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aubsbooks's review against another edition
1.0
If the book I read was actually like the description I read, I probably would have enjoyed it.
lblattttt's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for the ARC! I was not a huge Emily Gould fan but wanted to give this a try. I highly recommend going into this book blind because the publisher’s synopsis gives away a lot! I have just become a new mom and this book was an interesting exploration of motherhood and how to balance life, kids and your passions. Plus any story set in NYC I will read especially right now when I am missing being in my city. Highly recommend and props to Emily Gould!
andintothetrees's review against another edition
3.0
I really struggled to get into this book as the main character was pretty lacking in personality and the narrative so detached and unemotional. But the second third of the book had some interesting musings on motherhood (especially becoming a mother in your mid-20s, when most of your peers are out doing other things) and the main character developed more and I started to enjoy it. The last third wasn't as good as the middle, but it was interesting to see how things turned out and by the end I think the main character was starting to take control of her life instead of just drifting through it.
jennareadsbooks's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Thanks to @avidreaderpress for my copy of Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould. This book follows Laura, a songwriter, after she moves to the East Village. She waits tables at a bar, lives with her magnetic best friend Callie, and dreams of writing and performing music full time. After she meets and falls for a more famous but troubled musician, she gets pregnant, and soon becomes a single mother with changed priorities. We jump forward in time, and Laura’s life looks nothing like she imagined. Meanwhile, her daughter’s mental health struggles resemble those of her father.
This book felt unpolished. The characters and relationships didn’t seem fully formed. Particularly the romance - there isn’t much dialogue so there isn’t much opportunity to feel chemistry between the characters. The story doesn’t offer character growth or even a deep understanding of Laura. Instead it feels like we just watch her going through the motions, with her choices determined more by her responsibilities and less by her own motivations. Despite jumping forward in time a few times, this book was slow. I liked the idea of it from the description, but the execution left me wanting more. I did finish it, but it was a chore to get through.
purrfectpages's review against another edition
2.0
Have you ever started a story expecting it to be something totally different than what it actually was? That’s the feeling I got while reading Perfect Tunes. In fact, to be fair, even after reading it I’m still not completely sure what it’s about. At first we made a young girl, believed to be undiscovered talent. In actuality this isn’t really the focus of the book at all. Suddenly it morphs into a slice of life character study that spans over a decade. The music is still there- though oddly enough, it only seems to be playing in the background.
laurahood's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like I just read the CliffNotes for what could have been an incredible story. The fast paced storytelling left me with many questions. Certain chapters stopped with no explanation. Wanted to love this but it was mediocre for me.
brittahughes's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
michellekmartin's review against another edition
2.0
Perfect Tunes had all the elements that made me feel like I was going to love it: New York City setting, coming of age, music. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.
While I did enjoy this one, I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. The novel spans a few decades of Laura's life and I found that I wanted more depth from her character. I found it hard to connect to her character and become invested in her life. I also think that the book tried to cover too much time. The beginning and the end feel like two completely different stories and I didn't get enough from either of them.
While I did enjoy this one, I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. The novel spans a few decades of Laura's life and I found that I wanted more depth from her character. I found it hard to connect to her character and become invested in her life. I also think that the book tried to cover too much time. The beginning and the end feel like two completely different stories and I didn't get enough from either of them.
offbalance80's review against another edition
1.0
The description, and the first chapter or two of this book had me completely and utterly suckered. I thought this was going to be a story about art, music, songwriting and why they can be such difficult things to chase. The cover was stunning (no, seriously, kudos to whomever at Simon and Schuster put this one together, it's gorgeous). If only what was sandwiched between was as colorful or intriguing (it's not).
Like so many other books, this is a book of how an incredibly boring human being is surrounded by more interesting human beings and resists with their entire being any way of becoming an interesting person. Further, in an absolutely astounding turn of talent, the author makes time spent in the East Village of New York City in the early 2000s (back when it still had just enough grit to a little interesting and a lot of fun) completely devoid of any spark or excitement; as dull as this timid milquetoast of a main character. Laura (said protagonist), says "um" a lot. She is too afraid to say anything at all. The only thing she hates more than praise is being the center of attention, which is absolutely mind-boggling considering that she came to New York to write and perform music. Unless the hundreds of venues I've been to in my lifetime have been lying to me, the only way to perform is to literally be the center of attention. And to top it off, she's about as dumb as the sack of flour that she resembles. She takes a job she doesn't like despite her reservations because she doesn't want to ask her far more savvy, interesting roommate (why, oh, why couldn't this book have been about Callie?) for help or advice. And the worst of all, she falls in lust(love?) with Timothy Chalamet stand-in Dylan. The Dylan section of the book was possibly the best part of this slog, as they provided many (inadvertent) laugh-out-loud funny moments. The mere fact that Dylan had "the most beautiful dick in the world," had me in stitches (and writing parodies of Prince songs). Our heroine continues to brush off chance after chance to make her music an actual thing, because like, reasons? Tell me, if Laura (our hero) wrote the perfect song, and liked writing songs, why didn't she do anything with it? She doesn't tell Dylan all of how she feels because like, wow, feelings are like, weird, you know?
