This book! I won't soon forget the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of Evie and Carter. I love a story set in the music world, and this did not disappoint - I couldn't put it down even after it made me cry. Damn you for giving me all the feels, Kelley McNeil!

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the copy to review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I wanted to love this book but it missed the mark for me. The nostalgia parts were great but the story felt predictable.

THIS BOOK. OMG THIS BOOK. I loved everything about it. The writing was sublime. It hooked you and then you just couldn't stop reading. I will be telling everyone about this book and then buying it for them too,
Top book of 2024!

A love story that I will remember for the foreseeable future.
Carter is the lead singer of Mayluna, a band from the UK that is growing in popularity in the US. Evie is a reporter, but what she really wants is to be a filmmaker, specifically making documentaries about bands who love what they do.
The stars align one day and they meet and the connection they have is undeniable to all who witness them together.
loved this book. I especially loved the relationships that Evie grew with the entire band, her little found family. That trope gets me every single time. Carter and Evie had a connection that seeped off of the pages and jumped straight into my heart. I loved them. They made mistakes, but through everything they loved each other wholly and deeply. The ending made me sob, but it honestly was fulfilling. I loved the way this story was told. What a beautiful book.

This book was ok for what it was, but it was extremely predictable and it felt like it has been done before and is nothing new. If anyone was failed it the child and her fill in father, Evie was supposed to seem like that magical woman, but I felt that she was extremely self-serving and only giving unless it served her. She dropped everything, but when someone did not do the same for her at the millisecond that she expected it, she bolted. What was wrong with these phones and in nine years they could not connect? Please. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Mayluna by Kelley McNeil

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I just finished this one and wow! This book had some major Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, and I still stand by that comparison. However, I might love this one even more than Daisy Jones and the Six. There, I said it. There are very few books that I can’t put down and this was one of them. I can also tell you very few books leave me feeling so emotionally high and low and then both at the same time. A solid 5 star.

A love story set in the 1990s alt rock scene that will appeal to those who believe that the 1990s are nostalgia. Carter and Evie are the star crossed lovers and their story is less interesting than the scaffolding around them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

I loved so much about this book! It gave me so many feels and was a wild ride. I loved the way it was written, but it also had a troupe I detest and honestly, I wasn’t happy with how it ended. I get it, but I wish it was different.

Would recommend for fans of…
🎸 One True Loves
🎸 Almost Famous
🎸 What You Do to Me
🎸 One Day

It feels like more and more romance novels are featuring the celebrity trope these days, and Mayluna, a love story between a rock star and a journalist, is just the latest so I was curious to see how this story would distinguish itself from the rest.

To be honest, it was fairly middle of the road. The arc of the story and different milestones of Carter and Evie’s relationship was very predictable and the characters were pretty one-dimensional, which made it hard to love the book.

The thing I enjoyed most about the book was the amount of detail about the music industry McNeil included. She did a great job of building out a fictional celebrity universe that felt very authentic (which is always a very make-or-break aspect for me). I also appreciated getting the POV of both Carter and Evie, especially in the later parts of the story. But it was the emotional elements of the story that lost me. I’m not opposed to a heartbreaking romance, IF the emotional beats feel earned and I didn’t feel that way about Mayluna. Parts of it felt very manipulative, almost as if it was designed to make the reader cry. So, if you’re a fan of sad romances, this is the book for you!

Mayluna is out now, Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like Daisy Jones and the Six but didn't have to try as hard...⁣
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I said it.⁣
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Summary⁣
“Mayluna” by Kelley McNeil is a captivating novel set against the vibrant backdrop of the 1990s music scene, intertwining the lives of Carter Wills, the charismatic lead singer of the English alt-rock band Mayluna, and Evie Waters, an ambitious young columnist. ⁣
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This one was such a fun one -- it had the 90s nostalgia that I love and a romance with some depth. Perfect book to time in between heavier reads BUT be warned this one did get some big tears out of me.⁣
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Thank you @netgalley for this free copy in exchange for my honest review. Mayluna was out on Feb 1, and hasn't gotten the buzz it deserves -- but with such a high goodreads rating those who have read it have been loving it!⁣
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If you liked Daisy Jones, like 90s and music in book, I highly recommend this one!⁣
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Format rec: I ended up mainly listening and I think I preferred the audio since it alternated narrators and the voice for Carter nailed the British accent ⁣
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Let me just start by saying that Mayluna is one of the best books of 2024. It’s a love letter to the late 90’s rock alternative era. It’s got me listening to music I haven’t heard in years, but have missed like an old friend. The story centers around Ev, who is telling her kids the story of her life. Going back and forth from 1998 to the present, we see Ev and her relationship to Mayluna and its lead singer Carter Wills. Mayluna became one of the biggest rock bands of their generation. The story is full of angst and longing, beautiful prose, and above all a beautiful love story. Five stars. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

When I started reading this book, I had no idea I would feel like I got gut-punched by the end of it. It took me a little while to get invested, but I am glad I stuck with it because it did not turn out at all like I expected.

