This was great! This novel may take some getting used to, as it's told in a sort of interview format, but you still get into the characters' lives and are able to see their emotions. Being a TJR fan, I was waiting for the twist, and I was very pleased when it happened. Daisy Jones is just as deserving as Evelyn Hugo (the titular character of TJR's previous work) to receive praise -- both novels are addicting and compulsively readable. However, I think I prefer Evelyn's book, but don't let that stop you from reading Daisy Jones & The Six. Daisy and the six are worth getting to know.

I love rock music! As a child of the 80s and 90s there was plenty to choose from. Even though it was clear from the start that Daisy and the Six is a work of fiction, I found myself wishing it were historical fiction based on fact, and I legitimately googled them. I WANTED Daisy and the Six to be real because they felt so real.

I’m a huge fan of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and her books are always smart and passionate about her chosen topics. I knew when she wrote about 60s and 70s rock music, I would be transported to that time and place, and I could hear the music in my head.

The stars here are the characters- the actual rock stars. Their relationships with others, their nuanced personalities, their collective “band-ness;” it was all so well-executed- again, strengthening its authenticity. The internal struggles, the vices, the conflicts; we, as readers, are there for all of it.

The unique structure where we hear from each of the band members and those around them made for quick, breezy reading. The band is telling us what happened. How they came to be. Their rise to fame along with their pitfalls.

I can’t say much else for fear of giving it all away. I’ll leave you with this. Daisy and the Six is a page-turning tribute to the rise (and possible precarious fall) of the rock band. I enjoyed every page!

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine, and Taylor Jenkins Reid for the opportunity to read and review this book. This book is a prime example of why I love NetGalley and Goodreads, getting a chance to read books out of my normal genres. To say that one of my favorite books I've read in awhile would be a book about a rock band in the 70s would have sounded crazy - but believe all the hype about this book because it will suck you into a different world.

Written as a pseudo-documentary about the rise to stardom of a band, it's written as interviews with all the band members and involved characters. It's great to see the same scene told and interpreted differently by multiple people.

There was just so much I loved about this book - getting a glimpse in the behind-the-scenes of how a song is written and an album produced, as well as the views on drugs, sex and equality in this era.

Do not miss this book - highly recommended!

My immediate reaction upon finishing this book was, "Well, that was fabulous." That about sums it up.

Written in an oral history/documentary style, Daisy Jones & The Six recounts a band's rise to fame in the 1970s. As a big fan of that era of rock 'n' roll, I was especially sensitive to how Taylor Jenkins Reid might portray things. And I was not at all disappointed. The characters in this book were distinct, well-developed, interesting, and memorable. I bought in to everything she was saying - and easily got wrapped up into the story. I was perfectly satisfied with the plot, with one little exception: I wanted about another 300 pages.

Daisy Jones & The Six is worth the buzz it's gotten already. I can't wait for more people to get their hands on this one, and for the limited series to be developed.

(Thank you BookSharks, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an uncorrected proof of this title)

Daisy Jones & the Six is a telling of the eponymous band's tumultuous story, by the band and in interview format. I ts kind of: Almost Famous -The Fleetwood Mac Story. There's drugs, sex (some consensual), drugs, rock & roll and drugs! There are a lot of drugs. But mostly, there's an intensely readable character study about a bunch of talented young people who couldn't get out of their own way.

At the recommendation of a friend and colleague, I read one of Reid's other books, the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I adored it. When I was approved for Reid's newest on Netgalley, I was pretty excited and rightly so: this book did not let me down. It truly is a book about complex characters told against the gritty, adrenaline filled background of rock & roll in the 70s. I sometimes felt I was almost at the concert, waiting the wings, electrified. The atmosphere was to die for. But again, the characters are the whole thing. Daisy and Billy, our two main characters, were both interesting to read for their own reasons, but my favorite by far was Karen. I did a fair amount of highlighting in this book, and most of those lines belonged to Karen (the rest, Daisy). This book is just dying to be made into a movie (a google search reveals, that, even better - its been optioned as a tv mini-series on Prime! Dream casting: Jenny Lewis should play Daisy Jones. Digression over.) as the characters practically spring off the page. Really, the only downside for me was that it didn't feel new. I've read versions of this story before. But this is a great version of that story, and if you like a good tortured romance, or have felt moved by music, I think this book will make you feel something. I did. 4 stars - I really liked it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine Books for the advance copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review. Daisy Jones & the Six is available on 05 March, but you can put your copy on hold today.

