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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2 stars.
( Here are some content warnings. Nothing in this review).
You know something has gone wrong when I start looking forward to writing my review before the novel is over.
Charlie Bloom seems to be the only student at Caversham High - and maybe the only teenager in the world - who isn't obsessed with the huge up-and-coming boyband, Fire&Lights. But when her passion for photography gets her noticed by one of the band's originating members, Olly (who also happens to be an ex-Caversham student), she is thrust into the Fire&Lights frenzy of screaming fans, backstage chaos and on-stage magic. Whilst she is used to hiding behind her camera lens, Charlie is forced into the light when both Olly and his bandmate - isolated heart-throb, Gabriel - start seeing her as more than just their behind-the-scenes photographer. And if her unexpected connection to the boys wasn't enough, she soon realises a haunting familiarity to their lyrics that has her questioning everything.
Positives first before I start smashing the place up:
- The first couple of hundred pages of this was decent. The premise was something we've all heard/read before (multiple times), but I was confident in Chris Russell's writing, which didn't feel too cliche in the early stages, and had me believing Songs About A Girl could give me something different.
- Charlie's best friend, Melissa, was a pretty good bestie character. She was consistently included in things and their friendship was nice.
- Olly, Yuki and Aiden were also strong supporting characters who I quickly came to like. The heart of the band really came through in their scenes together, making them as a collective an authentic presentation of a boyband with that level of popularity.
- The British came through. Faint but true.
But aside from the above, this novel did lots which I unfortunately did not like.
For starters, it is way way too long. I personally have a cut-off for contemporaries that 9 times out of 10, could be edited down enough to fit within this limit without losing their essence - Songs About A Girl is one of them. There was too much unnecessary info and description and mini-scenes that did nothing at all for the story. Russell needed to go at this with both a fine-toothed comb and a hacksaw.
Secondly, this novel fell into cliches to an embarrassing extent. I mean, I knew I was going headfirst into a love triangle involving a mysterious bad boy, a sweet hometown boy, and a quiet hat-wearing girl, but there are always ways to write these tropes in new and inventive ways without regurgitating things we have all seen before. Russell sadly did nothing to bring his tropes to new heights, leading to endless eye-rolling from yours truly. Let's unpick some of the cliches in more depth:
- Love Triangle - listen, I love a love triangle, for real. But this was just two guys developing a rapid and inexplicable obsession with a girl just because she doesn't fall at their feet or squeal when she sees them. If the bar was really that low, fine, but that doesn't give you grounds to act like the situation is romantic.
- Mysterious Bad Boy - brooding good looks and alcoholism. I could tell this was a bad boy written by a man, just saying. You're not hard, Gabriel, you're just a liability.
- Sweet Hometown Boy - as said above, I actually liked Olly. But he was sincerely let down by his 'feelings' for Charlie (which clouded his entire character in the novel's second half). They would have been better just becoming really good friends, to be honest. And I hated the way he kept leaping to Charlie's side out of nowhere like, bro let a gal fight her battles and take your jealousy elsewhere.
- Quiet Hat-Wearing Girl - it was not-like-other-girls, it was manic-pixie, it was not a nice time for me. We had hats, hair-tucks, photography, boyband/pop-phobia, absent/distant parents, bullies. Full package, truly.
Final shoutout to the most random and dramatised hint towards non-white ethnicity I think I've ever read. Ellipses were involved.
It's sad because I was really excited by this book in the beginning, and then it became a mess. I kind of want to know if it keeps steam-rolling its way underground but I really can't do that again. Pass, thank you.
( Here are some content warnings. Nothing in this review).
You know something has gone wrong when I start looking forward to writing my review before the novel is over.
Charlie Bloom seems to be the only student at Caversham High - and maybe the only teenager in the world - who isn't obsessed with the huge up-and-coming boyband, Fire&Lights. But when her passion for photography gets her noticed by one of the band's originating members, Olly (who also happens to be an ex-Caversham student), she is thrust into the Fire&Lights frenzy of screaming fans, backstage chaos and on-stage magic. Whilst she is used to hiding behind her camera lens, Charlie is forced into the light when both Olly and his bandmate - isolated heart-throb, Gabriel - start seeing her as more than just their behind-the-scenes photographer. And if her unexpected connection to the boys wasn't enough, she soon realises a haunting familiarity to their lyrics that has her questioning everything.