If you’re looking for an angsty, heartbreaking read with Daisy Jones & The Six vibes, this book is for you.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

For me this was 3.5 rounded up to 4. I had really high expectations going into this seeing all of the 5 star reviews so I know I’m in the minority considering I didn’t absolutely love this one. Parts were beautifully written but my main issue was that I just didn’t feel that explosive chemistry I was expecting from the MC’s. Also, this was a story told to her daughter but the format felt disjointed and confusing more often than not. Overall, it was enjoyable but I needed a more believable romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my review

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. At 27% in I’m so bored that I find myself unable to read anymore. The dialogue is borderline unbearable, the characters are bland. I was hoping for a Daisy Jones vibe but that’s not it.

Well, I think I need a big slab of chocolate right now to soothe my emotions. It has numbed me and I am evaluating my life, past relationships, and memories that I care about the most. Phew!
Initially I wasn't very sure about Mayluna to be this entertaining both concept and story wise, but as I kept pushing through the pages, I just couldn't stop reading. The first few pages aren't lucrative enough and the dual timeline makes the storytelling a little difficult to decipher. But when the real story begins in a similar style of the movie Titanic where the adult children of Evie Waters discover their mother's photograph with a famous singer, I was awestruck. My expectations sky rockets at that precise moment actually.
McNeil's writing is poetic, thought provoking, and impactfully nostalgic. I had stop at certain points to listen back to my favorite songs at some point (I listened mostly to Brayan Adams). This book has music, a lot of them and if you love music, you can't miss this book. It reminded me of the power of any special music which can transport us back in time!
Although the story is being compared to Daisy Jones and The Six which I haven't read it but I know people who have loved and are obsessed with that book. The trope of star-crossed lovers wrapped around a lot of music has made this book an absolutely an emotional reading experience. It somehow reminded me of The Bridges of the Madison County. There's a legendary band, an iconic lead singer, and a mysterious connection of the band with a woman whose love helped create the music of a generation is a story anything but simple. It's fabulous!

Favourite quote: The music of our lifetime is woven into the fabric of our existence, our own personal soundtrack behind our stories.
And, now here I am thinking about my recent reading choices, am I reading too much romance these days?

The book was published on 1st February 2024, and is available on Kindle Unlimited too on @amazondotin
Thank you @kelleylmcneil for writing such a heartfelt novel.
Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

Brilliant and beautiful, a love story for generations and weeping encounter of second chances. A rockstar, a musician, a world between loyalty and living.

This book is well worth taking the time to write a review! It was so so good and I loved every minute of it!

This book completely snuck up on me in a way I did not expect and absolutely broke my heart. I had heard a lot of early buzz around this one but was afraid of being over-hyped, which it definitely was not - this is definitely a must read and I look forward to reading more from McNeil.

4.5 Stars

Thank you to Lake Union for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I have no words to convey how much I loved this book about two star crossed lovers, the lead singer of a legendary rock band and the mysterious love of his life from long ago.

Told in alternating perspectives and multiple timelines, this book is Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones and the Six meets The Idea of You. All the characters are so lovable and real that you feel like you know them in real life, and the story is, dare I say, trope free (so rare for a romance).

The first 10% of the book was a little slow to hook me, but then it did, and the chemistry of the main characters left me unable to put the book down until the very last page.

Go, read this book right now, and then tell all of your friends to read it, too, because I want all good things for the author – and I want more books from her soon!

Evie Waters is a budding journalist when she gets the chance to interview the up and coming rock band, Mayluna. On the cusp of stardom, Evie knows if she can snag the coveted conversation she just might turn a one off opportunity into a longterm career. But the minute she meets the band’s brooding lead singer, Carter Wills, a different kind of spark flies. Against all odds the two begin a whirlwind relationship full of first love and lofty lyrics.

But in the present day, Evie and Carter aren’t together. Instead, Evie has built a quiet life as a suburban mom of two. So when her grown children inadvertently stumble upon her life before, Evie realizes it’s finally time to let them in on her past, even if the truth isn’t music to anyone’s ears. And so goes the angst ridden tale of Mayluna-a love story full of regrets, heartache and a lifetime of living unsung.

I have always loved stories about bands and their rise to fame. And while this book is that, it’s also so much more. It’s a story of first love. It’s a story of second chances. But it’s a story of how life often gets messy, even if it all seems so simple when you’re twenty-five.

This isn’t the first book by @kelkeylmcneil, but with such a strong sophomore effort, I can only look forward to future releases after devouring this heartbreaking love story- one that is deserving of its own heavy rotation on TBR’s everywhere.