Publishers Weekly
03/18/2024
In this swoon-worthy romance, the adult debut from YA author Zentner (In the Wild Light), a country singer-songwriter’s life falls apart in the wake of a mass shooting. It’s 2015 and B-list performer Colton Gentry, 38, is finally on the rise with a popular song about his high school girlfriend, Luann, which he wrote while his marriage to superstar Maisy Martin began to flounder. After his best friend is killed during a mass shooting, Colton speaks out against rampant gun ownership, and angry gun-toting country music fans make him a pariah. Drunk during a show, Colton responds to a group of hecklers who call him a “libtard” with one career-ending sentence: “fuck you and your guns.” Maisy, who’s already having an affair with a hockey player, divorces Colton, and he returns from Nashville to his hometown in Kentucky, remembering all the previous ways he messed up his life from drinking, starting with Luann. The two reconnect, and Colton accepts her offer to work at her farm-to-table restaurant as her sous-chef. Zentner gets the reader rooting for Colton to find his second chance with Luann by developing their tender teen love story through flashbacks—in one, set during Christmas 1996, Luann gives Colton a leather guitar strap and he gives her a bonsai tree, “like Mr. Miyagi had in Karate Kid.” Fans of wholesome Americana will lap this up. Agent: Charlie Olsen, InkWell Management. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
A TODAY SHOW PICK "Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner is a fantastic book filled with incredible characters. Country music star Colton Gentry's life is going perfectly, until the death of his close friend and a Jim Beam-fueled speech he gives while on stage at a giant show has Colton returning to his hometown in Kentucky. It's there that Colton reconnects with Luann, the first woman he ever loved, and has him thinking that maybe his best days aren't all behind him quite yet. Told through three alternating timelines—high school, his rise to fame, and the present—Colton Gentry's Third Act is a novel packed with feels that will have you laughing while reading one page and then crying while reading the next. A beautiful story of love, growth, and second (or, you know, third, fourth, sometimes fifth) chances, you'll be cheering Colton on right through the book's fantastic end."—Isaac Fitzgerald, TODAY Show
"Jeff Zentner has a knack for finding poetry in everyday situations. . .The narrative weaves between Colton’s come-up, adolescence, and present, stitching heartbreak, grief, and hope into one devastating arc that will leave a smile on your face even as it draws out a tear."—Vanity Fair
“Reading Colton Gentry's Third Act feels like sitting down with old friends to your favorite home-cooked meal, reminiscing late into the night and laughing giddily by the time the sun comes up. It's warm and comforting, and brimming with a heady nostalgia that will transport you right back to your own youthful summers and life-changing firsts. A story of love, healing, and second chances that's not to be missed.” —Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and Book Lovers
“Country music was born to tell stories and so was Jeff Zentner. Colton Gentry's Third Act is fueled by a broken heart, and a determination to heal through hard work, forgiveness, and grit—just like the very best country songs. Keep this one on repeat.”—Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants
"What a book! A beautiful, hard-earned triumph. Jeff Zentner has delivered a story that is as raw as it is real, with dialogue that sings straight from the pages, and a redemptive love story that will make your heart ache. Charming and defiant, Colton Gentry’s Third Act will strum at your heartstrings as it tells its tale of redemption, transformation, and true love."—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Paradise Problem
"A timely message set to the timeless tune of a love story, Colton Gentry's Third Act overflows with heart, hope, and the sweetness of relationships that last a lifetime. Get ready to have it stuck in your head like a song."—Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives
"Colton Gentry's Third Act is a meditative, deeply romantic novel about rebirth and redemption, the guts it takes to strip yourself bare and start over, and the rewards of taking the risk. You'll devour it."—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, bestselling authors of The Royal We and The Heir Affair
"Readers are going to devour this bighearted story of redemption. Zentner takes on a timely, important issue without ever being didactic. He provides us with characters we can root for, a sexy love story that will keep the pages turning, and delicious prose, whether he's describing the smell of honeysuckle on a summer evening, a mouth-watering meal, or the power of music. Don't miss Colton Gentry's Third Act."—Silas House, author of Southernmost and Poet Laureate of Kentucky
"Like the best country love songs, Colton Gentry's Third Act breaks your heart, stitches it back together, and makes you want to hear the story over and over just to feel something. This is the book Jeff Zentner was born to write." —Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Cutting Teeth
“I came out with my heart both shattered and full. Damn it, but this book has it all—an intensely likable character, a heartbreaking story, and achingly beautiful writing.”—Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
“Brimming with southern charm and deftly balancing humor with poignancy, Zentner’s story of second (and third) chances is sure to win over readers who love a redemption story.”—Booklist, starred review
"[W]ith a deft hand and lush, descriptive writing, the author manages to weave it all together into a yarn worthy of a classic country record. An emotional meditation on coming home to yourself."—Kirkus
"[A] swoon-worthy romance. . . Fans of wholesome Americana will lap this up."—Publishers Weekly
“Readers will root for the affable Colton Gentry and his much-needed third act and no doubt wish his creator greater joy in this new venture.”—Chapter 16
"Zentner skillfully alternates through three different timelines in his novel... But what will stick with readers is the affection with which Zentner writes about the South, from its lush landscapes and wild weather to its food."—BookReporter
APRIL 2024 - AudioFile
Charlie Thurston's narration engages whether in flashbacks of Colton Gentry's high school years or accounts of his present-day return to his hometown. Thurston's fluid transitions transcend leaps in time and credibly illuminate Colton's ongoing affection for Luann, his first love. While Colton speaks in a neutral tone, Thurston's expressions of his interior reveal his struggles with alcohol, a lost career, and grief over his best friend's death, as well as his gratitude when Luann offers him a restaurant job. Thurston's narration maximizes the strong dialogue throughout--whether he's delivering Colton's poignant apologies to those he's wronged, witty repartee with Luann, or the slow burn of their rekindling relationship. Thurston's mild Southern accents add to the charm, as do the descriptions of the restaurant's farm-to-table dishes. S.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2024-02-03
A down-on-his-luck musician returns to his hometown after the death of his best friend.
Colton Gentry should be riding high. His latest single is lighting up country radio, he’s opening for superstar Brant Lucas, and he’s married to one of the biggest singers in the business, Maisy Martin. But his best friend, Duane Arnett, has just been killed in a mass shooting at a country music festival in Tampa, and Colton is struggling through a fog of grief, unsuccessfully drowning his sorrows in alcohol, and dealing with the fallout of an interview he gave calling for gun control. Drunk on stage one night, Colton angrily responds to gun rights hecklers in front of thousands of conservative country fans. He’s dropped from the tour and his record label, and his marriage to Maisy implodes. Now back in his hometown of Venice, Kentucky, Colton resigns himself to life as a has-been. But when he runs into his high school sweetheart, Luann Lawler, a chef working in town, she offers him a job and another chance at life—and love. Shifting among Colton’s three acts—the high school football phenom of rural Kentucky, the honey-voiced country singer in Nashville, and the preternaturally gifted farm-to-table sous chef—sometimes feels like too many disparate strings are being played, especially when subplots about grief, divorce, second-chance romance, substance abuse, and celebrity all get stage time. Readers expecting the novel to focus heavily on Colton crusading for gun control may be disappointed, as the catalyst for his return to Kentucky falls mostly to the wayside once he gets there. But with a deft hand and lush, descriptive writing, the author manages to weave it all together into a yarn worthy of a classic country record.
An emotional meditation on coming home to yourself.
