your soul with her powerful voice! She’s extraordinary! But she’s also insecure, hiding at your comfort zone! Her mother abandoned her. Her father mistreated her and her love of her

Toni loves to make music, but you see, she really doesn’t want the fame. However, she needs some money so she joins The Lillys. Sebastian is like the Lillys manager but not really the manager, so it was a big shock when they realized they are going to be working together and seeing each other a lot. You see, they had a falling out when Seb just left her and took some money! Are they able to resolve what happened years ago?

Toni was an interesting character. Her mom was also in the music industry

lots of conflicting feelings here

i adored the set up for this book and really liked toni's character, but i really didn't like the romance element in the story.

i think a big part of that was the way the story was told. this book imo leans into the ~emotions~ (think Brittainy Cherry) and relies on you buying into the characters feelings rather than any concrete attraction/similarities/common interests. and i think i could have overlooked that had this book not been a second chance romance. they'r

A rock band romance, very much not my usual reading but I wanted to try this and was rewarded because it's lovely. Toni is a great central character, quite reserved and dealing with a lot from her neglectful parents. Seb is also fairly screwed up from his abusive father. The flashbacks to their childhood together are really well done, limning it in without going on at length. And the music milieu is terrific--author obviously knows her stuff and it's both convincing and engaging, sweeping you in ...more

3.5 stars

I love a good rockstar romance and I thought it was great that The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes focused on a female rocker instead of a male. Toni was awesome and there was a lot to love about this book.

Toni and Seb are friends as kids. When they had no one else, they had each other. When Seb turns 18 he leaves town and leaves 16 year old Toni behind. Fast forward 8 or 9 years and Toni hasn't seen Seb since. She's now pursing her dream of playing music and happens to run into Seb out of

So I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. to finish Xio Axelrod's The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes. Just. So. Amazing!

Toni Bennette (yes, she’s heard the jokes) was the daughter of a musician mother who left her behind to pursue fame. She grew up in a small town with a father who gave her nothing and never treated her as anything more than a burden.

Her only salvations during those days were making music and spending time with her best friend, Sebastian. Toni and Seb dream of getting away from their town

“I’m off the deep end..watch as I dive in.”

This book🥺. The ache in my chest will not be soothed at the moment. I don’t know how I’m supposed to review this masterpiece of a book. Why is my face so wet? This book is the reason y’all. Have mercy!

This book is beyond girl power. Antonia Bennet is such a force to be reckoned with. How do you guard your heart around the one that broke it several years ago?

This book is all heart, and soul. I can’t tell you the feeling of seeing this fierce, bad ass, m

A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FAIRYTALE I was fortunate enough to get to host an IG live with Xio Axelrod, she told me her friend describe the book as a rock ‘n’ roll fairytale so I decided I was going to steal it! It is a perfect description of this fabulous story!A sweet second chance romance set in the music world. Xio’s Love and knowledge of music really came through on the pages of this book. I’d venture to say it was almost a love story to music and the second chance romance took a backseat to that. Ton ...more

The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes is where slow-burn romance meets a story about a young woman finding herself and coming to terms with how her past affects her present as a musician. Childhood crush gets a second chance and our heroine who has never sought fame despite her talent get the opportunity to play with an up and coming female rock band.

This is a more character driven story and I think what made me like it is how the characters felt real and relatable. That doesn’t always happen when yo

Indie rock artist Antonia "Toni B" Bennett gets a chance to fill in as the guitarist in a hot new girl band signed to a major label when there's problems with their main guitarist. This might finally be her ticket out of PA to chase her dreams. Sebastian Quick aka Seb is managing The Lilly's and tired of playing babysitter to the train wreck that is Candy. Things are further complicated when the girl that got away is back in his life.

At first I wasn't really sure what to make of this book. It's

The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod is an angsty second-chance romance set in the music world. Antonia "Toni" Bennette and Sebastian Quick grew up together in a destitute town in Pennsylvania. Neglected by their parents, they became best friends and each other solace. They planned to leave the town together, but when Sebastian turned eighteen, he left town and Toni behind without a backward glance. Eight years later fate brings them back together, when Toni, a talented musician, gets ...more

I felt like the story was a good one but it isn't a story that will stick in my memory for long. I really liked the music theme in this but the romance wasn't one of my favorites. Overall an decent audiobook 3.5 stars ...more

I had a lot of fun with this book! It is all about music, and it is so much fun.

I loved every moment, and it was such a good read. This is a complex story about life. music, and love. It was much more than the romance I thought it was going to be.

Reunited childhood friends trope. That was so awesome. I loved it so much.

3.5 Stars

Total A Star is Born vibes here!

This was a good read but I wouldn't classify it as a Romance read. I would classify this as Fiction and/or Women's Fiction.

I think above all else, this book was about relationships and they were written so beautifully - between Toni and her parents, Toni and her bandmates, Toni and Seb. The imagery was incredible! I felt like I was in the book watching everything happen in real time.