This is my second book from Taylor Jenkins Reid, my first being "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," and this one blew me away almost as much as the first.
Reid has such an amazing talent for writing such a believable story that you think her characters are real, like you can run out and buy (or, more likely, pull up and download) Daisy Jones & The Six's album or watch one of Evelyn Hugo's hit movies. "Daisy Jones & The Six," in particular, is such a unique and clever idea. It is written like a tell-all memoir about the band's journey, but it frequently switches perspective between members of the band, members of the record label/recording team, journalists, spouses, etc. It provides such a nuanced understanding of what the band was like because not everything always matches up from perspective to perspective, and it's sort of up to the reader to decide who is telling the truth or if the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Almost all of the characters are flawed and beautifully well-rounded, but Daisy is specifically such a wonderfully written and complex character. She's an empowered, damaged woman, but not in the way that we've all read some of those awful, generic, male writers write these challenging women. She's difficult and strong and resilient and vulnerable and wow Reid just excels at writing characters that would be difficult to be around but are so easy to love.
I'm already recommending this to people, and I will continue to recommend this to people. It pulls you in, and it's such a quick read because you just cannot wait to pick it back up again (if you can get yourself to ever put it down).
My one neutral comment is that the "twist" near the end, when Daisy has a direct transcript between herself and the reporter, didn't really shock me or affect me. It wasn't a bad addition by any means, but it didn't do much for me. However, this book is not about a single twist or shock factor, so it doesn't affect my glowing, five-star rating.

This book is a big departure from Taylor Jenkins Reid's previous books, but it is amazing! It's about a fictional singer and band in the late 1970s with lots of turmoil - think the movie "Almost Famous" crossed with Fleetwood Mac, though with plenty of original elements too. What makes this novel so different is that it is written in the format of an oral history - with an "author" having compiled interviews with all the key figures, and so the speaker changes every paragraph or two, maybe a page at most. At first I thought this was going to make it hard to get a feel for the characters, but it was in fact the opposite - before long, it was like I had forgotten I was even reading a novel and felt like they were all real people. Indeed, that's what this book shares with Taylor Jenkins Reid's other books - her knack for really bringing her characters to life. I couldn't put it down, and found myself very moved at the end - the kind of book where you cry a little when you finish it just because it's over. A real wow book, I highly recommend!

For a longer review, please see my blog here: https://electricbookaloo.blogspot.com/2019/03/5-star-review-daisy-jones-six-by-taylor.html

Stunning. I wish this would become a movie. This was such a fun look into what the music scene was like in the 70s. The chemistry between the two main characters was palpable, and the angst and heartache were visceral. I was nervous that the interview-style of the book would add a layer of detachment for the reader, but that was not the case at all. I’m feeling a book hangover coming on because all I want is more about Daisy, Billy, and the rest of the band.

I just found a new favorite book; would highly recommend!


Huge thank yous to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC! This review will be posted on Goodreads, and on Barnes and Noble's and Amazon's websites at the date of publication.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid blew me away. I was intrigued by the interview style and the fact it was about musicians was a bonus. This book is about a fictional group in the 70s going through the highs and lows of getting famous. The interview style allows you to get insight into every character in a clear way and keeps the story flowing. This is a book you will binge read so allow time for that or you’ll be sleep deprived like I am. There is a lot of sex and drugs and sadness and success and love in this book and a lot of incredible relationships. But the language is the best. I love a good song but I’m a sucker for great lyrics and this book is like reading your favorite album. The writing and word choices are stunning. I absolutely loved it, so very much more than I expected. Thank you Jamie for the recommendation (agree – all the stars!!!) and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

4 stars!

“We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn’t get much more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than Daisy Jones.”

This book chronicles the events of the band Daisy Jones and the Six from the 1960’s to the present. The story of how a young girl became a songwriter and then a member of the band on its way up to fame, The Six, led by Billy Dunne. Billy and Daisy clash dramatically at first. But when two people have something to be strongly passionate about, the two of them become iconic and sweep the nation.

“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.”

Every time I read a book by Taylor Jenkins Reid the same thing happens: I finish the book late at night with tears in my eyes and way too many emotions for my body to handle. Daisy Jones followed in the same pattern.

I’ve been a fan of TJR’s work since her sophomore novel After I Do. Every year I wait and hope that she write’s faster than is humanly possible so I can devour yet another one of her books. And with every single release, TJR grows as a writer and delivers a story that knocks me off my feet. What makes TJR’s books so special are her characters. In every single book I swear the characters become real, to the point that I want to google them because I am convinced they exist in my own reality and not that of the book.