When Boring Sack of Flour and Beautiful Dick are separated, our heroine finds out that oops! She's having his baby. And decides to keep it, for reasons that are completely incomprehensible to anyone who has been a 20-year-old woman living in New York City and trying to pay bills (something I have some experience with). She falls neatly into the category of being too damn stupid to understand the black hole of time and money that having a child can be, and proceeds to flail about for chapters as we are treated to endless paragraphs about the variant bodily fluids that a child is full of and how expensive it is to have one. That goes on for an endless amount of time, while she pushes off any and all opportunities to revive the career that was supposed to be SO important to her, all because a capricious toddler knew exactly how to manipulate her, and she couldn't even stand up to a fucking three-year-old. Eventually we meet that three year old 11 years later for some reason that never becomes clear, Something Else Melodramatic Happens and then the book ends.
The worst thing about this book is that we're not given any room to understand the motivation of these characters, why they do the things they do or live the lives they lead. The main character denies herself anything resembling agency or self-ownership so often that it's incomprehensible as to why we should even root for her ever, or at all. The other characters are there to prod the story along, mostly because the lead is too meek to even do that much.
Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Like so many other books, this is a book of how an incredibly boring human being is surrounded by more interesting human beings and resists with their entire being any way of becoming an interesting person. Further, in an absolutely astounding turn of talent, the author makes time spent in the East Village of New York City in the early 2000s (back when it still had just enough grit to a little interesting and a lot of fun) completely devoid of any spark or excitement; as dull as this timid milquetoast of a main character. Laura (said protagonist), says "um" a lot. She is too afraid to say anything at all. The only thing she hates more than praise is being the center of attention, which is absolutely mind-boggling considering that she came to New York to write and perform music. Unless the hundreds of venues I've been to in my lifetime have been lying to me, the only way to perform is to literally be the center of attention. And to top it off, she's about as dumb as the sack of flour that she resembles. She takes a job she doesn't like despite her reservations because she doesn't want to ask her far more savvy, interesting roommate (why, oh, why couldn't this book have been about Callie?) for help or advice. And the worst of all, she falls in lust(love?) with Timothy Chalamet stand-in Dylan. The Dylan section of the book was possibly the best part of this slog, as they provided many (inadvertent) laugh-out-loud funny moments. The mere fact that Dylan had "the most beautiful dick in the world," had me in stitches (and writing parodies of Prince songs). Our heroine continues to brush off chance after chance to make her music an actual thing, because like, reasons? Tell me, if Laura (our hero) wrote the perfect song, and liked writing songs, why didn't she do anything with it? She doesn't tell Dylan all of how she feels because like, wow, feelings are like, weird, you know?
When Boring Sack of Flour and Beautiful Dick are separated, our heroine finds out that oops! She's having his baby. And decides to keep it, for reasons that are completely incomprehensible to anyone who has been a 20-year-old woman living in New York City and trying to pay bills (something I have some experience with). She falls neatly into the category of being too damn stupid to understand the black hole of time and money that having a child can be, and proceeds to flail about for chapters as we are treated to endless paragraphs about the variant bodily fluids that a child is full of and how expensive it is to have one. That goes on for an endless amount of time, while she pushes off any and all opportunities to revive the career that was supposed to be SO important to her, all because a capricious toddler knew exactly how to manipulate her, and she couldn't even stand up to a fucking three-year-old. Eventually we meet that three year old 11 years later for some reason that never becomes clear, Something Else Melodramatic Happens and then the book ends.
The worst thing about this book is that we're not given any room to understand the motivation of these characters, why they do the things they do or live the lives they lead. The main character denies herself anything resembling agency or self-ownership so often that it's incomprehensible as to why we should even root for her ever, or at all. The other characters are there to prod the story along, mostly because the lead is too meek to even do that much.
Avoid, avoid, avoid.