I first ran across 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐋 & 𝐍𝐄𝐕 way back in the fall in an Edelweiss newsletter. I was immediately intrigued both by the obvious comparison and its own unique story. I held myself back from reading this book for MONTHS, but finally last week, it was time. Now my expectations were high. Very high. So did 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 & 𝘕𝘦𝘷 live up to those expectations. Mostly, yes.⁣
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For those of you living under a rock, 𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭 & 𝘕𝘦𝘷 uses an oral history format to tell the story of a short-lived 1970’s rock duo. (A duo that's considering a long awaited reunion.) Nev grew up involved in the music scene in England, but had come to NYC to see if he could finally gain some traction. He’s eventually paired with Opal, a surprise choice from Detroit. Why a surprise? Well, she’s Black, bald, outspoken, and not quite the ballad lover that Nev is. Still, Opal moves to NYC and the two make a go of it. That’s the part of the story I liked best.⁣
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Things slowed down for me in the second part, which I’m not going to talk about, not wanting to ruin the story for anyone. I went into the second half of the book blind, and am glad I did. Just suffice to say, I thought some of the interviews went on a little long and added little to the overall story. By the third part of this book, the pace had really picked up, leaving me flying through the pages until the very end. I’m left feeling very impressed with debut author Dawnie Walton. She seamlessly wove together BIG personalities, serious issues of race in America, and the world of music, all in its own unique package.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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This book was amazing. While the story was narrated by one character, the reader reaped the benefits of multiple perspectives due to the clever use of interviews interspersed with editor notes. The story itself was deep and compelling and timely. Not just a memoir of a musical duo but a story of racism and struggle. Definitely a recommended read!

I couldn't get into this one. I thought maybe it would be better than Daisy and Jones since I didn't like that one but I dont know.

4 STARS

A poignant fictional oral history of the beloved rock ‘n’ roll duo who shot to fame in the 1970s New York, and the dark, fraught secret that lies at the peak of their stardom.

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First of all I want to make it clear that I am not an #ownvoices reviewer, so please take this as such.

After reading and absolutely LOVING Daisy Jones, I knew that I had to get my hands on a copy of OPAL & NEV! I was (and still am) super interested in the "faux biography" style of writing and had heard early reviews comparing the two. Unfortunately, I think that reading this in hopes of it being "another" Daisy Jones negatively impacted my enjoyment, as I was consistently (and completely unfairly) comparing the two.

OPAL & NEV is NOTHING like Daisy Jones. Less focused on the relationship between the characters and more centred around the blatant racism and white supremacy that is so ingrained in the rock 'n' roll scene. It was a powerful read, especially with the increase in visibility and support of the BIPOC movement. I highly recommend OPAL & NEV to all readers, but caution you to leave your comparisons to other "faux bio" fiction at the door.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my review copy! OPAL & NEV is out now.

Simply described, this is the story of a young Black American woman and a young white British man who dream of becoming rock stars in the 1970s. But there’s so much more here.

Yes - there are similarities to Daisy Jones and the Six: 1) it’s told in long-form interview format, and 2) it features musicians and their lives on and off stage. That’s where the comparisons end.

The Last Revival of Opal & Nev examines racial prejudice, white privilege, gender and sexual orientation prejudice, and more. Sadly these issues are as relevant now as they were 50 years ago when this novel is set.

Congratulations to author Dawnie Walton on her compelling debut novel, available March 30. Thank you to 37 Ink for the review copy; all thoughts are my own.

Loved this book! I fell in love with Opal right off the bat! I’ve heard many compare this to Daisy Jones and the Seven but I think Opal and Nev beat it hands down! The characters felt so real and I honestly was sad when I realized I couldn’t listen to their songs. It was a quick and thoughtful read! I could have read 300 more pages on this duo!

Opal is a young black woman with a lot of ambition as far as her music is concerned. Nev is a songwriter and guitar player from England looking for a partner. I don't think you could find two more different people but the collaboration works. Opal has an afro-punk style which probably wasn't a defined genre back in the 70's. The book is presented as a series of interviews by Sunny Shelton, who happens to be the daughter of Opal's lover, Jimmy Curtis. At first the writing style through me off but then it grew on me, hearing how others perceived the events leading to the end of the story while pretty much maintaining a linear time line. The focus is a showcase concert with Opal and Nev and a band called the Bond Brothers. A riot ensues and Opal is felt to be the cause of the whole thing.

