Jane and her band the Breakers have an unexpected opportunity when Jesse Reid who was meant to headline a folk music festival is injured in a motorcycle accident. The two of them build a relationship as he recovers and then on the road together until.....they aren't and she's back on Bayleen Island writing an album. Set in the 1970s, this has good atmospherics and hits well on the way women in the music business were (and often still are) treated. Jane is the more dynamic character while Jessse feels familiar. In fact, the ups and downs of Jane and Jesse's relationship might remind you of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell or A Star is Born. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's an earnest and well written debut with a good heart.

This is lovely debut about music in 1969-1971.

The story is about music, love, family, mental health, and standing for up for yourself.

I loved seeing how Jane grew as and artist and knew who she wanted to be. I rooted her to find her space in the music scene and despised the scenes with the men of the record label.

I liked seeing Jane’s relationship with her family and the one with Jesse too.

I really enjoyed the vibe of this book and would recommend this to anyone who likes rock/70s themed stories.

[CW - drug use, overdose, schizophrenia]

As someone who loves music I really enjoy books about the music industry. Loosely based on the brief romance between Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, Songs in Ursa Major, by Emma Brodie, may be fiction, but it reads like a memoir. With masterful descriptions of the song writing process, behind the scenes tales of recording an album, and the thrills and perils of going on tour, this book feels so real, I wish I could get my hands on the music, and listen to Jane and Jesse sing their hearts out.

What I Liked:

Song Writing Process:

I loved how the author describes the creative process of writing a song. While Jesse and Jane each had different methods for writing, they both used imagery to bring themes of longing, love, and betrayal to their music. Jane would get the tune first, and then use that mood to find lyrics to match. While Jesse's song writing method was less apparent, what was clear was that both of them were poets. I would love to hear the music that the author described.

Depiction of the Music Industry:

The book was set in the 1970's, where men ran everything. Although she was the lead singer in her band, Jane had to contend with executives only speaking to the male members of the band, and not taking her music seriously. There was also a vindictive record producer who tried to sabotage Jane's career. She learned the hard way that the record industry had total control over her career, no matter how successful she was.

Strangely, I don't think much has changed in the present. There is still sexism, creepy record producers, and corporate greed in the music industry. But there are also independent record labels, YouTube, and Spotify that can circumvent these influences.

Substance Abuse Shame and Family Secrets:

A major theme in this book was how the shame of substance abuse could tear families apart. Jesse's father seemed, at first, to be an unfeeling, control freak who delighted in pointing out Jesse's problems. But, later we learn all about what Jesse put his dad through, and we feel much more compassion for him.

Jane's family also suffers from the loss of her mother to (possibly) mental illness. Janes's mother disappeared when she was a child after becoming emotionally unstable. But the secrets and shame her grandmother and aunt had surrounding the mom's actions were what did the most damage to Jane. As this book is set in the early 1970's, this was realistic. But it was heartbreaking all the same.

What I Was Mixed About:

I suppose it was a novel about Rock-n-Roll, and drugs and sex were a big part of the music scene. I really liked how the book dealt with substance abuse. The author didn't glamorize anything. There were harrowing scenes of overdoses, and it showed the toll this had on relationships and generations of families . Fair warning: the sex in the book was rather raw. Again, this added to the Rock-n-Roll atmosphere of the novel, but skip this book if you don't want to read sex on the page.

I really enjoyed this book, Songs in Ursa Major. It had a little bit of everything; mental health issues, drug issues, coming of age during the 60s in the music field. The words to the songs just seemed to jump off the page. Characters were definitely defined; one felt like you knew them. Had to keep reading to see where this story was going and it didn't abruptly end like so many stories do. It came to a very logical and perfect ending in the future.

A great story of up and coming musicians in late 60's and eay 70's...coming from a small beach island and their struggles with record companies and the music industry. Jane Quinn comes from a family with secrets and falls for Jesse Reid, already a star with his own demons. Jane was not one to conform to the record company and Jesse struggled with his own ways to conform. A long struggle over the years with their talent and support from the Quinn family.

Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie.
I cannot rave highly enough about this book!

Its a phenomenal tale of the folk rock music scene in America between 1969-72.
Central to the story is singer/songwriter Jane Quinn, who is thrust into stardom courtesy of the Bayleen Island Folk Fest. What follows is a rollercoaster rise fuelled by sex, drugs, and, of course rock and roll, followed hard and fast by the inevitable fall. It's a stark insight insight into the hedonistic, misogynistic culture of the record industry, and a tale of finding oneself in amidst chaos.

I wanted the albums to be real; to see and hear the songs that drive the story! There needs to be an album to accompany this book, although who could possibly equal the incredible Jane Quinn?

Woven through are themes of love and loss, family and friendship, sexism and power, addiction and healing, guilt and rehabilitation, all of which combine in an utterly captivating novel.

I'm utterly blown away by this book, and have a feeling it will remain with me

Many thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Songs in Ursa Major will be released 22 June 2021

4 1/2 "bright shiny" stars!!

Songs in Ursa Major called to me like a siren song....all I had to do was see that it was a book about the music industry during the 1960's and 1970's and I was all in. It did have a bit of a Daisy Jones feel to it, but was still its own story.

The main character, Jane Quinn has a complicated personal history. She's incredibly talented and gets her big break when Jessie Reid is injured on his way to perform at the local music festival. When Jane and her group, The Breakers get to fill in, opportunities suddenly present themselves. However, amidst it all, the discrimination against women during that time period in the industry is evident and Jane feels it immensely as she tries to find her place. To further complicate things, she and Jessie fall in love and their whirlwind, passionate affair burns hot. Unfortunately, not all is as it seems and Jane finds herself lost and alone. She falls back on her music and creates a beautiful, albeit heartbreaking album in Songs in Ursa Major. Throughout it all, Jane is on her own course of self discovery to better understand herself and what she is truly looking for out of life.

This debut novel took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions. One minute I was up and the next, I was plunging down to the lowest of depths. My heart broke for many of the characters as they navigated life and its challenges. You find yourself invested not in just Jane and Jessie, but also many of the side characters as well. Over the course of this novel, it is heartbreakingly clear that love isn't always enough. Yet, you can't just turn it off. Love is always there.

I look forward to reading more by Emma Brodie. I found this novel to be an impressive debut. She created characters with a great deal of depth and wove them into a storyline that took a popular theme and gave it a different feel.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I really enjoyed this story. I was a teenager in the 60s and 70s so I loved the whole hippie and rock and roll vibe in this book. Loosely based on James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, a lot of the story took place on an “imaginary “ island off the coast of Massachusetts. This was very jarring to me. I live in Massachusetts and have spent a lot of vacation time on Martha’s Vineyard, the obvious setting of the story. I understand why the author didn’t want to use the actual name since this is fiction, not a biography of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, but if you know the Vineyard, it threw me off the story a bit. This won’t be a problem for a lot of readers who aren’t familiar with the island. That said, I thought Jane was a wonderful character and would recommend this as a great read.

5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com today.


Sometimes all you need a bit of luck to make your dreams come true. For Jane Quinn, performing on the big stage at her local music festival was that dream. She and her band, The Breakers, had been playing together locally for years. The Breakers were popular in her hometown, but that was it for them.

Just as they were about to perform on that second stage when they were called to the main stage. The featured performer, Jesse Reid, was unable to perform, and The Breakers were going to sub for him. As the chants and the boos and the storm of people to the exits ensued, Jane took control and began to sing Jesse’s most popular song.

Dreams can come true, right? This novel follows Jane and Jesse and the other Breakers and bandmates through the raucous music scene of the late ‘60s and into the ‘70s. Mostly focusing on Jane and what it took to be a strong woman in a male industry during those years. Jane is a fierce independent not willing to bow to the wills of others. She is a strong female voice, even when the world seems to be coming down around her.

Emma Brodie’s novel is a gift. It is a fun journey through those wild times and the music that was the soundtrack. Would love to see this one turned into a movie! Fell in love with Jane and her strength. Enjoyed this book and all five stars of it.

Songs in Ursa Major captured my attention because I love music and drama and the premise of the book promised to offer both. This was a compelling debut. As a lover of Daisy Jones and the Six and well 70s rock music, thanks to my parents, this was a story right up my alley. I’m told it’s a loose retelling of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, but I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up on that if I wasn’t told 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wasn’t so into the sex drugs and rock and roll plot points as they are what you’d expect, but loved the topical commentary on being a female musician and not being taken seriously. Beneath it all was a touching story about being true to yourself, not compromising for others and caring for your loved ones and their mental and physical health struggles. I especially enjoyed how Brodie ties up the stories of Jane Quinn and Jessie Reid.

I mostly enjoyed this book. The writing was lovely, though I did find the occasional shift to a minor character’s perspective a bit distracting. It’s a small quibble but it pulled me out of the story. It’s also not at all my place to disagree with the plotting choices an author makes, but I did feel robbed that Jane and Jesse didn’t ultimately end up together. I thought a flash forward at the end written as an article was a nice ending (yeah, Rich and Simon got together). I know their romance wasn’t the main point of the story but it was significant enough to the book that it definitely bothered me.

I was born too late. Emma Brodie got me as soon as 1960s and 1970s music was mentioned. I was hooked on this book all the way through but I'm a music junkie. This had undertones of A Star is Born for me. When Jesse Reid, on the brink of stardom, can't make his music gig, the local band The Breakers jumps in their place. Their lead singer Jane Quinn is astonishing. This is the story of both Jesse and Jane but the era is a character in the story as well. From boardrooms with only men to phrases like "be a good girl", we know this isn't today.

This is a fantastic book for music groupies, music lovers and those who know the story of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. I could hear Taylor's voice as I made my way through this book.

I really really wanted to love this book. The premise is great. I was so looking forward to enjoying it BUT it just wasn't for me. I got 46% through it and gave up.

It started out so great! The chemistry of Jane and her band mates was fun. The side stories (her mother, cousin, etc.) were boring and disjointed. At one time there was a mention of a grandfather but then he didn't get mentioned again.

Once I got to about 35% I just didn't care how it would end so I found myself skimming quite a bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. I wish Emma Brodie well and hope others love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my pre-pub copy!

This book was much different than I was expecting. I was expecting a fluffy, romantic read. What I got was a heartbreaking, emotional journey of unexpected depth. I alternated between rooting for Jane and wanting to throttle her, which is probably the mark of a great character.

I think anyone that has worked for a dream and been unsure if it will ever come true will relate to this story. I'd love to read more about some of the other characters - her family, bandmates, and event some of the "minor" characters that impact Jane's trajectory all have their own stories to tell and I think Brodie would be the person to tell them.

At first I was happy to start this book. It had the feel of a long story to settle into, but then the main character, Janie Q, a singer in a band, started making some choices that I saw were problematic and just plain not smart so I started to get annoyed with her. Since it was taking place in the late 60's, I could relate to the era, though having never been a part of a band, I can't say I have walked in her shoes to know from experience whether I would have made those choices.

By choices, I am not referring to her choice of man, though he was problematic even if he was a huge heart throb singer in his own right. I mean her dealings with agents and record exec's. With no experience in the field, she used the heavy handed approach in spite of being told that it wouldn't work and found the advice to be correct and her life a lot harder because of her stand.

The book was good though, in that it kept me coming back to see what would happen. The Greece part made me wonder if there was a different author as it was so different from the rest of the book. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Ok, so I pictured a young James Taylor as Jesse and Grace Potter as Jane until I read the author notes at the end and now I can’t picture anyone but Joni Mitchell. I really enjoyed this book, though some parts were rather drawn out. This is kind of a walk through a few years in the life of Jane Quinn and her brush with stardom in the 60s and 70s. I love all the music references but could not get a solid feel for Jane’s style. A lot focused on folky type music, but the descriptions of her performances didn’t really fit into that mold. I was kind of confused when the fallout between Jesse and Jane hit. Seemed like a lot of angst over nothing big.
The words really did flow like a good song and the characters were easy to get to know. I’d recommend this as a good read.

I've just finished "Songs in Ursa Major" by Emma Brodie, a digital ARC provided by Netgalley for my honest review.
Aside from some sex & drugs, this should be in the teen/YA category. There was no depth, very generic. I thought the story was superficial, cliché & predictable.
To quote the book, the main characters Jesse & Jane, were "saccharine".
At about 75%, when I was ready to give up, the tone changed. The story blossomed, and it finally became interesting.
I play several instruments, and love music of varied genres & have my own memories of the 70's. This book just didn't portray the passion, chaos or vibrancy of that era to me.

Songs in Ursa Major will make you feel things.

Initially as I was typing up this review, I thought of giving a quick summary so you know what to expect from the story and setting, but I just couldn't put it into words. Nothing I'd use to describe it would've captured its essence. It is about the music scene in the late 60s and early 70s, and it is about Jane Quinn, following her life, but it's also so much more. It would be a disservice to write a brief description of something that needs to be experienced and felt.

Let's first cover the basics - realistic characters that feel like real people, along with their flaws, quirks and doubts. The plot is really well-paced, there is no page used in vain. There is no filler, no space that's left empty. The character development is also well-depicted, it's raw and, yes, real. If you like a book where you don't know what's going to happen next, this is the one for you. It keeps you guessing, all while it streams a string of beautiful sentences. The book is exceptionally well-written. The writing style is effortless and every word has its purpose. As I said, there are no wasted words here, so you better pay attention.

This is the kind of a book that you dream of reading and when it finally lands in your hands, you can't put it down, but you know that you have to because it needs to be savoured. You'll be tempted to read it in one go, but pacing yourself is what makes it even more exhilarating. It's a novel that masterfully interlaces great writing, plot, character development, and the exploration of important issues such as mental health stigma all while it helps you feel a range of emotions

Reading is a deeply personal experience and it would be wrong of me to tell you that you would definitely feel what I felt when I was reading it. Yet I can't resist highlighting that the emotions this book evokes is what makes it so great. There are many novels out there which have good writing, characters and plot, but they just don't make you feel what this novel does.

This has honestly been the best book I read this year and probably last year too.

I have kindly received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group in exchange of a fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I am torn on whether I liked this book or not. I have to say that it has been a little while since I read it and I normally write my reviews as soon as I finish the book, but for some reason, I couldn't do that with this book. I had to let it sit and stew for a little while. I am a huge music fan and I loved Daisy Jones and the Six, which is set around the same time as this book. Though this book is supposed to kind of be a focus on Joni Mitchell and James Taylor's affair back in the 60's.and '70s. There were a lot of little issues I had with this book and one big issue. I felt that the book was kind of boring, to be honest. I finished reading it because I was hoping that it would get better and there were parts that I liked a lot I just felt like the characters for me fell super flat, I had a hard time keeping some of it straight and there was a bit of changing perspectives without knowing that we were going to be changing perspectives. Those things kind of threw me off a little. I am sure there are going to be people who this book is absolutely for and I just don't necessarily think that I was one of them. I am grateful for the opportunity to read this book early. I did enjoy the actual writing though I just wish things were more developed all the way around.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.