Song of Salzburg

Johnson (Her Lady’s Whims and Fancies) combines love and music to lovely effect in the fourth installment to the historical shared universe Romance on the Orient Express series (after Until Vienna by Heather B. Moore). British violinist Freya Winter travels from Paris to Salzburg via train, hoping to be chosen as a student by the renowned Salzburg Maestro. Should she fail, her father will force her to return to England and take a position as a governess. Aboard the Orient Express, she meets charming music teacher Erich, and encounters him again each time she takes the train to visit her grandmother in Paris on the weekends. Freya soon achieves success in Salzburg, attaining the coveted First Chair position in the local orchestra, but she still doesn’t hear back from the maestro, leaving her confused and disheartened. Softening the blow are her trips to Paris and budding romance with Erich, who encourages her to perform for the train’s dining car passengers. But under mounting pressure from her father, Freya must decide whether her musical career and love of Erich are worth risking familial discord. The romance is chaste, slow-building, and sweet, and Johnson makes both characters’ love of music palpable. This is a treat. (Aug.)