Positives first before I start smashing the place up:
- The first couple of hundred pages of this was decent. The premise was something we've all heard/read before (multiple times), but I was confident in Chris Russell's writing, which didn't feel too cliche in the early stages, and had me believing Songs About A Girl could give me something different.
- Charlie's best friend, Melissa, was a pretty good bestie character. She was consistently included in things and their friendship was nice.
- Olly, Yuki and Aiden were also strong supporting characters who I quickly came to like. The heart of the band really came through in their scenes together, making them as a collective an authentic presentation of a boyband with that level of popularity.
- The British came through. Faint but true.
But aside from the above, this novel did lots which I unfortunately did not like.
For starters, it is way way too long. I personally have a cut-off for contemporaries that 9 times out of 10, could be edited down enough to fit within this limit without losing their essence - Songs About A Girl is one of them. There was too much unnecessary info and description and mini-scenes that did nothing at all for the story. Russell needed to go at this with both a fine-toothed comb and a hacksaw.
Secondly, this novel fell into cliches to an embarrassing extent. I mean, I knew I was going headfirst into a love triangle involving a mysterious bad boy, a sweet hometown boy, and a quiet hat-wearing girl, but there are always ways to write these tropes in new and inventive ways without regurgitating things we have all seen before. Russell sadly did nothing to bring his tropes to new heights, leading to endless eye-rolling from yours truly. Let's unpick some of the cliches in more depth:
- Love Triangle - listen, I love a love triangle, for real. But this was just two guys developing a rapid and inexplicable obsession with a girl just because she doesn't fall at their feet or squeal when she sees them. If the bar was really that low, fine, but that doesn't give you grounds to act like the situation is romantic.
- Mysterious Bad Boy - brooding good looks and alcoholism. I could tell this was a bad boy written by a man, just saying. You're not hard, Gabriel, you're just a liability.
- Sweet Hometown Boy - as said above, I actually liked Olly. But he was sincerely let down by his 'feelings' for Charlie (which clouded his entire character in the novel's second half). They would have been better just becoming really good friends, to be honest. And I hated the way he kept leaping to Charlie's side out of nowhere like, bro let a gal fight her battles and take your jealousy elsewhere.
- Quiet Hat-Wearing Girl - it was not-like-other-girls, it was manic-pixie, it was not a nice time for me. We had hats, hair-tucks, photography, boyband/pop-phobia, absent/distant parents, bullies. Full package, truly.
Final shoutout to the most random and dramatised hint towards non-white ethnicity I think I've ever read. Ellipses were involved.
It's sad because I was really excited by this book in the beginning, and then it became a mess. I kind of want to know if it keeps steam-rolling its way underground but I really can't do that again. Pass, thank you.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun. Made me re-live my One Direction fan-girl days.
I didn’t really like this book. And I feel bad for it.
I wanted to like this, and I just wasn’t into it. At one point I was just pushing myself through it because I refused to leave it unfinished.
The book is about 15-year old Charlie, who gets the chance of a lifetime to go backstage and photograph the hot new boy band: Fire&Lights. There she meets the guys who would become her friends. There is boy next door, Olly, funny and intelligent Yuki, quiet and kind Aiden, and of course, talented and dysfunctional Gabriel.
It seems like a dream come true until it turns into a nightmare.
When the fans of Fire&Lights find out about the girl that has been hanging out with the band, they decide to get nasty. All of this while the band starts crumbling from within as Olly and Gabriel compete for Charlie’s attention among other things.
It sounds like it would be a great story, and for a lot of people, it was. I just wasn’t one of them.
I liked the characters, I just didn’t much care what happened to them. The camaraderie between the Fire&Lights gang was fun to read and very endearing. Other than that, I really wasn’t feeling it. The other characters were just okay. The writing was okay. The plot was okay. It was just an okay novel and I wanted more.
Then there was the ‘romance’ aspect, which was very downplayed. I would have perhaps appreciated that if then the characters hadn’t gone and declared their love for each other, a month after meeting. You can’t have both. You can’t downplay the romance, and then proclaim your characters in love.
Honestly, I think that the problem is that I thought I was getting into something different than I got. I expected a full on romance about music and rock bands, and all that goodness. I got a mystery, a half-baked romance, and cliff hanger.
It just wasn’t for me.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
I wanted to like this, and I just wasn’t into it. At one point I was just pushing myself through it because I refused to leave it unfinished.
