A couple of music-obsessed teenagers meet in an online chat room in the early 1990s, fall in love and eventually become Seattle's hottest band. Sex, drugs and rock and roll inevitability follow, leading to their downfall.
This was all right. Almost nothing new to add to the genre.
Thanks to #netgalley and #simonandschuster for this #arc of #thelightningbottles in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, ‎ Simon & Schuster, and Marissa Stapley for providing this advance reader copy (ARC) of the book. I'm providing my honest review.

I'm so-so on this story. The promo blurb was enticing but for me the story didn't meet expectations. Sever angst mixed with teenage romance and a scavenger hunt. It didn't work. The character of Hen only works as the catalyst for the hunt. She sees what no one else does, and just so happens to have the perfect opportunity to act on it, too unbelievable to overlook as a plot flaw. The main characters, Jane & Elijah never resonated with me and caring about them was almost impossible. Their struggles as a Seattle grunge-type band with drug issues was interesting but what 90's band didn't. There are characters that mimic the real bands of that era with drugs, alcohol, suicide, overdosing in public, party clubs. It all rang a bell & worked by itself. The scavenger hunt worked by itself. The young artists in love & making music worked by itself. There's no other way for me to describe the ending - it was weird. I kept wondering where all the money to fund everything came from, I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to consider that. I give points for excellent writing, the author does have a gift. It's just not enough for me to like the subject matter.

#NetGalley #TheLightningBottles #MarissaStapley #‎ Simon&Schuster #grungeband #1990'sband #grungemusic #overcomingaddiction.

When everyone around you is extremely relaxed and does not care so much for order and truth, it's easy to get branded as too serious, too bitchy, too uptight. You will be marked as the mood killer, friendship destroyer, or Yoko Ono. But is it a you problem though? Environment is asking for certain type of behaviour and you are not caving in. Does that make you an unbearable person? Nope even though you feel like that thanks to other around you. Best solution? Get yourself out of there.

Jane never found a good place she felt belong. Her super uptight, religious mother limited her world to Jesus and songs about him. She wanted to make music that mattered, music that was a translator of all her hopes and dreams. She found (or she thought she did) a fellow soul who wanted to do nothing but music. Jane left her home to make a new one with Elijah. What started as a perfect combo turned into another place making Jane feel unwelcome. Maybe next stop in Germany would be the place?

I don't what to call this book: a love story, a love letter to music, a cautionary tale? I loved the way art transformed relationships of people who made it and the generation came after it. Sometimes the best thing to do is let go. Not every run is meant to go on forever.

Marissa Stapley’s The Lightning Bottles is a captivating, fast-paced novel that pulls you in from the very first page. With her signature storytelling, Stapley creates characters that feel deeply real, their emotional journeys layered and compelling. The book explores themes of love, family, and the complexities of relationships with a gripping narrative style that keeps the reader hooked.

One of the strongest aspects of The Lightning Bottles is its pacing. I found myself breezing through the book, eager to see where the story would lead. Stapley balances moments of tension and vulnerability, making it difficult to put down. Her vivid descriptions and insightful character development make the world feel alive, and the dynamics between the characters are deeply moving.

However, while I enjoyed the book immensely, I did find the ending fell a bit short of the powerful conclusion I was hoping for. The resolution felt somewhat abrupt and didn’t fully match the emotional buildup throughout the novel. That being said, it doesn’t take away from the overall experience of the book, which remains an engaging and heartfelt read.

Maybe not in the right mood for this? I love the 90s (obviously!) and books about music but the heavy epistolary element of The Lightning Bottle is not working well for me. I am not a big fan of epistolary fiction AND also often struggle with books with fake fandoms (sorry Simon Snow) as it's hard for me to grasp a fictional fandom about fictional people and things.

Glad other people are loving this!!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

As a child of the 1980s and 1990s, I was immediately entranced by the premise of this book, which evoked a strong sense of nostalgia for a simpler era. However, upon delving into its contents, I was abruptly reminded that my perception of the past may have been idealized. The Lightning Bottles transported me back to the grittier and more tumultuous side of the 1990s, a stark contrast to the romanticized depiction prevalent in current trends.


This novel will undoubtedly appeal to mystery enthusiasts, music aficionados, and those with a fondness for the 1990s. I foresee myself revisiting its pages, a rare occurrence for me. It is a must-read for all.

This was a well-written story and an accurate portrayal of the music industry and all that comes along with it. The focus on Elijah Hart and Jane Pyre and their conflict with everything and everybody made this a super emotional read. The depth to which the author was able to relay the struggles was fantastic. IMO, character-driven stories are phenomenal. When an author is able to put the reader inside of a character's mind, having them walk in the character's shoes, it really leaves no questions as to why a certain action was taken. 

Speaking on taking certain actions, I did not agree with Elijah and the way he chose to handle certain situations. It came off as selfish, especially considering all that Jane had done for him.

Jane Pyre is one half of the duo called The Lightning Bottles, a band that electrified the world in the 1990s with their unique sound and moving lyrics. To many music fans, however, she’s by far the lesser half. Sure the band’s singer – and her husband – Elijah Hart had insisted that she was the creative force behind their music. His haunting voice and innate showmanship were merely the mouthpiece for her vision, as he would tell anyone who would listen.

But no one wants to believe that. Alan Brosnahan, the president of the record company they eventually sign with, is blunt when he addresses the subject:

QUOTE
“Elijah, I wonder if you might want to keep that to yourself–that Jane writes most of the music, the lyrics? It’s impressive, of course.” But his smile was strained. “Except in the rock world there’s a sort of…” He trailed off. “I guess ‘machismo’ is the right word. This can’t be a surprise to you two, right? Guys aren’t gonna want to be screaming lyrics while headbanging in their pickup trucks to songs that were written by a woman.”

