Simi's parents have always encouraged her to study acting as her career, since they are both actors as well. But Simi's true passion is for composing and arranging music. However, the music industry in Bollywood is completely dominated by men composers. Not even Simi's teachers at Bollywood Academy think it would be possible for her to break into such a difficult field. As Simi loses her dream, she sees her friends (who are male) pursuing music and writing hit songs. Simi doesn't want to let her parents down, so she determines to just accept a career as an actress, even though her heart isn't in it. But is that truly the right decision?

This was such a fun book! The plot is really interesting and I loved all the different characters. The writing is excellent and I love the world-building and all the details of the school!

I had expected this second book in the series to follow Bela again, but this story follows a new set of characters at Bollywood Academy and we see Bela and her group as side characters who are mentioned a couple of times as being around the school. That is okay, since Bela's story was already resolved and probably didn't have much room for further adventures.

I am a musician, so I really related to Simi's passion for music! Her greatest wish is to have an acoustic piano of her own (instead of just an electric keyboard), and I felt that so strongly since I remember the first time I purchased my own baby grand piano. It was a life-changing moment for me, and my own experiences made Simi's story resonate powerfully as well!

The best part of this book for me was learning more about the rich Indian culture, and seeing how Simi's sweet family interact and support each other. Simi has an especially complicated relationship with her mother, and they have some difficult times. But it was so wonderful to see the character development between those two and the beautiful mother-daughter relationship that blossoms.

I really loved Simi's character and her inner journey to find confidence in herself. She has a lot of doubts in the beginning, but she grows and begins to trust herself. She has a few good friends who encourage her, and gradually she learns that her abilities and skills have value. But most importantly, it is her good heart and her kindness that prove her worth both on and off the stage.

At first, I was unsure about the gender-bias plot line in the music industry. But as the story continued, I was glad to see character growth from a lot of the characters, and that part of the story was very satisfactorily resolved. I was especially glad to see Simi's teachers taking it seriously and rethinking their attitudes. As a music teacher myself, I really loved to see the change of heart from Mr Joshi, Simi's music teacher. He really cares about supporting and inspiring his students to love music, and that struck a chord with me on a deep level since that is also my goal with my teaching.

I'm so excited to read more from this series!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.