The book is about 15-year old Charlie, who gets the chance of a lifetime to go backstage and photograph the hot new boy band: Fire&Lights. There she meets the guys who would become her friends. There is boy next door, Olly, funny and intelligent Yuki, quiet and kind Aiden, and of course, talented and dysfunctional Gabriel.
It seems like a dream come true until it turns into a nightmare.
When the fans of Fire&Lights find out about the girl that has been hanging out with the band, they decide to get nasty. All of this while the band starts crumbling from within as Olly and Gabriel compete for Charlie’s attention among other things.
It sounds like it would be a great story, and for a lot of people, it was. I just wasn’t one of them.
I liked the characters, I just didn’t much care what happened to them. The camaraderie between the Fire&Lights gang was fun to read and very endearing. Other than that, I really wasn’t feeling it. The other characters were just okay. The writing was okay. The plot was okay. It was just an okay novel and I wanted more.
Then there was the ‘romance’ aspect, which was very downplayed. I would have perhaps appreciated that if then the characters hadn’t gone and declared their love for each other, a month after meeting. You can’t have both. You can’t downplay the romance, and then proclaim your characters in love.
Honestly, I think that the problem is that I thought I was getting into something different than I got. I expected a full on romance about music and rock bands, and all that goodness. I got a mystery, a half-baked romance, and cliff hanger.
It just wasn’t for me.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Okay, the real question here is... WHY DOES THIS BOOK END IN A CLIFFHANGER? I'd probably add a star if it ended cleanly. At this point, I can't tell if I'm curious enough to continue with the series.
Charlie is self-destructive and makes decisions that don't make sense. Is there any REAL reason why she's lying to her dad all the time? Wouldn't he appreciate her making some cash? And if she's being harassed so much online, I'm SURE her dad and administration would find out somehow.
I have a feeling Charlie's mom isn't dead — she and Gabriel's dad probably ran away somewhere. Otherwise, there's definitely some Romeo and Juliet stuff going on. Unfortunately, the cliffhanger to this book meant none of the issues were resolved.
Can Charlie just end up with Olly? He's the reliable, sweet, and caring one here. I don't buy this "connection" that Charlie and Gabriel supposedly have. Also, hi Harry Styles.
Charlie is self-destructive and makes decisions that don't make sense. Is there any REAL reason why she's lying to her dad all the time? Wouldn't he appreciate her making some cash? And if she's being harassed so much online, I'm SURE her dad and administration would find out somehow.
I have a feeling Charlie's mom isn't dead — she and Gabriel's dad probably ran away somewhere. Otherwise, there's definitely some Romeo and Juliet stuff going on. Unfortunately, the cliffhanger to this book meant none of the issues were resolved.
Can Charlie just end up with Olly? He's the reliable, sweet, and caring one here. I don't buy this "connection" that Charlie and Gabriel supposedly have. Also, hi Harry Styles.
Wow this was good, loved Charlie and Gabriel they bonding of the parents! Hope the story isn't going in an that direction tho.
Can talk about yuki too, he just chill and goofy. He is my fave side character!!!
Can talk about yuki too, he just chill and goofy. He is my fave side character!!!
Songs About A Girl centres around Charlie who is desperate to be a photographer. One day Charlie hears from Olly, a guy that used to go to her school. He is now in a boy band called Fire & Lights, everyone is obsessed with the band and Charlie can’t believe that he’s contacted her. Olly wants Charlie to come and take photos of the band backstage. Initially Charlie isn’t so sure, but her best friend convinces her to take the opportunity.
The reader is then taken through what happens backstage with a famous boy band. Charlie finds out that fame isn’t everything and there’s a downside to all the attention. Charlie was never about the attention, just the photography, so her life becomes even harder when she is exposed by a fan blog. Also running through the story is a mystery that connects the band with Charlie’s mother, who sadly past away. There’s also romance and on the sad side some bullying and trolling.
This story felt incredibly current. It’s exciting and easy to read. Chris Russell is a fantastic writer. I look forward to continuing Charlie’s story with the rest of the series.
The reader is then taken through what happens backstage with a famous boy band. Charlie finds out that fame isn’t everything and there’s a downside to all the attention. Charlie was never about the attention, just the photography, so her life becomes even harder when she is exposed by a fan blog. Also running through the story is a mystery that connects the band with Charlie’s mother, who sadly past away. There’s also romance and on the sad side some bullying and trolling.
This story felt incredibly current. It’s exciting and easy to read. Chris Russell is a fantastic writer. I look forward to continuing Charlie’s story with the rest of the series.