This book is about a ukelele player named Caroline whose father died and mother is rich. So Caroline spends her time jet setting and writing songs. She meets a man and he helps her grow.

I clicked now to get this title on netgalley. Advertised along the veins as Daisy jones and the Six this was not at all how I found this novel.
This book is more like a traditional romance novel than a TJR.

For me it was okay. Not a bad read but I wasn't enamored. Nice and light and an easy read.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper collins for this arc

A wonderfully written debut novel! If you’re a TJR fan, this is a must read for your summer TBR. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was a sweet read, a compelling romp through the lifestyle of the 1960’s jet set but with a strong female lead looking to forge her own path and step outside that comfort zone she’s always known. Well drawn characters and settings, transporting the reader straight into the life and times very easily. While it could have just stayed in that fluffy otherworldly life of the rich and famous, the author brings in touches of the outside world, including Vietnam, as a way of grounding the story in reality. Very enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Follow the Sun is set in 1960s following the jet-set through Europe and beyond. For socialite Caroline Kimball this lifestyle has become her escape from adult responsibilities until she meets photographer Jack "Tex" Fairchild in Acapulco and everything changes, her eyes opening up to a future of her choosing instead of one that has been laid out for her.

This was a fun read with a lot of 1960s culture, fashion and music tied in. I enjoyed following Caroline on her journey to find herself. This is going to be a great beach read this summer!
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Follow the Sun by Liz Locke is the perfect book to read on a mild summer day when the sun is peeking in and out from behind the clouds, because that is how this novel unfolds.

It is a warm, cheery book but from the beginning you can tell that, although she lives a life of luxury, it isn't all sunshine and lollipops for the novel's heroine, Caroline, although it most certainly is for many of her friends.

The novel offers a glimpse of the jetsetting luxury lifestyle of the rich and famous in the 1960s.  On the surface, it looks appealing. But underneath the glamour and the wealth, many of the characters are struggling to find a way to live a real life, an authentic life while surrounded by so much artifice.

The novel is historical in the sense that it is set 60 years ago, and reflects that era's thinking about everything from premarital sex (it was happening but "good girls' didn't do it, don't flaunt it and be grateful The Pill was becoming more accessible), to same-sex relationships to the role of women, which was primarily to be a pretty attachment on a rich man's arm and bear his children.  

The novel references the VietNam War, since it plays a significant role in one character's life.  But the protests around that conflict, and its impact on the minds and hearts of young Americans are brushed past.

The book is a love story, but not a terribly passionate one.  There are obstacles thrown in the pair's path, but there's always the sense that everything will work out, for everyone. The story of Caroline's personal growth or even the evolution of her relationship with her mother are more compelling stories, because they are less predictable than the Caroline/Jack relationship. 

Follow The Sun is an average summer day - pleasant, enjoyable but ultimately unremarkable. 

Thank you Net Galley for the free copy.  It was still fun to read.

This is a wonderful book that feels like a time capsule from the 1960's. We get to experience the life of the jet-set in that era, and travel to Acapulco, Paris and Spain.
Young socialite Caroline is enjoying her life before she has to do what is expected of her and marry friend of the family and fellow social elite Henry and become a supportive wife with no career of her own. Then along comes Jack who is a photographer doing a piece on the jet-set lifestyle, and there is instant attraction between the two. Jack encourages Caroline to follow her dreams and persue a music career. So she has a huge decision to make.
I highly recommend this book, it's a great summer read.
Thank-you to Netgalley and Random House Canada for the ARC.

Entertaining read and enjoyed the insight into the lives of the rich and famous in the 60's.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC for this title. I really tried to read this book. I like the description they used that it was for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six. I loved that book. This one I just couldn't get into. I really didn't care about any of the main characters and in fact I found it extremely boring. I DNF at 53%.

