This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Verdict: A warm, character-first small-town romance with a nonbinary love interest readers adore and chemistry that lands from page one, held back by a ratings pool too small and too advance-copy-heavy to prove it yet.
Best for: Readers who want a no-strings fling that turns into something real, a found-family town to settle into, and an open-door romance where the tension is emotional rather than dramatic.
Heat level: ★★★★☆ (4/5 — explicit open door; not indexed on romance.io, so this comes from reader reports)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 — a 4.45 Goodreads average across just 40 ratings, most of the written reviews from advance readers)
Tropes: No strings to forever, insta-lust to slow burn, small town, commitment-phobe heroine, nonbinary love interest, return to the town she fled, found family, awkward reunion with an ex, animal shelter, emotional healing.
Chasing a Melody by A. L. Brooks is the second book in the Eagle Cove series, a self-published contemporary sapphic romance set in a small Oregon coastal town — and it puts Melody, a woman who has built her whole adult life around leaving before anyone can matter, in the same bed as Gray, a nonbinary animal-shelter worker who has sworn off anything deeper than a fling.
It released on 26 August 2026 and sits at a 4.45 Goodreads average across 40 ratings, the highest average in Brooks’s catalogue. That number is real, but it is young: thirteen of the nineteen written Goodreads reviews come from readers who say they received an advance copy. Both the enthusiasm and the thinness of the sample are worth understanding before you start.
What Is Chasing a Melody About?
Chasing a Melody is a small-town sapphic romance in the cosy register — the kind of book where the town is a character, the neighbours have their own storylines, and the real antagonist is the heroine’s own avoidance. It follows Chasing Dreams (2022), which paired Claire and Ruby, and both of them turn up here, but the book is written to stand alone.
Melody is defined by what she will not do: stay. She takes short jobs in new towns, keeps her lovers part-time and leaves before feelings form. Gray, by contrast, has done the hard work of figuring out who they are and finally has the job they wanted, but a disastrous last relationship has taught them to keep things casual with visitors passing through. Each assumes the other is the perfect no-risk arrangement. Readers report the book gives real page time to both leads’ inner lives, which is what makes the fling-to-feelings turn believable.
What Makes This Small-Town Sapphic Romance Work
- Gray: The single most praised element. Reviewers repeatedly single out Gray’s nonbinary characterisation and backstory, and “thoughtful” and “exceptional” are the words that recur for the representation.
- Chemistry from the first meeting: Readers describe the spark as instant, and one calls it “nuclear-level chemistry.” The book uses that heat as the starting point rather than the destination.
- An emotional slow burn: The feelings build slowly even though the physical relationship does not, and several readers name that contrast as the book’s best trick.
- The supporting cast: Parker, the struggling kid new to town whom Gray takes under their wing, draws specific praise, and readers are already asking for side characters Lauren and Hope to get their own book.
- Communication on the page: One blog reviewer singles out how openly the leads talk about sex and protection — a Brooks habit readers also praised in book one.
Book Synopsis
Melody has perfected the art of the clean exit. Every few months there is a new job, a new town and someone new to enjoy until the lease runs out, and the rule that keeps her safe is simple: go before anybody gets attached. So taking a post back in Eagle Cove, the one place she ever left in a hurry, feels like a small risk. It has been three years. Surely nobody remembers.
Somebody does. Ruby, the woman Melody walked out on, is very much still in town, and very much connected to the one person Melody cannot stop looking at. Gray works at the local animal shelter, loves it, and after years of working out who they are, finally feels at home in themself. What they do not want is another relationship. A little fun with someone who is definitely leaving sounds ideal.
So they agree on terms: no strings, no expectations and no feelings. Meanwhile, Eagle Cove keeps pulling them into its life — a landlady’s daughter who needs someone in her corner, a shelter full of animals that need homes, friends who refuse to stay at arm’s length. The longer Melody stays, the harder it is to pretend this is still just fun. And the question neither of them wants to ask gets louder: what happens when the person who always leaves finds a reason to stay?
My Review
The best thing in this book is Gray, and the readers are unanimous enough about it that I would put it first even if I had any doubts. A nonbinary love interest written with an actual backstory — the years of working out their identity, the relationship that went wrong, the job that finally fits — rather than as a pronoun and a haircut is still rarer in this genre than it should be. Reviewer after reviewer names Gray’s depth and kindness, and the specific note that they see through Melody’s defences without ever pushing is the kind of detail that only comes up when a character genuinely works.
The second strength is structural. Brooks puts the attraction up front and makes the slow burn emotional, which is a harder trick than it sounds: the physical intimacy has to feel good and the emotional withholding has to feel costly at the same time. Readers consistently describe the shift from casual arrangement to real connection as gradual and earned, and StoryGraph’s handful of reviewers all tag it emotional with a medium pace. Parker’s storyline, and the way Gray’s patience with her mirrors what Melody needs, gives the town real work to do rather than serving as scenery.