I think I would have enjoyed the story so much more if I knew the songs. Different songs that Nev wrote and explained his motivation for writing them, Opal's reaction to certain lyrics but not knowing the song I felt left out. Same with the characters of Opal and Nev, as people talked about the riot and their career paths I never felt like I knew who Opal and Nev really were, especially Nev.
I felt like I was just on the tip of understanding them but it was just a wisp and then it was gone.

I felt it was a compelling story and I'm glad I read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is written as an oral history, which is highly effective in telling this unforgettable story. While the format makes the comparison to Daisy Jones & The Six inevitable, make no mistake - this book is very different. I loved Daisy Jones so if a comparison gets more people to notice Dawnie Walton’s impressive debut, that’s a good thing. Her rich and bold tale aptly presents the music and grittiness of 1970s NYC providing a backdrop for social issues - race relations, feminism and more.

I'm so appreciative that I had the opportunity to read an advance of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, a fictional story that feels very real. I expect many will be singing this book’s praises when it is released on March 30, 2021.

Dawnie Walton tackles a lot of heavy, complex topics in this fictional oral history of an iconic 1970s rock duo, and she does it so, so well.

The premise (an afro-punk powerhouse and a timid British singer/songwriter duo are catapulted into fame after a disastrous concert and decades later consider a reunion show), the characters, and the obstacles they faced felt real. I kept finding myself double checking that the book was not, in fact, a true biography written by the narrator, Sunny.

The pacing is the only aspect that felt iffy for me. The book starts pretty slow, but around the halfway point it totally takes off. I also felt that at times Sunny’s interjections disrupted the momentum, but the story itself was so compelling I barely slowed down.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is similar to Daisy Jones & the Six, sure, but it’s also more. Opal & Nev is, at it’s core, a book about racism, sexism, addiction, and injustice in the music industry. It’s powerful and timely and bound to be one of the top books of 2021.

Like a rock fan pining for her favorite group's next album, I'm already clamoring for Dawnie Walton's next book. With her debut novel, the former journalist for Entertainment Weekly and Essence was inspired to craft a fictional oral history about a legendary rock duo from the '70s. And the novel rocks. The form works beautifully, as a host of characters offer their accounts of the history-making events that launch Opal & Nev's careers. Accounts vary, as they always do, challenging us readers to compare and contrast stories about how things went down. As I read between the lines, I was fully invested in the narrative from page 1 to the finish (an ending that felt 100% right to me). Walton so seamlessly blends actual music history with fictional that I found myself researching whether some of her fictional characters and events actually existed. She also seems to capture Black women's lives in the 70s with vivid details. I read somewhere that when she started the book, she imagined Opal as Grace Jones and Nev as David Bowie. That's a great start, but what she's finished is that much better. This book gets compared to Daisy Jones & the Six because of the similar oral history format, but it goes beyond that book. Opal has a strength and a charisma that rocket off the page. She is a gem of a character. But the interviewer's character and stakes in the project add another layer to this novel. I highly recommend it.
[Thanks to Simon & Schuster/37 Ink and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.]

Amazing!! I loved this. People draw. Lot of comparisons to Daisy Jones, but I think this one stands on its own, and manages to be a completely nuanced and unique voice. I think the second time around, I will listen to this on audio, but overall I loved the character development and it never felt boring. Looking forward to more from this author!

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is clearly in the same sub-genre of fictional 1970s music biography as Daisy and the Six. But this book layers on more of the era’s potent political activism and violent tendencies. Unfortunately, many of the issues are still relevant today.

The characters within The Final Revival of Opal & Nev are what drive the story. These people feel so realistic! But there is action here too. If you remember, or enjoy, the American 1970s music scene, you will be enchanted by this book. 4 stars!

Thanks to 37 Ink, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

While I really liked the premise of the book and couldn't wait to read it, I just didn't enjoy it. It seemed to drag on and on and the constant switching between different character's perceptions was annoying and confusing. I had really high hopes for this one but to me it didn't measure up.

