Every book I write, I create a playlist for each chapter. Like a good soundtrack for a movie or TV show, a playlist enriches my writing and, I hope, for readers who enjoy them, it enriches the reading experience, too. While I have a dedicated song for each chapter in ONCE SMITTEN, TWICE SHY that you can listen to here, here are five songs that I particularly love and whose connection to their chapters I’m excited to talk about!
“mona lisa,” mxmtoon
In Chapter 1, Juliet is wrestling with restlessness, a sense that she wants her life’s path to shift, after having spent over half a year focusing on healing from a rough breakup and an emotionally toxic relationship. She’s a romance reader, a lover of happy endings, but she’s put that part of her life on the back burner for fear of getting hurt again. The song’s sweet yet also melancholic tenor fits perfectly with her longing for change that’s at war with her fear of embracing it, and the lyrics couldn’t fit her situation better: I’m so tired of being a book on the shelf / Tired of stories for somebody else / Think that I’m ready to start a new chapter.
“No Plan,” Hozier
In Chapter 8, Will and Juliet are on their first practice date, and Will is confronted with how drawn he is to Juliet while still feeling very unsure about if or how romance might be possible in his life. The song’s melody and lyrics ring with angst and desire, a tug of war between hope and surrender, which is exactly how Will’s feeling in the moment: My heart is thrilled by the still of your hand / It’s how I know now that you understand / There’s no plan, no race to be run / The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
“Glass, Concrete, & Stone,” David Byrne – In Chapter 18, Will opens up to Juliet in a way he hasn’t yet during their practice dates, and the hope he’s beginning to discover for what he can experience in an emotionally intimate relationship; he demonstrates in his vulnerability and trust. Like Will, this song is gentle and a little off the beaten path, and its melody and lyrics seemed like such an appropriate backdrop to this intimate, confessional, open-hearted chapter: Everything’s possible / when you’re an animal / not inconceivable / How things can change, I know / So I’m putting on aftershave / nothin’ is out of place / gonna be on my way. In this song, the motif is a man who keeps trying to tell himself it’s just a house, not a home, an important distinction between a place you live in and a place you belong to, but like Will’s resistance to romance, the risk of wanting to belong when he could possibly be rejected, this song, as the Bard wrote, “protests too much,” and in the end it very much evolves into a meditation on just how much this place he’s saying is just glass, concrete, and stone is not just a house but a home, a place he feels safe in, at rest in, a place, like the romantic love Will is beginning to recognize in this chapter—a place where he know he truly belongs.
“Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift
In Chapter 23, Juliet buzzes Will up to her apartment ahead of their first “let’s get really romantic” practice date, and this song was a no-brainer to me, for how perfectly it conveys longing while anticipating loss, unbridled desire and admiration while believing fully it’s not anything that will last. This is the final chapter in which Juliet really clings to her belief that she should only want to be friends and “practicing romance buddies’ with Will, and she’s teetering on the edge of that resolve when he walks in, looking so sweet and handsome and a little self-conscious. The romance, the chemistry, the bittersweet beauty of this chapter just sang (pun intended) in my head as I wrote it while listening to “Wildest Dreams.” Lyrics like these couldn’t be more perfect for expressing how Juliet feels about her “I’m not sure romance is for me, and I’m so bad at it,” bashful, gentle giant Will: I thought, “Heaven can’t help me now” / Nothing lasts forever / But this is gonna take me down / He’s so tall, handsome as hell / He’s so bad, but he does it so well / I can see the end as it begins (…) Say you’ll see me again / Even if it’s just in your wildest dreams.
“Love Story,” Acoustic Guitar Revival
In Chapter 35, Will finally woos Juliet—while she stands on a balcony, no less!—and of course, I had to use “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, but I went for a soft, sweet ukelele cover of the song, because it seemed so appropriate to give this chapter a gentler backdrop, to let the words of Will’s own serenade that he wrote for Juliet shine, to dim the lights, soften the background sound, and set a scene that’s romantic and tender for this watershed moment when Juliet and Will declare their love for each other and express that love through physical intimacy. I’m a big fan of finding covers of beloved songs, even songs I’ve used on other playlists before, and seeing what unexpected, beautiful interpretations the cover artists make. Just like Will and Juliet, this ukelele cover and this chapter are truly the perfect match.
Wilmot Sisters #3
Star-crossed lovers learn that practicing romance leads to the perfect happy ending in this steamy reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
Since heartbreak entered the scene, Juliet Wilmot, once a hopeless romantic, has sworn off love. But when she’s presented with the chance to revisit romance—purely for practice—with the gorgeous, off-limits guy she keeps serendipitously running into, it feels like a sign from the universe.
Quiet, shy Will Orsino knows happily-ever-after isn’t on his horizon. Problem is, for the sake of the family business, marriage is. Resigned to the inevitable, but with no confidence he can woo a wife, he can hardly say no when fate hands him the alluring, unattainable woman he keeps crossing paths with, offering to help him learn the ropes of romance.
Neither of them looking for love, Jules and Will agree they’re the perfect pair to practice romance. Except that practicing to perfection leads to an irresistible attraction. Their once smitten hearts, though still twice shy, might have happily-ever-after written in the stars for them, after all.
Romance Comedy [Berkley, On Sale: January 28, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593441541 / eISBN: 9780593441558]
Chloe writes romances reflecting her belief that everyone deserves a love story. Her stories pack a punch of heat, heart, and humor, and often feature characters who are neurodivergent like herself. When not dreaming up her next book, Chloe spends her time wandering in nature, playing soccer, and most happily at home with her family and mischievous cats.
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