Zach Boddicker

Nashville Country star and award-winner Carl Mahogany is entering middle age, and his label is beginning to believe he's entering the end of his music career as well. They are letting him know this by releasing an Essentials album and sending him on a tour. Carl agrees to the tour on his own terms and will be driving his beat-up van, Percy along the way. However, things quickly turn more interesting as Carl hooks up with Rhonda, the local mechanic right before the tour and then receives an interesting message from an ex-girlfriend who wants to join him on tour. Things go from interesting to upside-down as Carl is forced to take a hard look at his life while trying to complete his tour.

From the very beginning, Carl felt like someone I would like to get to know. Down to earth, approachable and realistic in every aspect of his life, Carl seems the antithesis of an award-winning musician. I loved that he kept a side gig as an exterminator and held on to his old tour van, Carl shows a sentimentality, vulnerability and unique sense of humor that easily carried me through the pages. It seemed that no matter what Carl did, that life quickly got in the way; he meets a nice woman and his boss is her crazy ex-boyfriend, releasing a CD and he receives a prank CD back, and a multi-layered request from an ex turns into more than he could imagine. The supporting cast of characters made Carl's life all the more interesting. I loved Rhonda, the independent, takes no crap car mechanic and Sheila who was always hiding a separate agenda. Most of all, I truly cared about Carl's story and how he ended up. Overall, a unique story of a musician figuring out life like the rest of us.

This story was received for free in return for an honest review.… (meer)