First of all, I really like the cover to this novel. I think Opal’s face with Nev’s guitar is fitting for the cover. At first, this novel reminded me of Daisy Jones & The Six. It soon made a name for itself, though. This book is political and the issues that the world was facing in the 70s – unfortunately, we are still facing in 2023. The fictional events that happened in the novel could easily have occurred in the same time period in America.

Opal is a black American woman and Nev is a white British man who come together to make music. They come from very different worlds, but they strive to make meaningful music. They are not perfect people, which the author shows. They felt like real people with real issues and hangups, which I appreciated. It helps the reader identify with the characters and understand why they did the things they did. I wish Opal Jewel was a real person – she would be a force to reckon with, for sure! I would love to listen to Opal & Nev’s music.

I am glad that this novel wasn’t afraid to talk about racism against black people, especially black women. It happened in the 70s, and it is still happening today. The more people are aware of it, hopefully they will recognize the damage it causes and will act to stop it.

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The format of the book is primarily interviews between journalist Sunny Curtis and all of the players involved in the bringing together of Opal & Nev. Every once in a while, Sunny brings in what happens in her personal life, and that helps the reader immerse themself in the story. I liked this format. It works for this novel very well.

During the second half of the book, it did get kinda slow. It felt like I was reading the same thing over and over. However, it picked up near the end and redeemed itself. I am glad that I read this, but I probably won’t reread it (I won’t reread Daisy Jones & The Six, either for the same reason). Maybe books about fictional musicians aren’t exactly my cup of tea, and that’s okay. I recommend this novel.

I have to say it…this is everything that I wanted but didn’t get from Daisy Jones and the Six. Opal and Nev was so much richer and had characters that I cared about. I loved the atmosphere and strong sense of time. I think I’d like to listen to this as an audiobook sometime as these kinds of documentary books seem to lend themselves well to that format.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Audio

4🌟 - I liked it!

This gave such Daisy Jones vibes! I didn’t connect to it in the same way I did for Daisy, but I loved the commentary on race in music during the 70s and how the author handled those themes.

This was hard to get into. I was very excited to read it because it presented like Daisy Jones and The Six, which I loved! But, it had a slow start that didn’t keep me as intrigued. Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy!

This is a bit of a slow burn but ultimately worth the time to wait it out. An obvious reference would be to Daisy Jones & Six of course but I believe that Walton had far better execution here. This isn’t an entertaining book but it sure is enlightening. Definitely recommend.

After reading Daisy Jones & The Six, I couldn't wait to embark on another musical journey. Unfortunately, I don't think I was in the correct headspace when picking up The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. It's its own story, which it should be, but it wasn't what I was looking for in the moment.

I've heard great things about this book. I plan to pick it up again in the future. I believe I can be a bit of a mood reader at times, so I know I will get a chance to read this book again when my heart and mind are ready for it.

At that time, I'll happily update my review here. Thank you so much to the author and publisher for granting me access an ARC of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev.

*I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*

4.5 stars. Such a great read.

The 1970s were such a turbulent time in the US, and the music industry was no different. The Last Revival of Opal and Nev tells the fictional story (in interview format) of the duo’s start and demise in the 1970s. The story is told by way of the main character, Sunny, interviewing the main folks and all the other key players in the history of this dynamic musical duo, all while really trying to find out more about her passed father.

Great story telling and and interesting approach to telling it. I forgot several times that I was reading a work of fiction with how real people were mixed in with fictional ones. Definitely a great read.

A favorite genre of mine. Historical fiction. Especially when it creates fictional icons. I got so attached and enthralled I am still wishing they were real. The interview style made this even more realistic.

I loved the format Walton used to tell this story. The narrator is a journalist, but is intimately connected to her subjects, despite her attempts to hide it throughout her career. Now, she's keen to document one last reunion between Opal and Nev Charles. This gave a unique lens to how I viewed her "coverage" of the revival as well as how she interpreted past incidents. But it also brought a humanity to it -- these weren't just famous people who were fodder for gossip; their actions had real, irreversible, and impactful outcomes for so many beyond themselves.

The topic of race is central to this book. It plays out in myriad ways, but is ever-present and evolving. Walton invokes many contemporaneous incidents which served to show how much things stay the same, despite any change that occurs. I also felt that show the narrator covered them and in what timeline, created a shock factor that made me check myself and the assumptions I was making about all of the characters, not just Nev and Opal.

