Music Tastes Better
with Wine

Music Tastes Better with Wine: Love Over Fear, Music Over Silence, and Hope Over Everything by Clara Arcucci is a suspenseful romance that starts when Jiho decides to end his career as an entertainment director on luxurious liners and buys a building in Seoul that he converts into an innovative performance space called Luz. Meanwhile, Lucia, recovering from loss and disillusionment in Naples and Barcelona, follows a lead from Miguel to pursue work in Seoul.

Their paths converge at Jiho's rooftop venue, where a cautious connection forms through their daily routines, but is tested by travel plans, missteps, and danger. An assault on Lucia and Jiho's injury forces decisive action, and each must decide whether to let their lives drift apart or move their separate itinerant lives toward the stability of a future together.

Arcucci gives each scene a grounded presence, breathing life into Seoul itself, but also in Europe, which are all given supremely atmospheric and textured space. The plot moves with calm progression, using atmosphere, gentle humor, and thoughtful pacing to highlight affection, ambition, and the ways two musicians chart a path forward together in a city that greets them with open possibility.

— Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite