Did not finish. Could not get past the first few pages due to the writing style and the clunky dialogue.

I loved this in the beginning, but ultimately it fell a little flat for me. The story was a bit difficult to follow at times and I just didn't find the characters relatable. Thank you for this advanced copy!

The Bird Has Flown was a delightful surprise! I enjoyed the characters and plot and recommend you pick this book up! Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC!

This was also one of my most anticipated books of spring, mostly because I was curious to check out a book by the lead singer of the Bangles. Jane is a singer who years ago had a breakout hit when she covered a song by a superstar singer. She’s still struggling to get back on top, when she meets an Oxford professor named Tom on a flight to London. They are instantly enamored of one another, but she starts to think things aren’t quite as they seem.

I was obviously hopeful about this one, but it just didn’t deliver. The instant love story didn’t quite work for me–I didn’t feel their connection, or why Jane was so fixated on Tom. Jane was hard to pinpoint, with her lack of confidence and what felt like overdramatic reactions to many things. Kind of a disappointment, and one I maybe should have put down.

This was a fun but predictable read - there's a bit of a Jane Eyre/Mr. Rochester vibe with instalove and complete abandonment for all responsibility. To say their romance is whirlwind is an understatement, but it's a fun one. Susanna Hoffs has so much potential, and I look forward to her next book!

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun and funny contemporary romance. Protagonist Jane is a one hit wonder. Years ago she made it big with a cover of a little known song by famous rockstar Jonesy. But her sophomore album wasn't well recieved, and her career's been on a downward slide since then. Her best friend and agent, Pippa, has never given up on her though. When Pippa invites her to stay for a while at her London home, Jane jumps at the chance. She's just looking for a place to relax, but she may just find more than she expected. On the plane to London, she sits next to a handsome literature professor, Tom, and they hit it off immediately. It's a whirlwind romance... until the past intrudes. At the same time, Jane gets an exciting career opportunity. Will things work out for Jane, or will everything fall apart? Pick up This Bird has Flown and find out.

I really enjoyed this musical romance. I adored Jane, and truly felt for her as she struggled with feeling like a has-been and watching her boyfriend "trade her in for a younger model". She definitely needed a fresh start. Sure, the romance is insta-love, but that can be fun too. I did like Tom as a love interest, though not so much all the secrets. The secondary characters added a lot to the story: love to Pippa, Will, Alfie, Professor Thornbury, and even ol' Leopard Pants. One of the best parts of the story for me was watching Jane take back her power and go for what she actually wanted.

You can clearly feel the author's connection to the music world in this story. I got a lot of laughs out of this one, and would recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Perfectly fine contemporary fiction with an interesting main character and a plot that kinda just exists. I don't think I would call it "funny" or "steamy" though. In fact I'm struggling to find any adjectives to describe it at all.

I was excited to read this book when I learned Susanna Hoffs wrote it. While the cover is relatively simple, the book blurb grabbed my attention.

Susanna's writing style differs from what I'm used to reading, but it kept my interest. I loved the music references and the fact that there was a sweater the main character referred to as 'Kurt Cobain' because it looked similar to a sweater he’d worn. And who doesn't love a story with a cat in it - even if the cat situation is slightly complicated?

Something about the main character made me start and stop reading many times. I was not a fan of Jane Start. She was reeling from a bad relationship/breakup and stuck in career limbo from a one-hit-wonder. It was a great story, except Jane never tried to do anything to help herself, which got under my skin.

I wanted to like this book because it had a lot of promise. I wanted Jane to stand up for herself and aim for what she wanted rather than do what everyone else expected. Maybe there was a little bit of that toward the end of the story, but not enough to show real character growth or resolve.

While this book wasn't for me, many readers will enjoy Susanna's writing, musical references, and romance storyline.

Thank you, Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I kept having to remind myself that this was written by a member of the Bangles! It was great, and a fun take on Jane Eyre.

Unfortunately by about the 1/3 mark I realized this book just wasn't for me. I appreciate the author's venture into something new!

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Former Bangle lead Susannah Hoffs' Jane Eyre-inspired romance has some lovely moments, as well as instant chemistry between its leads. The Jane of this story is a musician holding on, barely, by her fingernails to her career. She had a hit years earlier covering a piece by a mega star, but she finds herself at a creative standstill and personal low after her boyfriend leaves her and she has barely any money left and little professional opportunities left.

On a plane to London to spend time at her agent's place writing hopefully enough songs for a comeback, she meets Tom, an Oxford professor. The two are instantly attracted, and spend weeks together before she learns some surprising things about Tom. But, this IS a romance, so of course they eventually end up together.

The story moved along well enough with some slow spots. I had some real concerns about how impulsively Jane tumbles into a relationship with Tom, never inquiring about any of the odd details about his past, so that when she is eventually blindsided, it's not surprising. Tom's reticence should have been a signal to Jane that both needed to slow down and open up to one another, but part of the pleasure of the story is how they learn to do so together.

What did surprise me was how much I enjoyed the musical aspect of the story; both characters connect through music, and it's music that supports Jane and brings the story together for a satisfying end.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Little, Brown and Company for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Loved this story from Susanna Hoffs, and do admit that I requested this book because I love the Bangels. Like learned to play their songs on the piano when I was in elementary school and made up dances to all their works in my basement. Major core memories. And I was super excited to see her debut as an author!

I loved that Jane was a musician, and that Hoffs made her a one hit wonder (instead of as prolific as The Bagles).

In this story, Jane is trying to find out how to continue to propel her career when she’s finding herself pigeonholed into her hit and a Vegas birthday party.

She meets her match heading back to England to stay with her agent, and we see her blossom as an individual.

Haunting her is a past collaboration for her hit (in which she turned down unwanted advances ala #metoo) with the creepy legend Jonesy. (Now I’m wondering who his inspiration is, have my suspicions, and hope Hoffs will spill the tea!) when he reengrs her life and offers her another collab opportunity that she’s finding hard to pass up.

Part Notting Hill, part coming of age story, I really liked this one.

Thank you, Hoffs, for reentering my life! I hope you continue to write!

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were great. This is the perfect quick summer read!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun, interesting read, and was a lot better than I thought it might be. The author's experience as a musician made the description of how the music scene works and how a musician creates and what performing is really like, made the story more authentic to me. The book had great, fun characters. No one was really unlikeable. The author knows how to put words together.

I'll give the book an extra star for chapter titles, which were fun and descriptive, but subtract a half-star for American characters using British expressions. Yes, there were a lot of English characters, and even an Australian one, who should be talking like that, but it annoys me when Americans do it. So 4.5 stars.

Take this book to the beach, on a plane, to the lake, on a train. It's light, sexy and fun.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine and freely given.

This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked up this book due to my love of Susanna Hoffs and the Bangles. This story of Jane Start, a one hit wonder trying to come back from obscurity is a fine read. I found myself regularly frustrated with Jane, wanting her to pull herself up (overly pathetic at times). I wanted to love this book more than I did, but it was still a fine read

❔Are there any popular dances you remember from when you were a kid?
I still laugh when I think about everyone everywhere doing the Macarena in the 90s.

BOOK REVIEW
This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs
Pub date: April 4, 2023
Thanks @littlebrown @netgalley for the E-ARC

I really wanted to like this, a music filled novel by a real musician (cofounder of The Bangles, turned solo artist), and I did like it a lot for the first third, maybe half. It’s really difficult to review the reasons I didn’t love it without giving too much away, though. So, I’m going to keep this short.

The romance gave me the ick, especially after a reveal that comes pretty late in the book. I just kept hoping the potential love interest from the first handful of pages would make a return.

The music references were cool, though, and the writing wasn’t bad. The story just didn’t work for me!

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A wonderful, steamy, slow-burn romance. Jane is a musician, a sort of one-hit wonder who can't seem to get her career going after some early mega-success. She meets Tom, an intriguing stranger, while traveling. Tom, in his own way, is fighting to overcome his past. Lots of secrets, lots of revelations keep us turning the pages. I look forward to recommending this title.

This Bird Has Flown, by Susanna Hoffs was not the genre of books that I normally read, but I still found it very entertaining and a fun read. I really liked how the characters were well fleshed out, so that I really was invested in what happened to them. As Susanna Hoffs was a songwriter and performer herself, she really knew how to make those parts of the book come alive and be authentic.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves music and a quirky romance novels.

I had mixed feelings about this book, we never really got to know Tom, which I guess which was the point, but because of that, I wasn't sure why our heroine was so into them.