Reviews

I've tried reading this book three times, but can never make it past the first few chapters. I'm not willing to call it a hard DNF right now, because the writing is good and the storyline is interesting, but for some reason, I find that I am unable to connect with the characters. I think, for me, it felt too similar to Daisy Jones & The Six, which I also found to be just okay. I definitely think this is a case of me not being the right reader for this book, as the book itself is not bad at all and I can definitely see it being a compelling read for someone else. I have seen other reviewers recommending the audiobook, so I may choose that format if I decide to try reading this one again in the future.

hollymileham's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

anyone who knows my reading style knows that this was right up my street... wow which a rich musical history i got to experience through this book, which btw is that authors debut?? incredible

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rorybory's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bjor6n's review against another edition

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4.0

Wonderful read. Especially recommended for those who fall into the middle of the Alternate History/Music History/Excellent Writing Venn diagram.

vanillawhiskey's review against another edition

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inspiring

4.0

auohcanruon's review against another edition

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4.0

this was a ride, start to finish.

at times, i found myself actually googling opal jewel because the writing of the character was so real and authentic. i loved reading about her; this was a woman who was true to herself, confident and expressive but most of all human— she made mistakes and took accountability for them. entertaining would be an understatement to describe how it felt reading her story.

this was a book-within-a-book and i appreciated the small details so much. the footnotes, the editor’s notes, it made the experience all the more real. at times, it also read like a documentary exploring music, offering social commentary on the racism and events taking place in america during the 1970s.

there are a lot of things i’ve learned reading this that i wasn’t necessarily very clued-in about.

i’ve seen a lot of comments comparing this to daisy jones — because both follow a similar interview-format, and revolve around a band navigating the music industry, and personal relationships in the 1970s, but i thought the two books had nothing in common apart from those general common-points.

for a debut novel, this was just incredible. i’ll definitely be picking up the author’s future books without hesitation.

caffeinatedbookdragon's review against another edition

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adventurous sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

As other reviewers stated, this was quite similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones. Admittedly I didn’t enjoy Daisy Jones, so I went into this one with trepidation. While it told an interesting story with dimension, I struggled with the constant changing “interviewees”.

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