Reviews

Battle of the Bands by Eric Smith, Lauren Gibaldi

Only show reviews with written explanations

caitlinglasses's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.0

beesneysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

if you’re looking for something to consume quickly, this book was so fun in audio! there are sixteen short stories, all documenting one night at Battle of the Bands. it was so interesting to see how all of the stories ended up intertwined, even where you weren’t necessarily expecting the crossovers. it was easy to follow along, as it was a full cast audiobook and had a ton of voices to help separate the stories.
my only downside is that i wanted more from each story, however i am also a girlie who loves a LONG epilogue, so im not shocked that short stories left me wanting more.

ameserole's review

Go to review page

3.0

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit that I was pretty excited to dive into Battle of the Bands once I got accepted. It just seemed like it was going to be a fun book to dive into. With a little bit of rock 'n' roll, and a whole dash of drama toppled over this, you are constantly questioning what the heck is even going on here. Or maybe that's just me?

Now I will also say that I liked the whole battle of the band theme throughout this. Each story was woven so perfectly that it was pretty easy to figure out who the next story was going to be about. Or at least which point of view would be next. Some of the bands were a hot mess though and I honestly had no idea how they were even a band to begin with.

Other than that, I thought some of them were hilarious like the adventures of babysitting. Not sure what I would do with a bunch of kids high on acid but it did seem like everyone was having a blast. I also agree with what was said towards the last two stories about how bands didn't care about starting/having drama before the show. It happens and they deal with it right then and there. Which, in this case, meant lots of bands breaking up.

In the end, I'm glad that I got the chance to dive into this audiobook but it definitely had potential to be a little bit better. Mostly because in some stories it felt like nothing really happened and we were just meeting people that I would never remember down the line.

notinjersey's review

Go to review page

4.0

This is a fun short story collection with interconnected stories that take place mostly over the same night and at the same location – the Raritan River High Battle of The Bands. I loved that it took place in New Brunswick, NJ, which is where I went to college! The stories were entertaining and it was fun to wonder who would win the battle, although the winner announcement felt a little anticlimactic! If you were ever a fan of a band, I think this book would be a lot of fun.

wdianasheppard's review

Go to review page

5.0

This is an interconnected series of short stories about a concert and a competition: the titular Battle of the Bands... and it was ADORABLE. Despite having entries from 16 different authors, tonally, "Battle of the Bands" felt like one cohesive story: a snapshot of a single night from many different perspectives. This collection is fun, loose, diverse, funny, occasionally sad, but altogether it gets wrapped up in a perfect bow of optimism and charm. I honestly can't prefer any single stories out of this collection; they were all strong (but I did have a soft spot for Cecilia and Roxy). I recommend this book for any music-lover wanting to relive those moments in high school when anything and everything seemed possible. "Battle of the Bands" was a wonderful palette cleanser between heavier works, and utterly sweet to enjoy.

Thank you to Candlewick for my ARC!