Colton Gentry's Third Act

Jeff Zentner has a wonderful way with words, as I discovered while reading his incredible YA novels, but Colton Gentry's Third Act is on a whole different level. Grief, friendship, first love, longing, redemption and second chances are all deftly and hopefully explored in this wonderful book. Highly recommend!

Jeff Zentner is the author of some brilliant YA novels including The Serpent King, Goodbye Days, In the Wild Light, and Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee. Colton Gentry’s Third Act is his first novel for adults, but it has the same gorgeous qualities as all his books.Colton Gentry is as down on his luck as someone can be. His country music career has imploded, his marriage is over, he’s broke, and he’s in the throes of alcoholism. He also recently lost his best friend in a mass shooting. After a stint in rehab, he heads to his small hometown in Kentucky and slowly starts to pick up the pieces with the help of his mom, his high school girlfriend, a former football teammate, and a dog named Petey.Y’all know I mostly read romance, and while this has romance, there’s so much more - it’s more of a second-chance-at-life story. What I love about Colton is that he is not afraid to show emotion - when tears come, he’s not afraid to let them fall. Colton is a great character, one of the many who inhabit this book. There’s a great “found family” quality happening as Colton begins piecing his life back together. I really love Zentner’s lush writing. He’s great at writing dialogue, making it natural and seemingly effortless. The multiple timelines here work well at furthering the story while giving us history. The world building is fantastic. I grew up in and around small southern towns, and the setting of Venice, Kentucky, is spot on. The more time I spent with Colton as he worked through his problems, the more I grew to love him, and I believe you’ll love him and his story as well.Read Colton Gentry’s Third Act and let me know what you think - I’d love to discuss.

This is a very rich and layered story. It's challenging to classify. It's a poignant second chance romance; a story about someone being cancelled because they are brave enough to speak out for what they believe; a thoughtful look at the challenges of recovery; an inside view of a restaurant kitchen and the work to make a new restaurant successful.Colton Gentry is a country music star who returns to his small Kentucky hometown to rebuild his life. Following the senseless death of his best friend in a mass shooting, he makes a public statement and is immediately fired by his label, concert tour and soon to be ex-wife. When he lands in his childhood home, he meets his first love, Luanne. She's recently founded a farm to table restaurant specializing in Southern style haute cuisine. (Be prepared to get hungry as you read about the menus.) Luanne offers Colton a second chance and helps him get his self esteem back. Between her and his high school best friend, he has the support he needs to stay on the path to sobriety.The story is told in Colton's voice and alternates present day action with flashbacks to their high school past.

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Picked this up as I was coming out of my “hot rock star” romance phase. It was lovely. Sweet characters. Not too graphic, (I started feeling like The hot rock star stuff was getting a bit too porny for me). Beautiful descriptions. From food, to scenery to dialogue.