Review: The Ballad of Darcy & Russell + Morgan Matson Book Tour

Darcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that magical moment, hoping that when she meets the right guy, everything will fall into place perfectly.

But right now, her life is anything but perfect. Heading home from a music festival, engine trouble means she’s stranded at a Nevada bus station until morning. Even worse, it’s the day before she leaves for college, her phone is dead, and she has no cash. Darcy’s convinced nothing good can come of this night…but then she meets Russell. Cute, nice, funny, and kind, this is the guy—and the moment—she’s been waiting for. As they walk and talk, the two connect, and Darcy is able to put aside all her fears and doubts about the future to focus on this perfect guy.

Over the course of one fateful night, Darcy and Russell discover things they never imagined about each other and themselves. But can you really know someone after only a handful of hours? Is it possible to fall in love in less than day? Before they part, both their lives will be changed, and Darcy and Russell will have to decide if it’s worth saying hello when you know you’re destined for a goodbye.

• Title: The Ballad of Darcy & Russell
• Author:  Morgan Matson
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
• Publication Date: May 7, 2024
• Genre: Romance 
• Targeted Age Range: YA
• Content Warnings: mentions of sex, trespassing, strained relationship with parents
• Rating: ★★★★★

If you’ve loved Morgan Matson’s previous works, then you’re going to absolutely love The Ballad of Darcy & Russell. I think that this book really combines some of the best aspects of her previous works — you’ve got the adventure/road trip element of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour (plus the & in the title!), heartfelt and emotional elements from Second Chance Summer, the close knit friendships represented in Since You’ve Been Gone and The Unexpected Everything, a big beautiful chaotic family similar to the Grants in Save the Date and an epic 24 hours like Take Me Home. In a lot of ways, Darcy & Russell felt like a love letter to Matson’s faithful readers.

At Morgan’s book signing on the release date, I asked her what Taylor Swift albums she would assign to her books (obviously, why would I not ask this question?) and while she said that the song for Darcy & Russell is So High School she said the album for this book is Red (also she said Red is her favorite Taylor album and it’s mine as well, it’s pretty awesome to share the same favorite Taylor album with one of your favorite authors), and she was not lying. The Ballad of Darcy & Russell has Red vibes all over the place! If I had to think of a specific lyric from Red that this book reminds me of, the first that comes to mind is a lyric from the album opener, State of Grace (one of my favorites), “I never saw you coming / and I’ll never be the same”

When her bus breaks down on the way home to LA from a music festival in Nevada, Darcy is planning on simply waiting out the night at the station, especially since her phone is dead and her charger is gone. However, there she meets Russell, and the two decide to turn their night around by exploring the small town of Jesse, Nevada. What the two don’t know is that the night will lead them to discoveries about themselves and each other that will turn their worlds upside down. 

I love stories that take place within 24-hours because it always asks the question, how much can one night change the course of your life? I also think it’s such a perfect setting for a YA story because when you’re a teenager every long night feels magical and full of possibilities. Matson said that what she loves about writing YA is that the characters have so much possibility in front of them — they’re not jaded yet, every emotion and every moment is so important and so big and I felt that on every page. Sometimes in a romance (YA or adult) I feel like we get “montage” moments where we don’t necessarily get to see the characters grow or see their thought process, but since Darcy & Russell takes place in 24-hours, we do get to see every little moment. That aspect of it really helped me get invested in Darcy and Russell both as individual characters and as a couple.

Darcy and Russell are probably one of the best couples that Matson has ever written. They were so fun together; I loved their banter (Russell is correct in being appalled that one of the only musicals Darcy knows is Cats) and they had a connection from the start that felt honest and real. They see each other and yes, right away Darcy is attracted to him (and him to her) but they really get to know each other and develop what I think is a really lovely and beautiful bond. Their beginning has the foundation of an insta-love story (which is not my favorite trope) but Matson develops it far beyond that and gives the two of them a multilayered relationship, which I think is so difficult to do in a book that takes place over the course of 24-hours. Darcy and Russell had such a spark from the start and there were some scenes that absolutely had me swooning! Oh, and the moment when the title comes into play? Swooning and crying honestly, Darcy got to live my dream and I love that for her. Matson said that this is her most romance focused book so far and I would definitely agree.

While yes, this is Matson’s most romance focused story to date, it still had the beautiful character development that I come to expect from her. Her coming of age stories really are some of the best I’ve read because her characters always feel so real. I don’t feel like I’m reading about fictional characters, I feel like I’m reading a story that my friend wrote. As always with her protagonists, I loved Darcy. She had a lovely energy that really leapt off the page — it was great to read from her POV and I especially loved that so much of her inner monologue were the voices of her best friends Didi and Kait (short for Kaitlyn! She may not spell it my way, but I take the name as a win!). I thought it was so fun that while we didn’t meet Didi and Kati on page, they still came across as clear and distinct characters because Darcy knew them so well and it was hilarious to have those two in her mind acting as the two sides of her consciousness basically.

At the signing, Matson said that Russell is basically the boy she would’ve wanted to date in high school, and I don’t disagree! He was sweet, funny, witty and loved musical theatre — he quite literally is 17-year-old Caitlyn’s dream boy. I absolutely loved him — he was so charming and likeable, and had an assuredness to him that made it easy to see why Darcy was instantly smitten with him. I guessed his secret very early on (to be honest I don’t think it’s supposed to be a big capital R reveal for the reader, but it is supposed to be for Darcy) and I loved watching that play out. I completely understood his reasoning for not telling Darcy right away, and I thought the way the two of them handled the situation felt very real and honest, especially for 18-year-olds, and I really appreciated the way they worked through it. I also absolutely adored Russell’s family and could read countless books about that bunch — they definitely gave off some Grant family vibes!

Overall, The Ballad of Darcy & Russell is another wonderfully crafted fun, swoony, and emotional read from Matson, further proving that she is quite the master of her craft. I know that I’ll be revisiting this book many many times.

Links for The Ballad of Darcy & Russell: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop 

Some highlights from the book event:

• Finding out that Morgan’s favorite musical is Into The Woods (Sondheim supremacy that is correct!)
• Getting to hear about her writing process and fun anecdotes about her other books. The first draft of Save the Date was around 600 pages and honestly, I would’ve read 1,000+ pages about the Grant family so I love that
• Talking to Morgan and another person there about Funny Story and how much we adore Emily Henry
• Getting to finally meet Morgan in person and tell her how much her work means to me, and talk about Taylor Swift and the Eras tour (and get confirmation that Emily’s parents in Since You’ve Been Gone are named after Andrea and Scott)
• Morgan loved the bracelets that I made her and that I wore pink to match the cover. She also posted me on her Instagram story!

The whole experience was so fun and lovely. It was a wonderful night.