Less Than Nothing is about a homeless girl named Sage who is busking to try and make a living in California. One morning another guy, Derek, decides to take her block and he is really good looking so she thinks that he is going to take all the money that she could have been earning from her. He makes a deal with her that they will perform together as a duo and split the profits. If it is not more than what Sage had been making solo, he will find a new block. It turns out that their voices sound great together and they made a ton more money than Sage was used to bringing in. Then Derek drops a bomb that he is leaving in a few days to go from California to New York to audition for America’s Top Talent. Sage wonders if she should go too – and then decides to do it.
The two hitchhike their way across the country meeting a lot of interesting characters and getting a lot of rides from 18 wheelers who have drivers who are lonely and do it for the company on their long trips. They make a detour in Memphis because Derek is a fan of Elvis.
They make it to New York in time for their audition – but Derek’s guitar is stolen. They end up buying one at a pawn shop and make it through their auditions to the live show. After Derek’s brother shows up and Derek ends up coming home with a broken arm, Sage is fed up and asks the producers if they can no longer compete as a duo but 2 solo acts. The producers actually agree! I won’t say much more than that about the plot because you’ll have to read it to find out what else happens!
I really liked this book – it had a few of my favorite things, music, music competitions and road trips in it. It was a pretty easy read and the characters were easy to like. This is the first of 3 books (More than Anything and Best Of Everything are the next 2) and I am looking forward to hopefully reading those as well!
I received a free e-copy in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
Sage’s life as a teenage runaway in San Francisco is simple: Snatch a few hours of sleep on park benches and bus stops; dodge perverts, predators, and cops; and make enough as a street musician to eat. But her world flips upside down when she meets Derek – hot, tattooed, and charming, a singer from Seattle whose looks and talent take her breath away.
What begins as a reluctant partnership quickly develops into a cross-country race against time – and awakens a hunger in Sage that’s unfamiliar and exciting.
As they travel from coast to coast, Sage and Derek pursue their dream, only to discover that they can never run far enough to escape the demons from their pasts.
Less Than Nothing is the breakout debut NA novel from USA Today bestseller R.E. Blake that critics are buzzing about and readers can’t put down.