This was my second biggest disappointment of the month. Again, another book (and author) with so much hype around it, but I just wasn’t that impressed. The story was interesting, and once I fully got into it, it kept my interest, but it didn’t blow me out of the water like I was expecting it to. I was missing that “wow” factor. It seemed too cliché.
First off, the whole book is in an interview style. Initially, this was the first book I picked up at the beginning of July, but I just couldn’t get into this style of writing, so I paused on it for a couple of weeks before I picked it back up again. I had to be in the right mindset to read it, which for me is strike number one. I like to be able to pick up a book at any time and be swept away by it, not have to get in a certain frame of mind to read it.
Then, strike number two was the characters. There’s not one likable character in this entire story. They all have certain traits or personalities that I did not care for. It was hard to care about any of them because they were all so off-putting. They made one terrible decision after another. They acted wild and crazy, as the stereotypical rock star does. Also, they were all drunks or drug addicts. The amount of drugs being used and talked about was astounding. I know this is the 1960s and 70s, when drugs and alcohol were extremely prevalent, but this was an obscene amount being used. I don’t think Daisy was sober for the majority of the story. They definitely all have their own inner demons and baggage that they carry with them.
Finally, strike three was the story itself. It was pretty boring. I wanted more to happen. There’s not a lot of action, too much showing the process of writing songs and behind-the-scenes. There is a love triangle between Daisy, Billy, and Camilla, his wife, which gives us a lot of conflict and tension, but even that was kinda boring, and not much really happened. Overall, it was just an underwhelming story, but I did like how it all came together by the end and the little twist we got.
I did appreciate TJR writing actual song lyrics for the book. That was a fun little treat at the back of the book. And, even though the writing was in this interview style, it made for a quick read, and I could vividly picture everything that happened and become fully immersed in the story with the characters. She brought all the characters to life. It really felt like this was a real band from the 1970s. In my head, I kept seeing this musical documentary play out. It reminded me of VH1’s Behind the Music series, which they used to air.
I’ve also seen many reviewers say that the audiobook is amazing. Maybe because I read a physical copy, I missed out on something they apparently picked up on. I’ve seen so many people give this book four to five stars, and I’m wondering if we read the same book. Maybe I need to go back and listen to the audio version.
I also watched the TV series on Amazon, and I really enjoyed it. They did change some things as Hollywood does, but I still had a good time. It was done really well, and I definitely recommend watching it. But again, it’s your stereotypical rock band/rock star angst and behavior. However, they did cut way down on the drug scenes and use in the show compared to the book. Also, they recorded an entire album for the series. I’ve been listening to it nonstop on Spotify. It’s SO good!! I think that’s the best part of the series – the music. There are so many good songs. However, I wish they had kept the original titles of the songs as they were written in the book.