Colton Gentrys Third Act, Jeff Zentner
Colton Gentrys Third Act, Jeff Zentner
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Colton Gentry's Third Act
A Novel

Author: Jeff Zentner

Narrator: Charlie Thurston

Unabridged: 11 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/30/2024


Synopsis

From an award-winning author, a down on his luck country musician moves back home and rekindles a relationship with his high school sweetheart in this moving novel that's "not to be missed" (Emily Henry, author of Beach Read and Book Lovers).

Colton Gentry's music career is riding high, but he's hurting after his best friend is killed by a mass shooter at a country music festival. One night, with Jim Beam flowing through his veins, Colton stands before a sold-out crowd of country music fans and offers his unfiltered opinion on guns. Immediately, his career and marriage implode.

Colton retreats to his rural Kentucky hometown to hide out,resigned to being a has-been. A chance encounter gives him a second shot at life: a job working at a restaurant with Luann, his first love. Colton Gentry's Third Act is a reminder that there are next acts in life, no matter how unlikely they may seem.

About Jeff Zentner

Jeff Zentner is the author of the New York Times Notable Books The Serpent King and In the Wild Light. He has won the ALA’s William C. Morris Award, the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award twice, the Muriel Becker Award, and the International Literacy Association Award for Young Adult Fiction and has been longlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal. Before becoming a writer, he was a musician who recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry. He lives in Nashville.  


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeff on January 22, 2025

One of the wonders of moving through this world is how unpredictable it can be. You end up in places you never imagined, doing things that were never part of your plan. And sometimes it all works to your greater joy. When this book releases, I will have been a writer of fiction for just over ten year......more

Goodreads review by The Lit Homebody on June 23, 2024

5 ⭐️ Wow, meet my new favorite book. It’ll be impossible to top this as my best read of the year. Oh my goodness?? I don’t remember the last time I read a 400 page book in 24 hours but I simply could not put this down. I cared for the characters so deeply, and I know I’m going to be thinking about th......more

Goodreads review by Marieke on May 21, 2024

Honeysuckle Summer was the working title of this book, and somehow, I wished that this beautiful story about a country singer who drunkenly offers on stage his unfiltered opinion about guns after his best friend was killed in a mass shooting still had that poetic and mesmerizing title. Honeysuckle S......more

Goodreads review by Ellery on April 22, 2024

I should know better than to make assumptions based on a book's cover, but I went into this one thinking it would be a country romance and therefore, not my jam. Boy, was I wrong. Yes, there "is" a romance between our hero, Colton, and his high-school sweetheart, Luann (which I loved because I loved......more

Goodreads review by Chelsea on July 15, 2024

review to come! cw: gun violence, death of a loved one, alcoholism, cheating......more


Quotes

“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