🎤 Once More From The Top 🎤
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5
.5/🌶️

If you enjoy books packed with detailed descriptions of every movement, conversation, and setting, this one might be for you. The novel follows Dylan Read as she navigates her coming-of-age journey and rises to fame as a music artist. The narrative shifts between different timelines in Dylan's life—starting from when she first met her best friend, Kelsey. Together, they faced the awkward teenage years, writing and singing songs. Even after Kelsey's disappearance 15 years ago, she remains a presence in Dylan's life, haunting her in both memory and spirit. Kelsey's body has just been discovered in the lake where she loved volunteering at camp.

After Kelsey went missing, Dylan pursued their shared dreams. Although she was primarily a poet, writing songs for Kelsey to sing, Dylan decided to carry on Kelsey's dream, all while battling imposter syndrome throughout her career, constantly thinking, "This should be Kelsey." Along the way, Dylan grapples with relationships, marriages, and her past. As she uncovers more about the night of Kelsey's disappearance, Dylan eventually comes to terms with the fact that it wasn't her fault.

I struggled with this book. The plot seemed to lack a clear climax and felt directionless at times. The constant shifts between timelines left me confused in nearly every chapter, although this eased toward the end. I'm also puzzled by others comparing this book to something related to Taylor Swift—the football star and revenge record storyline was such a minor part of the overall narrative.

When I say Once More From the Top described as perfect for fans of Daisy Jones, I immediately knew I needed to read it, because I loved that book, but I feel that that's an unfair comparison. This book is so much more than Daisy Jones. Dylan Read is complex, she's talented, and she's been hiding a big secret for a very long time. While Daisy Jones was about the ultimate demise of The Six, OMFTT is about friendship and redemption. The characters were complex and real, and there were times that I wanted the plot to move faster, but I was still thoroughly engaged throughout, I'm already looking forward to what's next from Emily Layden.

This book was not for me. I saw reviews that said it was comparable to Daisy Jones and I didn’t feel like it was. The author wrote a beautiful literary story about a pop music artist who has a secret she has kept for over a decade. I struggled with the long chapters and was confused at times by the dual timeline. If you like character driven stories with a hint of mystery, you might like this one.

I received an advanced electronic (eARC) copy from @thoughtsfromapage Early Reads Program. Thank you to Cindy Burnett and publisher Mariner books. I appreciated the opportunity to preview this book.

Once More from the Top by Emily Layden is an intriguing novel about a popular singer’s secrets.

Dylan Read is a gifted performer whose fans take her shifts in genres in stride. Her albums reflect her personal life but the media and fans sometimes read a little more into her songs than they actually mean. Dylan is hoping her label will back her latest project. But when the body of her long missing friend, Kelsey Copestenke, is found, will the publicity affect her negotiations? And most important, can Dylan uncover the truth about what led to Kelsey’s death?

Once More from the Top is a fast-paced novel that weaves back and forth between Dylan’s past and present. Dylan and the other characters are flawed yet likable. Her small hometown is well-developed and easy to visualize. Dylan’s need to learn what happened to Kelsey drives the plot and Emily Layden brings the novel to a satisfying conclusion. Very enjoyable read!

Dylan Read and Kelsey Copestenke are high school friends who share an interest in writing music and poetry. At the opening, Kelsey, who disappeared 15 years earlier. was discovered having drowned in the lake where she served as a counselor. This occurred just as they were finding some footing writing music together. Dylan went on to become a famous singer-songwriter who felt guilt that Kelsey was not sharing it with her. As the story unfolds, it flips between the past and 2022. There is a lot about writing music, some of which bogs down the story. My biggest criticism is that it jumped back and forth quickly between timeframes and relationships and made it difficult to follow.

At the heart is an interesting story about family, friends, and love, but it was hard for me to really enjoy it. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Once More From the Top is a juicy mystery combined with an even juicier pop star origin story and the results are addictive, delicious drama that will keep you sucked in to the very last page.

