Rose just got an invitation to her ex's wedding, complete with a hand-written note from the woman he cheated with. “I know you don’t have anyone special, but maybe you can bring a second cousin or something.” Rose has rebuilt her life, playing keyboard in an alternative band, so it burns that they’re still trying to one-up her. Her bandmates suggest the perfect revenge: go and bring a date, a head-turner who will show the bride and groom that Rose is thriving. Enter the perfect fake boyfriend, jazz pianist Declan Hatcher. Back in high school, the bride had a massive crush on him. Better still, he hates the bride for how she bullied his sister. Unfortunately, Declan also has a history with Rose. In eleventh grade, Declan shot Rose down as "quintessentially not his type." The longer they pretend at the relationship, though, the more Declan realizes that actually, Rose is quintessentially his type. Rose is feeling the attraction too, but after all that humiliation, it seems safer to fake the harmony than to compose a whole new love song. In this new series, Maddie Evans weaves heart and harmony with life in a small town. Tune up your emotions, tune in to the graduates of the Castleton Music School, and then tune out the rest of the world.

Ashlyn may finally have her life under control. Abandoned by her own mother when she was a kid, Ashlyn found a home when the Castletons embraced her as their fourth child. Nowadays Ashlyn plays viola in the Castleton String Quartet. She’s got a family and rent money. What more could she ask for? After months of searching for his biological family, Michael has just seen his DNA results. Astonishingly, he has a full sister—violinist Lindsey Castleton. One frenzied drive later, Michael finds Lindsey performing with her string quartet, alongside the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. The Castleton siblings insist the report is wrong because their parents weren’t even in the same country when Michael was born. Is this a scam? The deeper they dig into his story, though, the more Ashlyn wants him to be a Castleton. Michael seems stable, strong, and reliable. Not to mention his gorgeous eyes and dusky voice. As each answer reveals another question, Michael and Ashlyn are drawn together by the brokenness of their past. To achieve the potential of their future, Ashlyn will have to trust Michael enough to open her heart, but with trust comes the risk of betrayal. Heart of the Violist is the first novel of the Castleton String Quartet romances, a story about the families we’re born into and the families love can make for us.

Always a rock for her mom, cellist Hannah Staples has just discovered her phone is loaded with spyware and a tracker—and her creepy stepdad is the one tracking her. Within forty-eight hours, a horrified Hannah ends up losing her home, her family, and her security. All that’s left is her cello—and custody of her younger brother. Terrified and ashamed, Hannah reaches out to the rest of the Castleton String Quartet and the other members of the Hartwell music community. Hannah’s longtime crush, tenor Enrique Almendarez, never really noticed Hannah until now. Seeing her distress, he hungers to do anything to protect her, whether it’s helping her move, finding community service work for her brother, or maybe taking her out to dinner. Her family’s always kept her from starting a relationship. Well, maybe now is the time. Maybe Enrique can be the one to show Hannah how a real man treasures the ones he loves. As the bombshells detonate in Hannah’s life, she starts to redefine what family means. Letting Enrique into her heart means letting herself trust when everyone in her life has proven themselves untrustworthy, but trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. In this second story of the Castleton String Quartet, Maddie Evans takes us deep into how the families we came from shape the families we build.

Lindsey Castleton has had a lousy year. She's had to abandon the life she planned because her father is dying, taking over his music students and taking over as first violinist for his string quartet. All that would be difficult enough, but her second violinist fights her at every turn, whether it's criticizing her, playing over her, or even double-booking the quartet. It's beyond frustrating becauase he's an amazing male but such a selfish man. Jason Woodward returned to Maine from Hollywood only because his mentor was dying and needed someone to take over his quartet, so it's galling that his mentor's daughter is in that position. Well, also, he returned to Maine because of the social media detonation that destroyed his California career. He'll be heading back in three months, though, so he'd better start putting those pieces back together. It's just that it would be so much easier if Lindsey would get out of the way—and out of his thoughts. They have no choice but to work together for now, but as Jason's California life seeps into his Maine life, Lindsey sees just what he stepped away from in order to help her father. Meanwhile, Jason finds himself attracted to Lindsey's confidence and clarity. It's never going to work, though. He's going to leave, and good riddance. At least, that's what they keep telling themselves...and one another. In the final installment of the Castleton String Quartet trilogy, a pair of enemies stands on the brink of love and loss, facing death while forging the love of a lifetime.