The Love Variations

An emotional and empowering romance about two musicians healing their wounds and finding love, all the while competing to win a prestigious piano competition, from the author of A Shot in the Dark

Goldie Gensler has always wanted to be a concert musician like her parents--but after a devastating multiple sclerosis diagnosis, that dream feels more urgent than ever. The world’s most prestigious international piano competition in Stockholm is coming up in two months--it’s the perfect chance for Goldie to make her dream come true. But her competition will be stiff because Jamie Larson, with his perfect technique and derisive glare and gorgeous ocean blue eyes, is competing too.

Jamie has always resented Goldie for her easy road to professional musicianship, given her wealthy parents who were both first chair in the New York Philharmonic. Jamie spent hours and hours studying to make it from small-town Iowa to the best music school in New York City. But his technical precision is no match for the way Goldie’s imperfect but emotionally resonant music makes audiences swoon. He’s determined to prove that skill and dedication are what makes for a good musician, but after his brother’s suicide three years ago, Jamie just doesn’t love music like he used to.

Goldie and Jamie have their own reasons to win, but when unexpected events force them to practice--and live--together in Goldie’s apartment over the holidays, they discover their passion for more than just music.

Victoria Lee is the nationally bestselling author of A Shot in the Dark, A Lesson in Vengeance, The Fever King, and its sequel The Electric Heir. She grew up in Durham, North Carolina, where she attended an arts school and played piano competitively. She has a PhD in psychology, which she uses to overanalyze fictional characters and also herself. She lives in New York City with her partner, child, and two malevolent pets.