Reviewed by Michelle Robertson for Readers' Favorite

When you are young, musically talented, and full of ambition, starting a band sounds like the best career out there. Oh sure, the fame, the fun, the money, all the attention, and of course the perks seem like a dream come true until one day it just isn't. Four friends are joined together in life by their sheer passion, talent, and love for music. All come from different roads and pathways of life. Joey Boldt and Aiden Cade are childhood friends with the aspiration to one day become the rock stars they have the talent and ability to become. The two cross paths with Natasha Olejnkik, an immigrant from the Ukraine who has her own issues to overcome, and Cecily Deluca, who as a child was abused and was simply looking for an escape from that life. Join all four as they venture into the work of rock and roll and fame, but then nearly lose it all as they face self destruction with drugs, sex, and betrayal in a world so many fall victim to.

Burning Down Rome by Melodie Ramone is a fast-paced coming of age story introducing readers to the lifestyle, highs, and lows of a rock and roll band. Melodie Ramone has a poetically lyrical style of writing that, simply put, can be described as tense. When reading Ramone's story, a reader can expect to not just simply read the story on the pages, but to physically feel the emotion of each character as they go through different struggles throughout the book. Needless to say, the character development and plot are both fantastically designed to lure the reader in on an expressive and relatable level. Recommended for all readers of the young adult age and above.