The format in this book is very interesting, the majority told in an interview format. At first I was skeptical (I don’t know why) but by the end I was impressed that this story was told so well in that way. It’s an amazing writing accomplishment.

The research done on Los Angeles at the time (in the 70’s) was so amazingly done as well. I knew all the landscapes and even accuracies such as gas problems were included but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story, it added to it. Very reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and other bands of the 70’s; I also found myself thinking a lot about the film Almost Famous (my favorite film btw).

So now begins the game of waiting for Reid’s next book. I’d go all Misery on her but that seems a bit extreme (or is it?)

“Don’t ever doubt Daisy Jones.”

ARC provided by the publisher via netgalley. All/any quotes in this review came from an advance unedited copy and may be subject to change in the final product.

Basically, I loved this book! Despite my dislike of alternative writing styles, I loved how this was presented almost like the transcript to one of those retrospective shows VH-1 used to play. You know, in the good ol' days of sex, drugs, and rock n roll, baby! Quick jumps back and forth between different people to fill in the story, offering information and different points of view. It was really amazing at how well the story was able to be presented in this manner. Sadly, I also spent a good majority of the book thinking that this was the movie Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper should have made instead of yet one more remake of A Star is Born.

How much you like this might depend on how willing you are to read a novel written as an interview transcript. It's the story of a rock band which became a pop band and then became well, an implosion due to drugs and oh so many other things. It's also about the romance between Billy Dunne, leader of the Six, and his wife Camila- and his struggle with sobriety. Daisy is a wafting drug addled woman with a gorgeous voice and an ability to write songs and be totally self destructive. Some of the other members of the band, and its support team, such as Karen the keyboardist and Graham, Billy's brother, are wonderful. Others have suggested that this is a roman a clef about Fleetwood Mac but I think it stands on its own. Wait til you find out who the interviewer is! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read that I enjoyed more than I expected to.

Daisy Jones and the Six is the story of the rise of a rock band as told by the members and those who knew them. The story encompasses drugs, love and rock and roll in the 1970's. The use of a documentary-interview narrative style made the story come alive.
The characterization of a rock star is spot on. If one is a child of the '70's or reads about that period, you immediately recognize this story. This is the account of the "every band" of the 70's.
I loved that the characters were flawed no matter how put together they appeared to be. The depiction of each band member’s view of themselves and the band gave the reader insight into what makes a band succeed or fail.
I highly recommend this book, it is well written with characters who come alive on the page. The reader will root for them, cry with them and sometimes dislike them but no matter what, you are left feeling something.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #BallentineBooks for approving my request. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

I’ll be honest: the only reason I picked up Daisy Jones & The Six is because it was written by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The whole sex, drugs, and rock n roll thing is not something I normally enjoy. However, TJR absolutely blew me away with Evelyn Hugo, so I decided to put my faith in her and pick up a book that was a bit out of my comfort zone. And I have absolutely no regrets. Because Daisy Jones & The Six is amazing.

It took me a bit to get used to the style of this book, because it’s told in short interview snippets, blended together to make a cohesive narrative. I don’t know that I’ve ever read anything quite like this, but I ended up really enjoying it. I thought it was done well, and was never disorienting and confusing, which can definitely happen switching back and forth between so many narrators, especially so quickly. Plus, it gave the book an added element of narrators almost engaging with each other – not directly, but it was clear when there was tension or disagreement, and I thought that was done in a really clever way. I also thought it was a perfect way to tell this particular story, and it made this book feel even more special.

I will say that Daisy Jones didn’t quite make me cry in the way Evelyn Hugo did (read: a lot). You might make it out of this book sans Kleenex. However, if you’ve read even one TJR book, you already know this book is painful. It might not be a tear-jerker, but it carries its fair share of gut punches. At one point, I was trying to sneakily read this at work – because I seriously couldn’t put it down towards the end – and almost got caught because I literally gasped out loud. I’ll admit I wasn’t quite sure about this book in the beginning. But it got me. It sucked me in without me even realizing it was happening, and then it hurt me. And I’m not even mad, because it was beautiful.

I loved Daisy Jones & The Six. I truly was not expecting to, but Taylor Jenkins Reid managed to take a subject that I usually don’t enjoy and turn it into a new favorite book. The story is engaging, and I loved all the characters (even when I was mad at them). By the time I put this book down, I felt like I had just read a rare piece of magic. And I can’t stop thinking about it.