I freaking loved this book. I read this in one afternoon on my sunny patio, and I genuinely couldn’t have stopped reading this even if I wanted to. It has everything I love in a story - dynamic characters, a cold case missing person mystery, an insider-view of the music industry, and ripped from the headlines pop star drama. When it’s said that this is for fans of Daisy Jones, it so seriously delivers.

The pacing in this book is excellent, and I really enjoyed the moving timelines that kept revealing little secrets a bit at a time, before the full picture explodes with the final twists.

Genuinely this is one of the most satisfying books I’ve read this summer, and I cannot recommend it enough as the perfect entertainment for your autumn reading lists. Do not miss this one, it’s just too much fun!

Many thanks to @mbc_books for having me on tour and @emilylayden my god, you have made a super fan out of me. Can’t wait for what’s next.

This was a quick read, marketed to Taylor Swift fans. I think this book will do well with people that love celebrity drama. I think Dylan was kinda of a boring character so I kept losing interested. But all and all a good read.

Thank you to @netgally and @marinerbooks for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Sadly this one just did not work for me. I did not enjoy the writing style. The chapters were super long and jumped between past and present very abruptly several times in each one. It was jarring and hard to keep track of what was happening and where we were. The writing was also way to descriptive for my liking and I felt myself getting bored and skimming at times.

The story follows Dylan, (think Taylor Swift). She is trying to navigate her career and the fame that comes with it, while also dealing with past trauma. Then her childhood friend, who has been missing for 15 years is found. The story of the past and what happens slowly unfolds from there. I just didn't really connect with these characters and kept waiting for "more" to happen.

Give this a try if you're a big Swiftie and it might just work better for you.

4.25 rounded down

I totally enjoyed this story and flew through most of it, wanting to know more!

This absolutely feels like it was inspired by Taylor Swift, though obviously not biographical. Dylan is a massive pop star who started in country music and worked her way into pop music. We start to realize her relationship with her high school friend Kelsey is at the center of, well, everything.

I thought everything about this was great. Minus Dylan’s relationships, specifically with Nick. I just didn’t feel it the same way as I felt Kelsey and even Matt, Aaron, etc. I didn’t get the vibe from their interactions even though I wanted to believe in it.

Advance reader copy provided by Mariner Books and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Thank you Mariner books for Once More from the Top, I really love a book that is behind the scenes music/movies/media blended with the reality, and cost, of fame, money, and ambition. The role of mystery and reconnecting to past high school themes, friendships, and secrets was a great twist on a favorite trope. I found Layden's writing engaging, if the pacing a little slow for what felt like a plot that wanted to move along faster, and I enjoyed the exploration of fame and costs. A great read for music fans, Swifties, and for anyone who enjoys stories about the complexity of fame and music (Daisy Jones, Honey, Where Are You Echo Blue).

Dylan Read is a mega-star. The singer/songwriter has won numerous Grammy awards and has legions of devoted fans. She rose to fame in country music and transitioned to pop music, where she is beloved for her confessional lyrics. A truth that she has never revealed was that she owed everything to her best friend Kelsey, who disappeared while they were in high school. Fifteen years later, while working on her next album, Dylan learns that Kelsey's body has been found at the bottom of their local lake in Upstate New York. With flashbacks to their high school years as friends exploring their love of music, to the emergence of a superstar's career, the truth about what happened to Kelsey is uncovered.

Emily Layden's novel Once More from the Top is a well-done tale of the rise of a musical artist (the comparison to Taylor Swift is inevitable) and the challenges along the way including the scrutiny of the press, pressures from the record label, and the struggle to maintain a personal life. The long-buried pain from the loss of her friend brings up feelings of guilt and self-doubt as she has the career that Kelsey had dreamed of. It's an engaging story and should appeal to those who enjoy books set within the music world.

Dylan Read, mega pop star, is haunted by the disappearance of her teenage best friend. Years later, Dylan is at the height of her fame when Kelsey’s body is found- forcing Dylan to deal with her secret past while balancing her fame and future.

