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redsshelves's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
annalisaely's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. This is kind of billed as a romance but I would say is more of a contemporary with a heavy romance subplot. It is about the lady main character is a guitarist has been kind of struggling going from gig to gig, having difficulty because the music world is very sexist and racist, and her former childhood friend who ghosted her and left town who is the manager of a about to be very successful girl band, and how they run into each other after a lot of years. And a lot about the running of this band, and how they kick out a member, add a new member the politics and the money and the
managing of an image that goes on around that. And then the romance between these two characters was a big part but there was a lot of band business that took up a lot of it. And I didn't mind because it was a really interesting band and really enjoyable, more found family dynamics. It was an audiobook with two narrators, one for each perspective, and the male narrator, or the narrator for the male character's part, did the women's voices weirdly. It wasn't just a normal falsetto. He made the voices very nasal and gave them a super LA accent, and it made them all sound that stereotype of the shallow caddy woman. Whenever it was his portion he read the main character's voice in a totally different way from the way the her perspective's narrator did it. And I don't know why he was so bad at doing women's voices, and there was no differentiation between the way he did all the voices. Like for one of the characters that voice would have worked but he did it for all of the characters. It kind of pulled me out of it and also made me confused about who was talking. So for this one maybe go for the physical or ebook versions.
managing of an image that goes on around that. And then the romance between these two characters was a big part but there was a lot of band business that took up a lot of it. And I didn't mind because it was a really interesting band and really enjoyable, more found family dynamics. It was an audiobook with two narrators, one for each perspective, and the male narrator, or the narrator for the male character's part, did the women's voices weirdly. It wasn't just a normal falsetto. He made the voices very nasal and gave them a super LA accent, and it made them all sound that stereotype of the shallow caddy woman. Whenever it was his portion he read the main character's voice in a totally different way from the way the her perspective's narrator did it. And I don't know why he was so bad at doing women's voices, and there was no differentiation between the way he did all the voices. Like for one of the characters that voice would have worked but he did it for all of the characters. It kind of pulled me out of it and also made me confused about who was talking. So for this one maybe go for the physical or ebook versions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
readclever's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
What happens when an act of luck brings fame when all a singer wants to do is stay behind-the-scenes?
Antonia "Toni" Bennette is a woman on a mission. Make enough of a name to get steady temp gigs, gain some traction to help create a solid music rep, and avoid the spotlight. Sounds easy, right? Not so much when music industry trauma seeps into every corner of childhood, especially parental abandonment and addiction to fame. I really appreciated that Toni had goals, saved for a future, and wanted to walk that dangerous line. Her arc was pretty captivating.
Sebastian "Quick" Quigley is another character all together. As a love interest, he left a lot to be desired. In the eight years since he abandoned Toni, he began to build an industry name and worked as co-creator of the Lillys. Unfortunately, constant refrains of self-loathing didn't really match up to the clear arc that Toni needed him to be on. I couldn't buy him in the romance.
The book is slow to get into with a lot of backstory in the beginning. Yet the power of an all-woman rock band was very, very intriguing. Most well-known leader singers like Debbie Harry front a band with men. The Runaways with Joan Jett are an exception full of issues and traumas of its own. Riot grrl music of the 90s featured a lot more all-women bands but it's been a minute. And Xio Axelrod knows all this when you read the book. Her knowledge and capital power of the industry and genre are extremely helpful in navigating how the Lillys work together.
Overall, I really enjoyed the parts with the band the most. Felt more organic and genuine than the romance. A better genre fit may have been women's fiction with romance elements. Will I read more in the series? Of course! I enjoyed Axelrod's knowledge and skill. The book just needed more tweaking and some removing/reworking of plot points.
Three stars from me. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casabalanca for providing an advanced copy for an honest review.
Antonia "Toni" Bennette is a woman on a mission. Make enough of a name to get steady temp gigs, gain some traction to help create a solid music rep, and avoid the spotlight. Sounds easy, right? Not so much when music industry trauma seeps into every corner of childhood, especially parental abandonment and addiction to fame. I really appreciated that Toni had goals, saved for a future, and wanted to walk that dangerous line. Her arc was pretty captivating.
Sebastian "Quick" Quigley is another character all together. As a love interest, he left a lot to be desired. In the eight years since he abandoned Toni, he began to build an industry name and worked as co-creator of the Lillys. Unfortunately, constant refrains of self-loathing didn't really match up to the clear arc that Toni needed him to be on. I couldn't buy him in the romance.
The book is slow to get into with a lot of backstory in the beginning. Yet the power of an all-woman rock band was very, very intriguing. Most well-known leader singers like Debbie Harry front a band with men. The Runaways with Joan Jett are an exception full of issues and traumas of its own. Riot grrl music of the 90s featured a lot more all-women bands but it's been a minute. And Xio Axelrod knows all this when you read the book. Her knowledge and capital power of the industry and genre are extremely helpful in navigating how the Lillys work together.
Overall, I really enjoyed the parts with the band the most. Felt more organic and genuine than the romance. A better genre fit may have been women's fiction with romance elements. Will I read more in the series? Of course! I enjoyed Axelrod's knowledge and skill. The book just needed more tweaking and some removing/reworking of plot points.
Three stars from me. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casabalanca for providing an advanced copy for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Addiction
rynstagram's review against another edition
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
*review based on an ARC
I know half the purpose of this book was to be a romance, but I wish that there had been less of Seb and Toni figuring out their relationship and more with the Lillys. With more focus, there would have been better character development, less 2D side characters, and a more interesting dynamic. I would have loved to see more scenes during the time that Toni and the Lillys were getting to know each other.
Also, I just found Seb really annoying. He was very self-centered and only ever commented on how good Toni looked, even when he admired her guitar-playing. He would say her fingers looked good, not that it sounded great.
All that being said, by the end of the book I came to really love Toni and the three girls in the Lillys! Even though Candi was horrible, I wish she had showed up more, especially in scenes with Lilly. I would have loved more with Seb, Lilly, and Candi together as a unit. I think this book just didn't quite meet my expectations, but there were definitely chunks I enjoyed a lot.
I know half the purpose of this book was to be a romance, but I wish that there had been less of Seb and Toni figuring out their relationship and more with the Lillys. With more focus, there would have been better character development, less 2D side characters, and a more interesting dynamic. I would have loved to see more scenes during the time that Toni and the Lillys were getting to know each other.
Also, I just found Seb really annoying. He was very self-centered and only ever commented on how good Toni looked, even when he admired her guitar-playing. He would say her fingers looked good, not that it sounded great.
All that being said, by the end of the book I came to really love Toni and the three girls in the Lillys! Even though Candi was horrible, I wish she had showed up more, especially in scenes with Lilly. I would have loved more with Seb, Lilly, and Candi together as a unit. I think this book just didn't quite meet my expectations, but there were definitely chunks I enjoyed a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse
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