4 1/2 stars. Another home-run for TJR. I thought the way the story was told was so fresh and interesting. I really could not put it down. The only thing keeping it from being 5 stars was its resemblance to the story of Fleetwood Mac. I am a giant FM fan and I couldn't help but notice similarities to them in the story-line. It was *JUST* different enough for me to forgive it and enjoy it immensely. I look so forward to the audio-book. The format lends itself to that medium and I can't wait to listen to every word.

This is an amazing ride. The cover! A front row seat to sex, drugs and rock & roll without taking the reader down into the gutter. Reid has used an unusual storytelling method in this new novel. The entire book is interviews arranged chronologically. You get to see multiple viewpoints regarding the same event. Included are all the band members, their manager, producer, sound mixer, the wife of the lead singer and the best friend of the iconic Daisy. There is an amazing twist regarding the interviewer. I predict that this book could be considered the best yet from Taylor Jenkins Reid. Highly recommended.

A big thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of this soon-to-be-released novel.

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
The Format – I think readers are either going to love or hate the method of storytelling in Daisy Jones & The Six. Taylor Jenkins Reid told this in a way you rarely see, a series of interview snippets, a sort of oral history from the people who were involved. I LOVED it! The book itself is broken into chapters having to do with albums, tours, etc., but the story unfolds from the different perspectives of everyone involved with the band: the musicians themselves, their manager, producer, significant others, journalists, and more. Everyone owns a little piece of the band’s history and the pieces often don’t fit together perfectly. As is true with almost any history, people who were there don’t always remember things exactly the same and that is precisely what made Daisy so remarkable. Taylor Jenkins Reid gave a full picture, but sometimes parts were a little blurred. Brilliant!

Rock & Roll in the 70’s – I’m predisposed for having a bias toward a book like Daisy Jones & The Six because it’s from exactly the era when music and musicians really became big for me. I was a teenager in the 70’s, so reading this book I felt like I’d have been one of the legions of fans for this band. I’d have been at their concerts, just like so many other bands I saw in the 70’s. I loved being taken behind the scenes of making an album, performing, behaving badly, and trying to have some sort of a life. Add to that the personal dynamics of the band members and I was in heaven.

“When someone’s presence gives you energy, when it riles up something in you – the way Daisy did for me – you can turn that energy into lust of love or hate.

“I felt most comfortable hating her. It was my only choice.”

The band felt VERY real to me. It seemed like I was finally getting the inside scoop on a band I’d loved as a teen.

The Women – Three very different women beautifully balanced out a book heavy with male characters. Each was powerful and vulnerable in her own way. Daisy, a singer and songwriter, was everything you might expect from such a character and a little bit more. She lived life on the edge, making many, many mistakes, but inside we came to know just how fragile she really was.

“I can’t think of any two things that make you quite as self-absorbed as addiction and heartbreak. I had a selfish heart. I didn’t care about anyone or anything but my own pain. My own need. My own aching. I’d have made anyone hurt if it could have taken some of mine away. It’s just how sick I was.”

Karen, keyboards for The Six, was the only female member of that band and she knew how to play by the boys’ rules, but never lost herself. And the lead singer’s wife, Camila? She was one of the strongest women you’ll ever meet. In her own quiet way she really was THE driving force behind Daisy Jones & The Six. Without her the band might have gone in a totally different direction.

What Didn’t
Nothing – I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this book. The ending was hard, even a little harsh, but I really don’t see how it could have gone any other way.

{The Final Assessment}
Daisy Jones & The Six had huge shoes to fill because I liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo so very much (my review). I’d seen a couple reviews where people weren’t completely enamored, but from the moment I picked this book up, I could not stop reading. I finished in just over 24 hours and that’s fast for me. I didn’t want to get to the end, but I also could not stop. There’s no higher praise than that. I highly, highly recommend this one!

Note: I received a copy of this book from Ballantine Books (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the publisher.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid tells the tale of a famous rock band from the 1970s through interviews with the band members. It's a very unique format for a book and I really enjoyed reading it. The interviews helped the book move along at a brisk pace and it was interesting to read how different members of the band viewed the same set of events. Definitely engaging and intriguing. Highly recommend. Read and enjoy!

