AUGUST LANE

A washed-up country singer returns to his hometown, where he’s forced to confront his first love, who also secretly wrote his biggest hit.

Luke Randall, a Black country singer, can’t face most of the people in his life. What began as a promising career has devolved into a weekly gig in a dive bar, where people come just to hear him play the one hit he’s known for, and he can’t stand it. When he’s approached by the agent of his musical idol, legendary Black country singer Jojo Lane, and invited to perform with her at an upcoming festival, he can’t afford to say no. Unfortunately, the event requires him to return to his hometown in the Arkansas Delta, where he must confront Jojo’s daughter, August, the first girl he ever loved. She’s also the one who wrote the lyrics to the song that made him famous, but he never credited her. It’s no surprise she hates him now. Luke is finally ready to return to make things right. Back in town, he’s determined to tell August truths he never shared, but she doesn’t want to hear it. Meanwhile, he’s also trying to repair his relationship with the brother he’s been estranged from for years and to forgive the mother who got everything wrong. Whether any of these wounds can be healed is unclear. The book follows Luke in a close third-person narrative, shifting periodically to August’s perspective and also alternating between two timelines: 2009, when they were in high school, and the present day in 2023. With an emotional plot that touches on childhood trauma, domestic abuse, alcoholism, and neglect, the novel also explores issues of race in country music. Luke is a frustrating protagonist, wavering between self-pity and passivity while slowly trying to earn his redemption. August fares better, but her motivations feel underexplored, especially given the emotional weight she carries. Still, there are moments of real tenderness and hard truth, particularly when the novel examines the country music industry’s treatment of Black artists. Finally, while the story’s trajectory is fairly predictable, the final chapters deliver an emotionally impactful payoff, if the reader is patient enough to get there.

An uneven but ultimately satisfying story about regret, race, and redemption.