DNF at a very early stage, the * I WANTED him to know the REAL me* bits felt entirely too forced. Overall the pages that I did read were boring. Rich girl travels the world worry free but worries people judger her for it? Not sure if this was supposed to inspire sympathy from the male MC who is an accomplished professional. 2/10 just in case it got better.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

No matter what the blurb says, this is more like a Harlequin romance than Daisy Jones. Still, it was well-written and an easy read although a bit superficial. Caroline meets and falls in love with a photographer who helps her to mature and realize her potential. Now, him I liked except for all the "g"s he dropped from his words ending in "ing"! There's much name-dropping of well-known celebrities due to the circles Caroline and her friends and family travel in and I found that kind of cute. There isn't much music or song writing involved though. Many readers will and do love this book but I definitely wasn't the appropriate audience. I have to admit that the Author's Note was interesting and her Acknowledgements section was worthy of 5 stars!

My thanks to Random House Canada via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published: June 6, 2023

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of Follow The Sun by Liz Locke published by Penguin Random House Canada
I devoured this book, just lived it. Such a grateful story, wonderful characters, and a happy ending. The authors description of the characters, clothes and settings was awesome, you could see the people and feel the surroundings.
Caroline is the main character and comes from high society, well to do family. Her life is spent travelling, enjoying cocktails and dinner parties mostly with her best friend. And then she meets Jack. He does not hold the same social status, but vows to make it work between them. However she is "expected" to marry Henry.
This was an amazing first novel by this author, I would gladly read more books by Liz Locke in a heartbeat.

I just finished Follow the Sun by Liz Lock and here are my musings.

Caroline Kimball has it all. Life as a socialite, the fiance….. While in Acapulco she meets Jack “tex” Fairchild, a photographer who sees her for who she is and encourages her to follow her dreams of becoming a music star.

Running away with Tex she finds herself confronted with the death of her father. With her mothers secrets catching up to her too, it is all too much for Caroline and she must decide what she will do next.

The book started out a bit fluffy for my liking. It took a while to find its footing but once it did, I couldn’t put it down. Caroline grew on me the more I got to know her and who wouldn’t fall in love with Tex! You can see why Caroline was so ready to leave her world behind, imagine being trapped in a situation not of your own desires or making.

It was definitely a cute historical romance but I didn’t see the links to Daisy jones that it implied. It had its own vibes and the style of writing was interesting but the second half of the book was where all the magic was for me.

Definitely one of the easy summer reads people talk about.

3.5 stars. Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouseca for my gifted copy

#lizlock #followthesun #historicalfiction #romance #bookreview #bookreviewsofinsta #canadianbookreviews

Follow the Sun is the debut novel by Liz Locke.
The story follows poor little rich girl Caroline as she manoeuvres through her life in her early twenties struggling to find her place in the world in the late 1960's.

This is a sweet and lovely romance, told through the eyes of Caroline. The pace is slow and leisurely, told smoothly without any rough edges to it's scandalous parts. Liz Locke's writing has been compared to Taylor Jenkins Reid, but while there are some vague similarities, LL has her own distinct style.

Follow The Sun has a very retro feel, from the name dropping, the period music, the dialogue, LL has been consistent in recreating a slice through time. It has charm and elegance, edginess without too much crudeness.

I wish the story would have not been told through the first person perspective since it made the story feel a little one dimensional. Other than that, for a first time novel, this is a winner.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An easy beach reach. Not quite as interesting or exciting as Daisy Jones and the Six, but a fine way to pass some time reading in the sun.

The story follows Caroline, a poor little rich girl with aspirations of making it as a singer, as she navigates the life and expectations of her own jetset society with her newfound love of a man from another social tier. It focuses mostly on her relationships and her desire to break the mould and become a singer.

The first half of the novel was both too slow and too fast paced at the same time - I was itching for something to actually happen and I felt like it moved from scene to scene really quickly. The storyline picked up a lot more in the second half and the pacing felt better.

I would’ve liked to see a little bit more time spent describing the opulence of Caroline’s lifestyle since it was supposed to be about the lifestyles of the rich, and a lot more time developing the two main characters’ personalities and backgrounds. I feel liked it ended without us knowing much about Jack beyond him being tall, Texan and a photographer.