Where it struggles is harder to pin down, and that is partly the problem. There is almost no negative evidence yet — a single one-star Goodreads review calls the story dull and says the characters’ motivations did not track, and one otherwise delighted reader wanted an on-page scene that happens off it. But the positive evidence is overwhelmingly early and invited: thirteen of nineteen Goodreads reviewers say they read an advance copy, and StoryGraph has just four reviews and no did-not-finish data at all. The fairest caution comes from book one, Chasing Dreams, whose 4.05 average across 458 ratings came with a recurring complaint about low tension and predictability. Nobody has made that complaint about this one yet — but the audience that made it has not arrived yet either.
One expectation to reset: the author tags this “insta-lust to slow burn,” and both halves matter. If you read “slow burn” and expect a long wait for the first kiss, this is not that — the attraction is acted on early and the heat is part of the premise. The slow burn is in the feelings. If a delayed physical payoff is what you want, calibrate; if you want chemistry from chapter one with the emotional stakes built underneath it, this is the right shape.
My honest note: A warm, well-built romance with a genuinely memorable nonbinary lead, rated by a crowd that was mostly invited early. If you liked Chasing Dreams or want small-town comfort with real heat, this is an easy yes; if you need a broad reader consensus before you commit, give it a few months.
| Element | In Chasing a Melody |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Melody & Gray — a commitment-avoidant drifter and a nonbinary shelter worker, no strings to forever |
| Core tropes | No strings attached, insta-lust to slow burn, small town, return to the town she fled, found family |
| Setting | Eagle Cove, a small coastal town in Oregon, and its animal shelter |
| Heat level | 4/5 — explicit open door (reader-reported; not indexed on romance.io) |
| Series | Eagle Cove book 2 — reads as a standalone; HEA; follows Chasing Dreams (2022) |
| Content notes | Explicit sexual content; mentions of child abandonment, animal abuse and abandonment, drug use, and deceased spouse, parent and grandparents; backstory of familial homophobia and transphobia (author-listed) |
How Spicy Is Chasing a Melody?
A 4/5, with a caveat about the source. romance.io has not indexed Chasing a Melody yet, so there is no official band to quote. What exists is reader consensus: reviewers call it “spicy,” “hot” and “sweet and sexy,” one blog reviewer rates it hot and steamy, and the premise itself — a hookup arrangement that begins at the first meeting — makes the heat part of the story from the start. For context, romance.io bands book one, Chasing Dreams, at 3/5 open door, and readers are clear that this one runs hotter.
The element worth knowing in advance is not a kink but a tone: the intimate scenes lean on explicit, ongoing consent and conversations about protection, which one reviewer singles out as a highlight. No reviewer flags anything darker. If you want this heat level in the same warm register, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date and Late Bloomer sit in the same band.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a nonbinary love interest written with real depth, you like romances where the couple sleeps together early and falls in love slowly, you want a small town full of people with their own stories, and you enjoyed Chasing Dreams or Brooks’s earlier contemporaries.
You may want to skip it if: you prefer a romance built on high external drama, you want the first kiss held back for half the book, you would rather not have explicit scenes, or you only trust a rating once a few hundred strangers have weighed in.
In short: a kind, sexy, character-led small-town romance whose early reviews are glowing and whose wider verdict is still forming.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
There is no breakout moment here. I found no TikTok presence for the title, no trade reviews, and nothing from the usual sapphic outlets beyond a Lesbian Review listing and a single four-and-a-half-star blog review. Reddit could not be checked from here, so I cannot tell you whether it is being discussed there. What the book has instead is a loyal readership doing exactly what an established indie author’s readership does in the first four weeks: 40 Goodreads ratings, 41 on Amazon at 4.4, a spot around #329 in Amazon’s Lesbian Romance chart, and a Kindle Unlimited listing that lowers the cost of trying it. Worth noting as a career fact: Chasing Dreams was published by Ylva, and the sequel is self-published under Brooks’s own name. There is no audiobook for book two yet, though book one has one.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Gray, first and loudest — the nonbinary representation is named in more reviews than any other single element, usually alongside Gray’s compassion and patience. Then the chemistry, which readers describe as immediate and which several say deepens past the midpoint into something about fear and being truly seen. The found-family texture comes next: Parker’s arc, returning book-one favourites Ruby and Claire, and a town readers call immersive. Several reviews praise the pacing outright, and multiple readers finish by asking for more Eagle Cove, with Lauren and Hope the pairing people want next.
