Sadly I didn't enjoy what I thought was going to be an interesting read. I'm very interested in rock music but this book failed to grasp my attention. Possibly the narrative style was a factor.

Holy. Fuck. Get on the hype train, my friends.

I was so scared that this book was going to suck. Honestly, I've been burned by some of my favourite authors over the last few months and absolutely hating their new releases. Jodi Picoult, Markus Zusak, Sally Thorne- I was worried that I would be adding another author to that list. But thank the good Lord that once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid has woven a masterpiece edged with rough, emotive prose that sucks you in from the first handful of pages.

This book is BRILLIANT. Reading like an episode of Behind The Music, this fictional biography of the short lived group Daisy Jones & The Six, a rock-blues band who wrote some of the definitive music of the late 70s is cinematic, eloquent and written with such intensity that you feel as though you're living with those characters. You're drinking with Daisy at the Chateau Marmont, you're performing on stadium stages or SNL with the band, or listening to late night mixes with Billy. ALSO my surname featured significantly in this book because it's three of the main characters' surname, which was disconcerting but SO AWESOME.

I can see how people might dislike this book. It's not a typically written story and there are a lot of characters floating around. But its enchanting, pulling you into the story of this fictional band and the crazy things they did through such a short amount of time. It'll really appeal to people who have always found an emotional connectivity point with music, especially people who have been in bands or performed or just loved music before. You can tell that Jenkins Reid has just immersed herself in this culture and written from the soul. I think she's found a real niche writing character study-esque books about uniquely incredible people like Daisy Jones or Evelyn Hugo, and I hope that she keeps writing them, because she is really a master of human psychology.

This book is just as good, if not better, than The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I am so, so grateful that I got an advance copy of this book and I can't wait for Daisy Jones to be unleashed into the world.

I'm sorry, I just couldn't get into this one, so i can't rate it more than a single star. I am usually good at persisting, but not this time.

I have a confession to make. When I first got sent this book late last year I hated it. I received an early digital copy without the artwork and because of the structure and format of the book I found it incredibly hard to get my head round all of the characters and keep it straight who was who in the band etc.

It was only when the good people at Penguin Random House sent me a physical copy of the book – complete with the fabulous cover art, check it out! – that I decided to give it another go. Well that, and the fact that the lovely followers on my Facebook page decided that was the next book for me to review!

Set in Los Angeles in the 1970’s this is the story of pretty much every band at the time. A hedonistic whirl of excessive everything: alcohol, flesh and just about every drug known to man at the time.

Initially I found it quite difficult to get used to the style used by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The author has gone for a “vox pop” approach where the entire story is told in the form of a conversation with the band, their management, partners, friends etc. When you get to the point where you can “hear” the different voices you know that you are in deep. These voices are normally contradictory in their recollections of the same event which only adds to the realism.

And Daisy will do that to you. It all feels so real. The descriptions of the song writing process, the melodic influences, the pressures of fame… The Six could be any band threatened with imploding due to internal strife. By the end of the book you’ll be looking them up on iTunes to see if they really did exist or not.

It makes me quite hopeful for the 13 part mini series Reese Witherspoon is producing for Amazon. If they can get it right with the artists and the music (like Lady Gaga in A Star is Born) it will be a sight to behold.

If you are looking for a work of fiction that is a wholly immersive trip through the vagaries of the music industry in the 1970’s then look no further. You’ll be right there on the Sunset Strip with the Six. Warts and all. Ultimately not always the most satisfying experience but it is the closest thing you can get to actually being there.

Supplied by Net Galley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

UK publication date: Mar 7 2019. 368 pages.

One of my top reads from 2018 was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid so I was really excited to get stuck into this one by Reid. I do wonder if I went into this one with my expectations a little too high.

The story follows the story of the band Daisy Jones and The Six, viewed through the interview transcripts with the band and those around them. This interview style format worked really well and allows the reader to be transported for short periods of time but at all points allows us to remain as someone viewing the events with an almost voyeuristic feel at times. It is a wonderful tool to tell a story without it having to be so all encompassing and allows the author to be able to span a lift time easily.

As ever Reid manages to get the reader to really care for the characters and creates a world of fully developed people that I have to remind myself are not real. What makes the characters that Reid creates so compelling is that they are intrinsically flawed. They make mistakes, they have undesirable traits and they can sometimes be downright unlikeable but at no point is this the sum of who they are. No one is just the villain or the hero or the damsel, they are all complex people and aren’t easily just shoved into one box. That being said, because the story focuses on a rock band in the 70’s it is hard for it not to feel like a stereotype at times.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of those wonderful female writers whose feminism shows through in both subtle ways but also can deliver a beautiful constructed blow that makes you go wow (in the best possible way!).