The story focuses on Toni and Seb some, and while there were is definit

Loved, loved, loved… then loved some more! I could it get enough of this story! I have struggled to keep my focus on any book these last few months (year!) but I couldn’t put this down. I adored Toni and her journey to be her authentic self. The flash backs with Seb we’re sweet and added so much, but were never overpowering. I would say if you are looking for a straight romance, this might leave you wanting, but it was the perfect level for me. I loved watching their relationship grow along with ...more

"She had the crowd in the palm of her hand but didn't seem to realize it."

This book is pitched as DAISY JONES & THE SIX meets A STAR IS BORN, and that is very accurate.

4 stars -- ARC received from publisher for an honest review. Featured on my YouTube channel in a May 4th ARC reading vlog: https://youtu.be/yShogJjMCTE

REVIEW
I had so much fun reading this book and diving into the world of The Lillys--and all-female rock band. There are multiple conversations in this book about the innate sexis

Both contemporary romance and a wonderful love letter to musicians, this is the story of Antonia “Toni” Bennette, a supremely talented up-and-coming guitarist and singer. Toni has worked hard to overcome a childhood spent moving from city to city while her mother chased fame, being sent to live with a father she barely knew, and finally the sudden exit of her best friend/childhood crush Seb, her partner in escaping their unhappy small town lives. Toni was never the girl who wanted stardom, and o ...more

Written with an easy grace and vivid style, this story follows Toni Bennett (pun intended), an indie rock singer and guitarist. With abandonment issues thanks to a careless mother and nearly nonexistent father, Toni is careful in both her career and her personal life, facing the innate sexism of the rock music industry and maintaining a careful distance even with her friends. When she has the chance to audition with The Lillies, a hot new all-female band, she gives it a try. Ms. Axelrod weaves i ...more

I'm going to try and keep this review on the shorter side (for me...and it didn’t happen....)
If you're a music lover (especially rock of the 90's), this book is for you.
If you like a rock band that consists of talented women, this book is for you.
If you like second chance romances, this book is for you.
If you like a story that combines a flawed childhood with finding ones path into adulthood, this book is for you.

I honestly picked this book up originally because of the gorgeous cover (I'm a cove

This was a fun story about a Black woman in the rock ‘n’ roll music industry absolutely killing it which was inspiring and really cool to read about.

But overall, I really just wanted more romance! Seb and Toni had a second chance, enemies to lovers kind of love but didn’t share as many sweet moments as I would’ve liked. Which was fine but my hopeless romantic heart just needed a little more cute moments in there for me to really enjoy it.
There was spice (close to the end, kind of a slow burn) wh

I liked the characters, especially the Lilly’s but the romantic part of this story just confused the hell out of me

Solid 2.5 stars ⭐⭐

This story lacked a lot of information....the author provided a lot of content without resolution or understanding, it seems that he/she provided the content to stretch the story. This was a decent story about a young lady who came from basically a sh*tty situation with terrible parents and to get out that situation, she was able to use music as her solis...Toni B was invited to play with a band who was on the brink of stardom into the music business as their lead guitarist. Th

Some may find this story a bit detailed, some may find it a bit long winded, not me. I thoroughly enjoyed this part rock-and-roll, part romance story, written by a true musician. Having the beginning start when Antonia was a pre-teen and moving quickly into adulthood worked. I liked getting the background of she and her friend, Sebastian, interspersed amongst the present day, it didn't dwell too much on the past or the present. I look forward to reading book number 2. ...more

I completely fell in love with Toni & Seb's story. This author has some serious talent.

Antonia (Toni) and Sebastian (Seb) were childhood friends until the day he left her behind. Now, years later, fate brings them back into one another's orbit and Toni is still quite bitter....to say the least. Seb has his work cut out for him trying to explain to Toni why he had to leave. Can they find their way back to their friendship? Can they possibly be more?

Meanwhile, I also really enjoyed the side charac

Hmmm. I read three quarters of the book in one day, then took four days to finish the rest, and I have very mixed feelings about it. Will I be able to properly put my thoughts into words? Let's find out, shall we?

Full review at A Book Shrew

Right off the bat I need to clarify that this review is based off the audiobook. The publisher was kind enough to allow me to listen-read early, and the narration is the first point upon which I have mixed feelings. I listened to the three minute narration sam

THREE POINT FIVE STARS

THE GIRL WITH STARS IN HER EYES
♦ rock-n-roll
♦ second chance romance
♦ slow burn
♦ dual pov
♦ standalone

Audiobook source: Hoopla
Narrator: Alexander Cendese & Tamika Simone
Length: 13H 02M

Antonia "Toni" Bennett has not had an easy path in life, her mom shipped her off to live with her dad so she could chase the elusive fame as a musician. Her dad wasn't much to her, but at least she found Seb in the little town in Pennsylvania. They had grand plans to escape their small town life when they got old enough but Seb bailed early and never looked back.

Years later Toni dreams of success in the music industry, behind the scenes. She never wants to be like her mother, giving it all up to

My second book about a rock band in as many weeks.

Antonia "Toni" Bennett is a talented guitarist with an aversion to the limelight. She just dreams of a life behind the scenes as a session musician or running a recording studio. Then she gets an invite to audition for the spot of temporary replacement guitarist for a hot new pop-rock girl group called The Lillys. Their regular guitarist, Candy, has gone off the rails with drinking and drugs and the band is asking her to get sober. Toni lands th