What readers argue about and complain about: Very little so far. First: the sample. Of nineteen written Goodreads reviews, thirteen disclose advance copies from the author, and Amazon’s written reviews overlap heavily with the same names. That does not make them insincere, but advance readers self-select as fans, and a 60% five-star share will almost certainly soften as the book reaches strangers. Second: the lone dissent. One Goodreads reader gave it a single star, found it dull and could not follow why the characters acted as they did. Third, and smaller: one reader missed an on-page scene involving the shelter dog. Beyond that there is one quiet split — one reviewer files it under enemies-to-lovers while the author and most readers describe a friendly hookup that grows into love, so if you want sparring, do not expect much.
The standalone question worth asking first: it stands alone. Readers who have not read Chasing Dreams say they followed it without trouble, the romance resolves with a happily-ever-after, and nothing is left hanging for the next book — the only thread pulling forward is readers’ hope for a Lauren-and-Hope story, which the author has not announced. If you want to go back, Chasing Dreams sits at 4.05 across 458 ratings with a gentler heat level and a reputation for being low-angst. If you want Brooks at her most-read, Dare to Love leads her catalogue at 3.99 across more than 1,000 ratings, and The Long Shot is the one we have already reviewed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to read Chasing Dreams first?
No. Chasing a Melody is Eagle Cove book 2, but readers who skipped book one say it works as a standalone. Ruby and Claire from Chasing Dreams appear, and knowing them adds context rather than being required.
How spicy is Chasing a Melody?
A 4/5, explicit and open door. romance.io has not indexed it yet, so that rating comes from reader reports, which describe it as spicy and hot and clearly hotter than book one’s 3/5.
Is Chasing a Melody a lesbian romance?
It is a sapphic romance rather than a strictly lesbian one. Melody is a woman and Gray is nonbinary, and readers single out Gray’s representation as the book’s biggest strength.
Does Chasing a Melody have a happy ending?
Yes. The romance resolves with a happily-ever-after and no cliffhanger. Readers hope for a book about side characters Lauren and Hope, but none has been announced as of September 2026.
Is there a Chasing a Melody audiobook?
Not yet. As of September 2026 the book is available in Kindle and paperback, including Kindle Unlimited. Book one, Chasing Dreams, does have an audiobook edition.
If You Loved Chasing a Melody, Read These Next
The closest match is Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, which runs the same commitment-phobe-meets-hookup engine at the same heat in a small town. If Melody’s reluctant homecoming is the part that got you, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care sends its heroine back to the town she fled. And for another cosy small-town return at a similar heat level, In the Event of Love is the natural next stop.
For more in this register, browse our complete small-town lesbian romance guide or the full Book Reviews collection.
The Bottom Line
Chasing a Melody sets out to turn a no-strings fling into a love story about learning to stay, and on the early evidence it does. Gray is a standout nonbinary lead, the chemistry is there from the first meeting, and Eagle Cove gives the romance a community worth coming back to. It is also rated by a small and largely advance-copy crowd, low on external drama in a way book one’s readers sometimes found too gentle, and not yet available in audio. Whether that matters depends on how much you trust early numbers — but if warm, explicit, character-driven small-town romance is your comfort read, this is an easy book to take a chance on. Check Chasing a Melody on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Chasing a Melody ranks as a warm, character-first indie small-town sapphic romance — anchored by a genuinely well-written nonbinary lead, limited by a young and advance-heavy ratings pool, and best approached for Gray and the town rather than for high-stakes drama.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ 4.45 average across 40 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 4.4 across 41 Amazon ratings
- ✓ Highest average in Brooks’s catalogue
- ✓ 13 of 19 reviews from advance readers
Romance ★★★★☆ 4.2/5
- ✓ Instant chemistry readers keep naming
- ✓ Fling-to-feelings turn reads as earned
- ✓ Emotional slow burn under early heat
- ✓ Little external conflict to push it
Characters ★★★★☆ 4.4/5
- ✓ Gray the most praised element
- ✓ Nonbinary backstory given real depth
- ✓ Parker’s arc lifts the supporting cast
- ✓ One reader found motivations hard to follow
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Pacing praised by several reviewers
- ✓ Town described as immersive
- ✓ Open communication written naturally
- ✓ Book one drew low-tension complaints
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 4.1/5
- ✓ StoryGraph readers all tag it emotional
- ✓ Fear of being seen lands past midpoint
- ✓ Family trauma and healing threads
- ✓ Cosy register caps the stakes
Heat Level ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Explicit, open door, early and ongoing
- ✓ Readers call it spicy and hot
- ✓ Hotter than book one’s 3/5 band
- ✓ Not yet indexed on romance.io
Ending ★★★★☆ 4.2/5
- ✓ Happily-ever-after, no cliffhanger
- ✓ Works fully as a standalone
- ✓ Commitment arc resolves on the page
- ✓ One wished-for scene happens off-page
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Found-family town invites a return
- ✓ Kindle Unlimited makes a revisit cheap
- ✓ Readers already asking for book three
- ✓ No audiobook for a second pass yet
Affiliate disclosure: Lesbian Romance Reads is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. If you buy through the link below we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.