Overall, I found it very difficult to rate this book. I think if I hadn’t read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I would probably have loved this book, but ultimately I spent most of the time reading it thinking “it’s good but it isn’t as good”. At this moment in time, I would give this 4 stars, it is definitely worth a read, and I will read it again, but it won’t have the long lasting impact of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

I started this some weeks ago and just didn't gel with the book - coming back to it, we clicked! The narrative mode takes a bit of getting used to: an interview format as all the voices speak together, sometimes just a line at a time. I loved the era, the wild-child sex'n' drugs'n' rock'n'roll aura. There's a bittersweet love story here, and I loved the song lyrics - but would say this felt younger than Evelyn Hugo, more YA than adult. I would have adored it when I was 14-16, enjoyed it now as a romantic, escapism read.

A fabulous story of Rock and Roll, the excesses and love. If you were around in the 60’s and 70’s this book brings back so many memories.

This is one for music fans everywhere from Taylor Jenkins Reid, a multilayered fictional documentary of a fictional legendary rock band set in the music scene of California and LA in the 1960s and 1970s. This is to be turned into a TV series on Amazon by Reece Witherspoon, and I must add that though the accounts given in the narrative are pure fiction, it nevertheless feels atmospherically real in its echoes of actual bands from this era, say perhaps the likes of Fleetwood Mac. Billy Dunne is the leading light of an up and coming band The Six, going off the rails with his wild behaviour when he learns that his girlfriend is pregnant. The young, beautiful, captivating and unapologetic Daisy Jones has oodles of musical talent and a distinctive voice which gains an army of admirers. Daisy Jones and The Six join forces that results in an explosive emotional roller coaster of a ride that consolidates their near mythical musical status in musical history. The rise and fall of the band is voiced through the differing perspectives of the band and those close to and around them.

Much of the narrative is delivered through the form of interviews and it becomes clear that not everyone has the same memories of events with their different perspectives. I came to appreciate the superb complicated characterisation and the relationships, with the flawed, destructive and damaged characters, so very vulnerable, feeling spine tingling real in their authenticity. Reid provides insights and observations of love, loss, cheating, drug addiction, heartbreak, passion and fraught times intermingle with the creative musical inspiration and spellbinding performances. This is an intelligent evocation of this specific period in time and place, the music and an unforgettable rock group of its time. It is an absolute treat to read, I loved the songs and lyrics within it and I have no doubt that this book will prove to be highly successful. Looking forward to the TV series of this. Many thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.

This book is a story of the birth and death of a rock band in the Seventies but written in a way that is fascinating to read. Each of the characters is part of the story because their conversations are written down throughout. Not only the members of the band but their various partners, families and everyone connected with them give their opinions using quotes. I have never read a book like this before. I found the concept so exciting and easy to read.

The actual story is a typical account of how a struggling band becomes a world-famous band with all the associated pitfalls along the way. The groupies, the drugs, the booze but what makes this different is the way each member of the band deals with their rise to fame.

Billy Dunne is the leading man in The Six, the lead singer and writer who is saved by his love for Camilla Martinez, the lady who eventually becomes his wife and the mother of his three children. When their first child is born, Billy goes entirely off the rails, drinking to excess and sleeping with any woman he can find. Camilla although obviously devastated by this behaviour is wise enough to allow this and Billy realises that Camilla is the one person who can make him happy and keep him on the straight and narrow.

The Six are becoming THE band to be at this time but their fame skyrockets, even more, when Daisy Jones joins the group. Daisy is an unhappy little rich kid, ignored by her parents and living on pills but she has the most amazing musical talent both in writing and singing and when eventually she and Billy combine the results are pure magic.

This book is so well written that I thought that this was non-fiction and was beginning to wonder why I had never heard of this band. It is a testament to the writer that she can make the story so real and the way the group eventually breaks up is tragic in many ways but inevitable in others.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the music business in the seventies.



Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

A rockumentary about a fictional band in the 1970's - the sex, drugs and egos involved in making hits. The story is narrated by the members of the band which whilst giving the impression it was the result of a series of interviews, it did make for a disjointed read.

It took me a while to get into the book, I found ignoring the name of the narrator helped as otherwise I was spending time at the beginning of every paragraph trying to work out who was who. Once I got going I was interested in the ups and downs of the band, and its ultimate, although entirely predictable, demise. However I am not convinced that there was enough plot to reward me for ploughing through the endless 'he said, she said' prose.

This book gives a glimpse into lives of Rock Stars. It delivers on all accounts that rock n roll has its legendary status of music, sex and drugs.

There's just this unreal feel about the hedonistic lives of these Rock Stars that put me off a bit. So 3.5/5.