Overall I’d say it was fine and easy read, but it’s not a story that will stick with me for a long time.

A love story and historical fiction that starts off on a beach vacation made this a great read to kickoff the summer reading season!

Caroline is a jet setting, musical, socialite who meets Jack “Tex” Fairchild whom she immediately feels a strong connection to. A story of finding yourself, following your dreams and falling in love this book has it all to be a fantastic beach read!

For fellow TJR lovers this reminded of Malibu Rising with a bit of Daisy Jones vibes and is a must read.

I look forward to reading whatever Liz Locke releases next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I could see this being a really easy beach read for someone who wanted a romance story as light and sweet as cotton candy. Following the 1960s jet set from one wealthy foreign enclave to the next, it feels like flipping through the pages of Vogue.

I think the blurb comparing this book to Daisy Jones and the Six did it a big disservice. If we want a TJR comparison, maybe Malibu Rising? A lot of time spent in glitz and glam, with celebrities, exotic locations, "the beautiful people", name-dropping fashion, and skimpy swimsuits galore, with a protagonist who is apparently mind-bogglingly attractive but a bit unlucky in love.

Here's the difference: Malibu Rising (and Daisy Jones and the Six for that matter) make a sensible narrative choice, and really the only one that can be made when the you are -- for some reason -- obligated to discuss at length the hotness of your protagonist. Use. The. Third. Person. Let us hear from other people how special this girl is. Because hearing it from Caroline/Carolina for 200 pages of false modesty made her hard to like. Also aggravating, the decision to have all of "Tex's" dialogue written with an apostrophe in lieu of the g at the end -- he's forever darlin' and thinkin' knowin' and wantin' to the point that it became cloying.

So, suffice it to say this wasn't for me, but could be for someone else 🤷‍♀️

wow! 4.25 stars from me! I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this story, as I have such an interest to the 60s music and socialite world. Very much has the vibes of daisy jones and the six and malibu rising! I would say it's a bit on the slower side, focusing a lot of imagery and vibes, but I actually enjoy things like that from time to time. This is half love story between Caroline and "Tex" who come from two different worlds. But the other half is also Caroline trying to find herself and woman in the music industry in the 60s. There's a lot of discussion on feminism during this time as woman we're merely wives and mothers and not having much of their own careers which I found interesting!

And the ending really had me anxious wondering what was going to happen!

Definitely a great summer read!

Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the arc!

The premise of this story was appealing to me as I enjoy escape reads to places I’ll likely never visit. The description lead me to believe I would be taken to far-away places and would be reminiscent of Daisy Jones (which I loved). What a disappointment.
I found the characters and story to be lacking any depth and the plot-points to be very broken up. The music that was claimed to play a big role in the story was a disappointing aspect in that, while it was always in the back-ground, never really developed except with an abrupt single being released on the radio. The romance element also left a lot to be desired. Aside from time spent in a remote cottage, Caroline and Tex had very little time together to develop into a long-standing relationship where they were sure they wanted to spend their lives together.
Thank-you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for and an advance reader copy.

the spirit of the story was so promising but i really could not get to a place where i enjoyed it. the main character is out of touch with reality and feels sorry for herself about it. i couldn’t sympathize with her and the rest of the story felt shallow & irrelevant because of it. sad because i really love the premise

This is a fun summery romance perfect for the beach or resorts. Caroline is living the dream! The posh 1960’s jet set dream. She and Daphne (her best friend) are from wealthy families and living in a state of permanent vacations. Caroline’s only real goal in life is to become a singer/songwriter but her rich and respectable boyfriend considers her dream to be just a hobby. Then she meets Jack, a handsome Texan, and a photographer for Life magazine. Tex, as she nicknames him, seems to know her better in a few days than her boyfriend has in years. Can she follow 2 dreams, or will she pick the stable and respected route?
The sixties seem like such a spectacular decade in this book, you’ll want to follow Caroline and her friends through Europe where all the beautiful play and no one worries about money. This was such a fun escape!