What set this book apart for me was how Opal's experience in her professional relationship with Nev mirrors that of many Black women. When it all comes to a head, who shows up for them and who speaks up? It was hard to read at times, to yet again see a Black woman thrown to the side and not advocated for. I'm sure that was a part of the lesson, but no less difficult to see.

This was a phenomenal book, and I'll absolutely be looking for more from Walton.

this is a very rich, polyphonic novel made up of interviews chronicling the brief life and death of fictional 70s rock duo Opal and Nev. while this book is often compared to Daisy Jones and the Six I think the two only bear similarities in structure and time period. While Daisy Jones and the Six is concerned with relationship drama, the romance of artistic partnership, drugs sex and rock and roll; Opal and Nev is a bit more heavily focused on racial social commentary regarding Opal's experiences as a revolutionary figure in an all white boy's club of an industry. It's a narrative more focused on ideas about the cultural resonances of our favorite musicians, their iconography that makes waves long after their music stops charting, and the dangers of white liberalism that performs social activism only when it does not inconvenience. I think both novels are pretty great but I wanted to illustrate these differences in intention behind the story telling because I do think the marketing has slightly done this book a disservice and may deliver it to the wrong audience by comparing the two.

Reading it was too disjointed for me, but it gave me strong Daisy Jones and the Six vibes. That is another one that didn't work for me in print - but the audio was fire!

I had initially opted to to not give feedback on this one, but now that I have heard it on audio I am back with my review.

Sunny is writing a story about the fictional reunion between a rock and roll duo from the 70's. This one is delivered in journalistic format.

On audio this works well. Its done nicely and the narrators were fantastic. I greatly appreciated this debut novel and look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for this e-arc.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

The oral history format that worked so well in smash hit Daisy Jones & The Six is applied to a deeper, more interesting story. Opal and Nev were an unlikely rock duo, a bold and brash Black girl from Detroit and a shy songwriter from the UK who teamed up to make music together until an incident at a show with a Confederate-sympathizing band that created an iconic photo and sent the two on very different paths. As a reunion is teased, the true story of what happened that fateful night might just change everything.

I've tried and tried and tried to read this at least 5 times but I can never get into it. It seems like a book I'd absolutely love because I love books set in the 1970s that follow rockstars. I'm not sure if maybe it's the way this story is told that isn't connecting with me or what. I'm determined to like this so one day I'll come back to this but for now, these are my feelings.

A stunning story of an interracial rock duo who captures an audience with their brilliance. The breakup that sends their careers into misdirection. A writer who covers their reunion decades later only to discover a dark side. Dawnie Walton’s writing brought me into a world I new nothing about. Fame with an underside. This book kept me up til two in the morning.

#TheFinalRevivalofOpalandNev #DawnieWalton #netgalley

DNF @30%

I tried to give this book a fair shot, even though I really wanted to stop reading it after the first couple of chapters. I just felt so disconnected from the characters. I also really did not like the interview format and everything just felt very discombobulated (for lack of a better term). I was hoping to love this one because of the comparisons it has garnered from other books that I did really enjoy, but sadly this just wasn’t the book for me. I don't usually rate books I don't finish so I am not really sure what rating to give, but I think a 3 star is pretty average and fair. I feel so bad because I really was expecting to love this one!

I liked a lot about the book. I flew through it, as it was very engaging. I did not love the ending, but I would still recommend it.

I have very mixed feelings about this one. On a whole I really appreciated the story and I enjoyed how it was written. But I felt like it dragged in some places. The first half of the book was pretty fast paced for me but I felt like becuase there were so many different characters we were never really able to get into the meat of the story. I would have liked to learn more about Sunny.

very interesting story
hooked me from the first page
a little slow at times
enjoyed the references to real life history
couldnt connect to any of the characters
wanted more of a love story between Opal & Nev

I agree with many reviews that the format of this story is VERY close to Daisy Jones. However, I found the plot of FRO&N to have a bit more grit. I enjoyed this one, though I did find the pacing to be a bit off. The reader knows about the pivotal event in the story from almost the beginning, but it takes quite a while to get there. The back half was better and more engaging!