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing and I loved Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. 5 star read for me. That's why I'm very surprised with this book, and all I can do is to say why I didn't like it:
1. I really didn't get along with the format. It was in the shape of interviews with different people, and it shifted very fast in dialogue format. I think this made me distant from all characters, and felt choppy.
2. I wasn't fond of any characters in this story. I didn't care about Daisy and any of the Six.
3. I didn't find any originality. Daisy was a character we read about before. Rich, spoiled, pretty girl who's lost in drugs, etc. The rest, same... Cheating, alcoholic band members.
4. There was no in depth interaction with any character, or any development. So, I couldn't get attached. In Seven Husbands, Evelyn Hugo was so interesting, so full of wisdom. Her, telling the story made it so mesmerising. And she developed through time. Here it was all the same in all the book and in the end we learned what happened to them in 2 pages.
5. No twist. There was really no major twist or surprises.
All in all, I really got bored, wasn't a pleasant read. But, I'd buy a Reid book any time. Maybe this wasn't for me, but I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it. Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for granting this complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Daisy Jones and The Six is my first Taylor Jenkins Reid novel and it certainly won't be my last. From the first page, I was sucked into this book and found myself completely unable to put it down. Reid has written such addictive and fascinating characters that I couldn't wait to see how everything played out. The story is heartbreaking and thrilling - I felt like I was living alongside the band as they got bigger and bigger.

Daisy Jones and The Six felt like a very real band to me. I almost found myself googling them at certain points. They were so vivid in mind. Believe the pre-pub hype. This is a book that you do not want to miss and I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy.

I knew nothing about this subject but was drawn in from the first page and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it, which left me feeling as if I’d been on a 36 hour bender! Great writing and I’m now off to find out more about Daisy Jones andThe Six as I have a vision in my head of what I think they’ll look like- hope I’m not disappointed!

This book is presented in a documentary style, with parts of the story told in interview format with all the key characters. It’s so well done that, after a few pages, I actually had to stop and Google the book to double check that it was indeed fiction and that I hadn’t misunderstood what I was about to read. .

The book tells the story of Daisy Jones, a young woman in 1960s/70s LA with an incredible voice and an out-of-control lifestyle, and The Six, an up and coming rock band fronted by the charismatic Billy Dunne. When their management decides to team them up, they produce a successful album, a sell-out tour, and a whole lot of drama. The documentary/interview format allows for some moments of great comedy as well as strong character development, and the world of rock and roll that Jenkins Reid creates is compelling and believable.

I found this book hard going. I liked the idea but found the format difficult to follow.
It's based on individual recollections in a script style.
I'm sorry to say I gave up before finishing

I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read an ARC of Daisy Jones and the Six, and was intrigued by the format. The book is written in the form of what feels like a tv documentary where multiple people are interviewed about the events surrounding the band - a real rock-doco!

I thought it was very cleverly written, the dialogue felt very real, I felt I was really watching people talk. I enjoyed this for the first half of the book, but then I started to miss things like descriptions of body language, internal dialogue, etc, and I felt this led to the story lacking tension, so I didn’t feel very invested in the story or characters. It was just a bit lacking for me.

That said, based on the popularity of this author (whose contemporary novels I have enjoyed), and the unique style of this novel, I’m sure it will get loads of attention.

Let me tell you what the real brilliance of this book is – the authenticity of it all. After a few pages I found myself questioning whether it was fictional. Halfway through the story I was avidly googling The Six, Daisy Jones and both of the Dunne brothers. No result. Double-check. Nope, definitely says it is a fictional story. Kudos to the author for creating not only an authentic story, but also such convincing dialogue and characters.

The reader can feel the passion, the self-destruction and flighty confusion of the era, which in turn is reflected in the characters. The era of free love, lots of drugs and plenty of rock n’ roll. Nobody embodies the life quite like the lead singer of The Six, Billy Dunne.

When he reaches breaking point the relationship between Billy and his future wife Camila is what keeps him from running straight off a cliff. He gets his act together and then Daisy Jones steps into his life.

Daisy is a free spirit who wants to make her mark in the world of music, but on her terms and not on those of some man in charge of her. She is very much the feminine version of Billy. They have the same need to control their environment, to create their own music and to be adored by an army of fans.

This is the story of how Daisy Jones and The Six came to be and at the same time how it all ended abruptly in the midst of a successful tour. The story is told via a series of interviews with the responses to each event or question answered in mixed sequence by the band members, Daisy, family and managers.

It’s as if the reader is thrust into rooms where the entire cast of characters participate in front of each other, but are often simultaneously unaware of what the other is saying. Which means you get different accounts of the same situation as each individual remembers it. In essence it’s a kind of 4D holographic experience – of memories, opinions and emotional responses. It is absolutely fascinating.

This book is incredible! It's a bit like reading a documentary and the characters and their story feels so real that it's very difficult to believe that this is a work of fiction. I have to admit I Googled Daisy Jones, The Six and Daisy Jones & The Six just to make sure this was not a real band. I was very surprised by who the narrator is, but it makes sense because there are some very challenging topics covered in a delicate almost loving (but not limiting) way throughout the story.

I absolutely adored this, and devoured it in one go. The style is unusual but easy to follow, and adds a touch of humour in the differing and contradictory narratives. You fall in love with two or three of the main characters and their competing happy endings - I was especially drawn to Daisy and Karen, as well as Billy. I absolutely can’t wait for the tv adaptation of this, especially the soundtrack, which I think will really bring the story to life and amplify the heartache and passion of the story. An amazing read!