Fans of Taylor Swift will love this one (although I thought the Taylor Swift comparisons were a little too spot on at times) and it was a quick read despite being unnecessarily descriptive.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This contemporary fiction novel is about Dylan Read, a successful singer-songwriter who reminds me of Taylor Swift. Dylan is privately haunted by the loss of her best friend who disappeared right before Dylan became famous. Dylan is proud of her accomplishments, but it's hard upholding her image. She also feels guilty that Kelsey never got the chance to pursue her dreams. Although Kelsey's death is always in the background of this book, the focus is on Dylan's music and her high school friendship with Kesley.

The book tackles a lot, including grief, imposter syndrome, the music industry (especially for women), and the price of fame. I would have liked it better if it had been more focused, but I enjoyed the peak into the music industry and the life of a young celebrity. Music fans will love the excerpts of Dylan's song lyrics and the details about writing and recording them. I like Dylan and her parents and her agent/manager Sloane, but most of the other characters are very unlikable, especially the men in Dylan and Kelsey’s lives.

I was surprised when the full story behind Kelsey's death was revealed. The abrupt timeline changes (often several times in one chapter) between Dylan's current life and her past are an interesting way to tell the story, but are sometimes confusing. However, the book is engaging and entertaining and I was rooting for Dylan to succeed in her career and in love.

I received a copy of this book from Mariner Books, MB Communications, and NetGalley, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

When her long-missing best friend turns up dead, country/pop star Dylan Read has to carefully navigate her public and private reactions. We’re along for the ride as Dylan unpacks her past and the events that influenced her music throughout her career. Singer/songwriter Dylan Read calls to mind a fictionalized Taylor Swift, and the story reads like a memoir.

Parts of the story seemed a bit slow to me, and I felt a little lost each time I put down the book and picked it back up again. Ultimately, the way the old and new were woven together was logical and helped me understand how Dylan’s past influenced her decisions throughout her career.

I’m still not sure what, exactly, Dylan did wrong with Kelsey, and just how bad it was compared to the guilt she was clearly feeling.

While I appreciated the story and the writing, the book just felt a little emotionally flat to me. Seeing it compared to Taylor Jenkins Reid, I was a little underwhelmed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Once More From The Top by Emily Layden, this was a new author for me which I am always looking for. This book switches back and forth between past events and present day events. After the body of a body of Dylan's best friend in high school is discovered after many years what follows is a story line that at times for me I just didn't connect with. I am sure many will really enjoy the book, but it just was not that for me. I would still recommend to others because I know not everyone enjoys the same writing styles.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Mariner Books, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Dylan Read has soared through every milestone to become one of the most notorious pop princesses. With that, comes the intense obsession of her fans, a total lack of privacy and unending media attention. As a “good girl” in the industry, the media has been waiting to write about her downfall since she started her career years ago.

When her best friend Kelsey, who disappeared years ago when Dylan was sixteen, is found at the bottom of their hometown lake, both she and the media must reckon with her shared past with Kelsey, and how much she influenced Dylan’s music.

Told in alternating timelines, @emilylayden slowly unfurls Dylan’s meteoric rise to fame, and the small town roots she started with. The story touches brilliantly on the pitfalls of fame, including but not limited to intense paparazzi, obsessed fans, nosy media, sexism, being the punching bag for a man’s wrongs, and how you can possibly stay grounded when your life is oversized.

Once More From the Top is beautifully written contemporary fiction with a hint of mystery threaded throughout. Fans of stories about fame and the unnecessary roadblocks women have to charge through will love this one!

I kept waiting for something to happen. Nothing really happened. What did happen was literally so close to the end that I was disappointed.

I wanted to love this book but I just kept waiting on a twist or turn that I never really got. Overall it was a decent read and well written it just lacked the mystery thrill I was looking for.

ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP is an addictive story. I liked the dual time-lines and the mystery that it entailed. It's well-written and I can see this becoming a movie. Overall, I highly recommend it.


Many thanks for my gifted copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advanced reader copy

The premise of this book intrigued me but the execution was only so-so. I had no real interest in the main character and was more curious about the dead girl, which is a problem when she isn't the main character.