I have not read Daisy and the Six, so this a fresh approach for me. The story was told through interviews. What a pair Nev and Opal were. When it begins Opal is finding her voice and style. She is a black women who does not fit societies definition of beauty. Nev is a white, awkward “rock & roller”, The story really shows how they evolve over the years together. As a band, they are never able to move past a violent outburst at one of their early concerts. It took a life and left others physically and emotionally damaged. The story has the drug and sex that you would expect. It also has strong statements on racism, cost of fame, women’s rights and what it feels to not belong or feel valued.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is intensely readable because of the unique relationships between its' characters. All of these people are fully realized and seem like real rockstars from a bygone era. It was also refreshing to read about black rock stars who were the main characters not just a side character for equality's sake. Dawnie Walton is a breakthrough and necessary new literary artist who we as readers need urgently today.

Opal, a young Black woman from Detroit, and Nev, a White songwriter from the UK, seem like they have nothing in common but come together to start a rock band in 1970's New York City. This book is a bit memoir, a VH1 Behind the Music vibe, and an interview style that is all fictional but will have you pausing and wanting to do internet searches to se what is real and what isn't. It touches on race, historical events that are eerily current as well, and the struggles that go along with loss and identity. I enjoyed this book a lot and I would love to hear the audiobook version of it. Because of the style, there were a few times where I lost interest or felt distracted from the stories and how it jumped around. Overall, this is a fun book that most people will love. I think if you were a fan of the style of "Daisy Jones and the Six", this will be a hit for you, although they are very different books. If you are looking for something a little different in your reading, I would recommend picking this up.

This book was fantastic! I loved it so much - i love the rock N roll feel of the book. Seriously this book is amazing and everyone needs to read it.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev -- 4.5 Stars

Although the obvious comparison to this book is to Daisy Jones and the Six because it is a story of musicians in the form of an oral history, Opal and Nev is much more than that. The many layers contained in this novel was something I did not fully expect and truly enjoyed. Not only do we hear about the early lives of Nev and Opal and their respective paths that lead them to New York and each other, but also the story of "Sunny," the author/compiler of the oral history and her personal connection and investment in the two singers, as well as Virgil--Opal's best friend and stylist, whose story we only get a glimpse of but his aspirations and role in Opal's life was one that enhanced this novel for me.

Opal is the true star of this book and with it focusing on her, it demonstrates the struggles and barriers she experiences as a Black woman in America, and the strength she has both in the time of her rise to fame in the 1970s, as well as during her present-day interviews in 2016.

I was not a huge fan of Daisy Jones and I think it is because this oral history style is not a preferred novel format for me, but Opal and Nev showed me that the content of the story can overshadow any qualms I have about this style. This was not only a novel about the struggles of two musicians' rise to stardom. Rather, it's about family in all its forms, identity, race, racism, pride, and passion. Walton's writing is well done and she is able to capture a unique voice for each of her interviewees. I liked that the interviews were organized in a way that flowed into each other so it did not seem jolting, and more like each person was chiming in on a conversation where they were all in the same room. When more background or context was needed, the use of newspaper clippings or interviews was effective and organic. I particularly liked the "editor's notes" section where we learned more of the events in Sunny's personal life surrounding the interview.

I deducted a half star because the pacing at the start was a bit slow for me, but as I traveled deeper into the story, I was fully invested in Opal and Sunny.

Had a hard time getting into this one, as compared to similar Daisy Jones and the Six, but had so soul and movement. It lead me down many research rabbit holes of music makers and influencers I didn’t know much about, and am not grateful for. Looking forward to reading more from this author, and the hidden stories they tell.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a compelling, timely, and entertaining take on the intersections of music, fame, politics, and identity. Opal is a fascinating, powerful character, and those surrounding her are complicated. I don't want to just compare this book to Daisy Jones & The Six, but it's hard not to - I had wanted to love Daisy Jones and its format but was let down by it for a number of reasons. Opal & Nev works much better - expanding the story of the narrator/interviewer, as well as the story of the stars themselves. There is far more depth and a greater scope to Opal & Nev, grounding them in the outside world and culture and far more successfully connecting to the present day. The book did drag a bit around the middle, but once I got back into it, I was pleased to see how the book was drawn out after the central event the book had been leading to, and then builds into an ending you can't wait to see.