Review: Fever: A Songbird Novel by Melissa Pearl

Synopsis:
"Ella Simmons does not want to move across the country. But she is, because her boyfriend has persuaded her to join him at UChicago to finish out her college education. Never able to tell him no, she hops on a plane and makes the trek from LA expecting to adjust to life like she's often forced to, but things are not that simple when she hears a luscious voice singing over her shower wall. His deep, sexy tenor makes her weak in the knees, spreading fire through her limbs and making her question everything about her life and relationship.
Can one voice really have that much of an impact?
Cole Reynolds is on his way out. In his final year at UChicago, the only this he wants to do is finish school and get on with this life. But the sweet voice that interrupts his morning shower turns his world upside down. Compelled to find his shower songbird, he begins a search across campus. The only thing to distract him from this goal is his roommate's gorgeous girlfriend who's just arrived from LA - Ella Simmons."

My review: 
'Life wasn't always roses and cupcakes. Sometimes it was arsenic and manure.' Ella and Cole are two troubled lonely individuals who are brought together by chance and instantly connect. I've read a fair few YA books with this theme but they never disappoint. I see a lot of myself in Ella; I can't sing but I'm pretty shy sometimes and I was willing her to make a stand and do what she truly wanted. Cole was adorable, and I liked how we got the story from both of their viewpoints - although I must admit that I liked the parts told by him most. Both orphaned and both trying to find their place in the world, they seem made for each other, and the only thing standing in their way is David, Ella's straight-A boyfriend who seems to have their entire lives together already mapped out. Cole searches for his shower songbird in an attempt to put Ella out of his mind, whilst Ella falls for both Cole and her shower man and has a guilty conscience about the fact. We as readers know that Ella and Cole and Songbird and Showerman are one and the same, and I was eager for the moment that they found this out for themselves! David as the love rival is not completely unlikable, which only makes the story more realistic; sometimes the good guys get hurt too. His outburst towards the end of the novel seemed a little out of character for the cool, controlled David, but his actions at the end of the novel redeem him somewhat. I couldn't put this book down and raced through it in a day, I only wish that there was more at the end about what happened to Ella and Cole! Melissa is currently working on Morgan's story so I'm hoping that we'll find out more then; it'd be nice to know whether either of them achieve their dreams.

4/5 stars: A story with a soundtrack. Fever is a novel about following your heart. It will also make you listen out the next time you're in a public shower, just in case your Songbird/Showerman is nearby!

*I was given an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*