Daisy Jones & The Six is sure to be a bestseller. It's a novel told in transcripts, running from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, and is about the metoric rise of both Daisy Jones, a young, privileged, beautiful, damaged woman living in Los Angeles, and of The Six, a working class rock and roll band that starts on the East Coast but quickly moves to Los Angeles. Daisy, a rising star in the music industry, is paired with The Six for a song, and then eventually ends up joining the group as they produce one album (Aurora) together before disbanding forever.

If you're at all acquainted with the former show Behind the Music (on VH1, which now that I think about it, may be a former cable network (?)) the storyline of Daisy Jones & The Six will be familiar to you--sex, drugs, rock and roll, with all the bandfights, substance abuse issues, fights with management, and everyone remembers everything differently stuff. And although I don't know a lot about them, even I could spot that a lot of what happens in Daisy Jones & The Six was heavily inspired by the real life story of Fleetwood Mac.

Daisy Jones & The Six has all the elements that make for a good read--it's fast-paced, (fictional) gossipy fun, and manages to be about both true love and heartbreak while presenting you with enough sex, drugs, and music, right down to about an album's worth of lyrics at the end. And it *is* a fun read, familiar and fast-paced.

But.

Daisy is every cliche you can think of for a female rockstar, from her beauty and talent, to the sad backstory, to the addiction, to the love life. Even her post-band trajectory is familar. And while it does work, it felt too familiar, too safe.

The same goes for Camila, the rockstar wife and anchor who always knows what to say and who always knows what to do (protestations about just hoping/wishing etc. aside) and who is presented, I think, as the flipside of Daisy, but is again too familiar and safe for me.

I wanted both Daisy and Camila to be more, to do more, than to be defined by the man they both orbited around. Have Camila be more Machiavellian, for a start. Have Daisy actually do the things she does (any of them!) with some agency rather than in reaction to something or someone saying that she can't.

However, my biggest problem with the book is Billy. The fact that I've had to look up his name should be the biggest indicator. How can I be expected to believe that he's the center of the book's biggest dynamic, the supposed push and pull between him and Daisy and Camila, when I can't remember his name immediately after I finish the book? His struggle with staying sober wants to be huge, but as he's done with rehab about a quarter of the book (or less) in, it isn't because he never seems to struggle. Oh, we're told he is, but that's not the same as feeling it, and the struggle that is meant to replace it--what do you do when two people call to your soul?--boils down to choosing gorgeous madness (Daisy) or gorgeous stability (Camila) and it's obvious from the get go what and who his choice is going to be. So that's not much of a struggle either.

Beyond that, Billy is boring. How and why these two women get tangled up with him to the point where he defines their lives is beyond me. Sure, we're told he's handsome and talented a lot (*a lot*), but to me he was Generic Rockstar With Issues. That's okay, but it's not enough to say it, i.e. give him the right attributes for the trope. He has to have a personality and Billy, aside from being torn! so torn! (see: trope) is a control freak, and frankly, a grumpy control freak. Why anyone would want to orbit around that? Well, that didn't come through for me.

My favorite part of the Daisy Jones & The Six was Karen and Graham's story. They, despite having less of the book, dominated it more for me. Karen's desire to be seen as a musician versus a "girl musician" felt very real for the time, as did Graham's struggle and eventual acceptance that being Billy's brother was going to define him to the world. I also liked that Karen and Graham's love story was about two people who saw each other as equals even as they never really saw each other like they thought they did. I think it's pretty telling that the most important story of Daisy Jones & The Six is the smallest. Maybe it's because it didn't need to be "epic," so it just felt real instead--two people who love each other, and is that enough? Can it be? Should it be?

So, while I think Daisy Jones & The Six is going to be a huge hit, and it's definitely obvious that Taylor Jenkins Reid can write, I liked the book but I didn't love it and I think that she's capable of doing more than she did here. Daisy and Camila could have been so much interesting, and Billy...well, for Billy I would have been happy for something (anything!) to make him memorable.

Tl;dr: The window dressing is gorgeous, but the store inside is only partially stocked.

This book is written in interview format about a band that had one hugely successful hit record in the 1970s and then broke up. I thought it was excellent. It was different. The story, the tension, the human experience of it was so deep and emotional. There was so much in this book...family relationships, relationships between brothers, drug use and drug addiction, abortion, unrequited love and of course, music. I learned a lot about the music industry and how it works and how people collaborate to make a record album. There is a twist at the end that I did not see coming. I would have liked a little more, but I don't want to say what that is because I don't want to spoil it. But it was very good.