Reviews
Reviews for The Astrid Notes
"There is this thing with this novel, where within the first couple pages of a character’s existence, I fell completely and utterly in love with them, their quirks and relationship with others….Even if [the novel] did break my heart at the start, it was whole again by the end." JASPER AND SPICE
"Heaps of emotion. Brilliant voice. Perfect." GOODREADS REVIEWER
"I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s just got so much heart and soul poured into it, and coupled with the theme of music throughout and self discovery and not giving in or up, this makes for wholly remarkable and memorable reading!" BROOKLYN THE BOOKWORM BLOG
"Astrid and Jacob. Within the first two chapters they had my full attention and heart." INSTAGRAM REVIEWER
"...beautifully written, heartfelt, sad and beautiful all at the same time, and I will be definitely picking up Taryn’s other book, The Harper Effect." LIZZ READS BLOG
"A beautifully written story of two souls bound by privilege and troubled by past (and recent) events! There are three main elements that I absolutely fell in love with while reading Bashford’s The Astrid Notes: The tragic backstories, the dual perspectives and the allusion of music." GOODREADS REVIEWER
Reviews for The Harper Effect
"Taryn Bashford has done a marvelous job blending tennis, teen angst and family strife. Harper is a flawed but totally relatable young woman who finds her better self through challenges to her rigid beliefs. I loved how committed and determined she was, yet so clueless and fragile at the same time. Not a single relationship in this book is simple, and that’s a testament to Bashford’s superior writing." ALICE KALTMAN, author of WAVEHOUSE
"Debut author Bashford captures the conflicting emotions of a teen facing more than her share of dilemmas. Harper’s struggle to sort out priorities, understand the meaning of love, & emerge a winner will be strongly felt." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
"This sports romance will have readers asking all the right questions about growing up. Fans of Simone Elkeles’s Perfect Chemistry will enjoy the dialogue and bildungsroman style." SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"This novel is the kind of book that makes me want to be a better writer. There are so many wonderful things about this book: a high stakes plot, a gripping love story, characters who breathe and live on the page, details that place us in the exciting and unfamiliar world of professional tennis... Beautifully written, this story will stick with me for a long, long time. I only wish I would have had this novel when I was a teenager." TARA GILBOY, author of UNWRITTEN.
"The Harper Effect is an absolute must read, and one I cannot recommend highly enough. It’s a story of childhood connections and memories, of emotional turmoil, of regret, of bad choices, of growing up and becoming your own person, to reconnecting and finding that place of healing. This book has it all.” JULIEANN WALLACE, author of VANILLA SWIRL
"Harper is well-characterized, and the secondary characters, including coaches and parents, ring true. Colt and his backstory are compelling, and the revelations are skillfully handled. The match action is pitch-perfect...A layered romance in a unique setting." KIRKUS REVIEWS