Hazel Fine Sings Along

Wicks’s sweet but rocky debut romance (after the thriller Please Join Us, written as Catherine McKenzie) finds aspiring singer Hazel Fine living in a cheap motel and struggling to find herself after a tumultuous childhood. A scout hears her sing at an open mic night, and she’s invited to try out for the American Idol-esque reality show The Sing Along. If she doesn’t succeed, she may be forced to move back in with her overbearing parents, but she needs to keep her past a secret on national TV. Though she’s determined to keep her head down and stay out of any reality show drama, Hazel quickly finds it isn’t that easy, and instead digs herself deep in her own lies, enters a “showmance” with fellow contestant Benji Suzuki, and develops complicated feelings for the show’s music director, Nick Barnes. Readers will likely guess Hazel’s secret long before it’s revealed, and her snowballing deception leads to some eye-rolling moments. Still, Wicks makes the competition entertaining (it’s as easy to root for the other contestants as for Hazel) and brings some big romantic feels. It’s not perfect, but it does have heart. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (May)