What a delightful page-turner! Author, Dan Kopcow, serenades readers in this literary symphony! An amazing range of characters. Emotions run the scale from serious to fun-loving to hilarious. Eli’s summer jaunt with the boy’s choir, from Long Island to Italy, becomes our own. Jane’s trip with her friend, a parallel story, is a fascinating one, as well. Although humorous, there are enough moments of suspense and tension that kept me on the edge of my seat. Characters are sympathetically portrayed. Kopcow manages to bring even the minor ones off the page—no small feat. Another favorite aspect of this novel is how every chapter is entitled with a musical term suggestive of its overall mood. Brilliant! If you’re looking for your next zany and rip-roaring read, look no further.

Kopcow weaves his wit throughout the pages of this coming-of-age rom com making for a delightful read. I particularly enjoyed the dual narrative set up of Eli and Jane and the individual schemes that brought them to Italy. The intricacies of the plot keep the story moving at a fast pace. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this zany comedy, romping around Italy. It brought back some crazy experiences I had when there almost 20 yrs ago. Dan's writing style and descriptions took me straight to the 70s, which I remember well. The very colorful characters and the funny antics made me laugh out loud throughout the book. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Black Rose Writing for this free advanced copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Black Rose Writing for access to this arc.

I am discovering that I like the idea and cover of this book more than the actual book. It seemed like a chance to relive my own times in the late 70s but there's little differentiation between the voices of the two main characters and I don't particularly like either one of them. I might return to it at a later date but for now I'm putting it aside.

“Madcap Serenade” by Dan Kopcow is a delightful story that is half romcom and half coming of age set in 1979. Two sixteen-year-olds have the summer of their life when after months of separate scheming they end up in Italy. Eli, a young Jewish boy lands himself a spot as a tenor in a prestigious boys’ choir that will tour the country before singing before the pope. Jane and her friend are sent to her cousin’s convent as “punishment” for pushing women’s erotic novels among her friends. But once in Italy, nothing is as they’d expected. Murder, drug deals, and family secrets come to surface. These two acquaintances meet once again, and there’s no going back for either of them.

This was a fun book to read. The dialog is witty and the story (which is quite complicated) moves at a fast pace. Many thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for an ARC of this novel. I will be on the lookout for more books by Dan Kopcow.

This book has already gotten substantial praise from other authors in the genre. Regrettably, I couldn't get into it and suspect I just have a different sense of humor, so I'm giving it a decent grade. I did think the music intros to each chapter were interesting.

situational-humor, verbal-humor, music, musicians, romantic, twisty, coming-of-age, laugh-riot*****

The publisher's blurb is a fine hook but doesn't come close to warning the reader of the side-splitting humor and frequency of laugh-your-sox-off incidents!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Black Rose Writing via NetGalley.