“We don’t care about those guys,” Elijah said, dismissive. “The headbanging-in-trucks guys are not our target audience.”

“Those guys buy a lot of albums,” Alan said, his tone light but his expression stell. “We do tend to cater to them.”

Elijah frowned. “We’re more serious than that,” he said.

“Yes, well, real serious artists guard their process[.]”
END QUOTE

This is only one of the many wrongs and indignities Jane has to endure throughout the band’s stratospheric career. That career, however, ends abruptly when Elijah disappears off of the coast of Iceland. After a long and futile search, he’s officially declared dead. A devastated Jane wants to be left alone to grieve but the public won’t let her be. Rumors swirl that she murdered him, even as she’s locked in a legal battle with his former best friend for ownership to the song that first made them famous.

Five years later, Jane is looking to start afresh in a remote home in Germany. Unfortunately for Jane’s nerves, her one young neighbor is a Lightning Bottles superfan, who went to their last concert in Berlin before Elijah vanished. Teenaged Hen Vögel picked up a souvenir that night that led her to recognize a clue, in 1999, that suggests that Elijah might still be alive.

Understandably, Jane refuses to believe her at first:

QUOTE
This cannot be real, she tells herself. All she has ever wanted is proof, but the close reality of it introduces an element she has avoided. Believing in this is dangerous. If she truly allows herself to think he’s out there, and then finds out he’s not, that it’s nothing but yet another cruel twist of a knife from one of her many enemies, she knows she will be finished, finally and truly.

But what has her life been without him? Who is she, now that the life they had together is gone? She has tried and failed too many times to rise above the tragedy that has defined her life. Maybe it’s time to stop fighting so hard.
END QUOTE

And so the unlikely duo take off across Europe, chasing clues as to what really happened to Elijah. Did he successfully commit suicide, or did he somehow miraculously survive the icy waters? Is he leaving hints for Jane to follow now, or is this all a cruel trick perpetrated by someone with a hidden agenda?

The Lightning Bottles intersperses the women’s quest to find the truth with chapters from Jane and Elijah’s past, going from how they met online to how they formed their band all the way to the heyday of stardom, with the attendant costs that dragged them screaming down to the lowest points of their lives. It’s a brutal portrayal of the substance abuse and sexism of the alternative rock music scene that rose to global fame in the 1990s, with Jane’s ordeal echoing chapters from the lives of real musicians and artists such as Courtney Love (who is mentioned in the dedication) and Casey Niccoli (who is not.)

This novel also examines the cost of celebrity on two young people who are ill equipped to handle fame, and whose romance verges too close to codependency for comfort. Occasionally fairy tale-like in tone, it’s at once a heady but sobering reminder of the era through the lens of its music and celebrity culture, and is a must-read for anyone nostalgic for that time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuester for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I did not know a lot about this book going into it, but it quickly grabbed me.

The story of Jane & Elijah, a hit music group, The Lightning Bottles, from the nineties. It’s about their rise & fall and about their love story.

I loved that the story was gritty and real. There were some clear references to actual bands/musicians from the 90’s. The story truly brought up some nostalgia.
There is some mystery as the story vacillates between the early 90’s and the heart of Jane & Elijah’s fame and the end of the 90’s when the world is mourning the loss of a music Golden Child.
I loved that Jane was presented as an anti-hero; she is not really likeable, but you see her heart.

I really can’t say enough about this book. There was definitely some emotion and really did capture the time frame. The only downside, for me personally, was that HEA aspect but I felt it was a little too neat ending for a messy story.

If you liked Daisy Jones & The Six or are a Gen Xer or have an affinity for 90’s rock, definitely read this book.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This is a very addicting novel, and I was hooked from the very beginning. I really liked this story, but at some points, I didn't feel like I connected with the characters. There were a lot of details that added to the story. In the middle and ending, it felt more like a young adult novel. However, I really loved this and would recommend it to any music lover.

A ode to growing up, love, and great music. This book was so fun and I ate up the musical interest in here.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. I enjoyed how it was equal parts love story and mystery.

The book had a very nostalgic feel to it, as it took place during the 90's grunge music era and followed the rise and fall of Jane and Elijah and their band The Lightning Bottles.

The ending is a little farfetched, and you have to suspend some beliefs of what could realistically happen in real life, but it didn't bother me.

One of my most anticipated books this fall was The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley. Set in the Seattle grunge scenes of the 1990s, this dual-timeline novel is about star-crossed lovers—Elijah Hart and Jane Pyre—torn apart by fame and addiction. But when Elijah goes missing in Iceland in late 1994, Jane is forced to carry on without him. Five years later, a teen girl in Berlin may hold the clues that will finally lead Jane back to Elijah.

Tropes & Narrative Devices:
- Dual timeline
- Third-person narration

What I Liked:
- Alternative/Grunge music scene: First and foremost, The Lightning Bottles being about an alternative music group rising up during Seattle’s grunge era is what first captured my interest. I’m too young to have been into grunge at the time (I was a baby!), but I’m from the Seattle area and have since become a big fan of that era of music. Here, Jane and Elijah don’t identify with the grunge scene, but they’re still making alternative music that fits within that mood. I loved getting to see them write songs together, play shows, and rise up with albums and worldwide tours. It was also fun to see real bands, musicians, and producers mentioned throughout, from Mudhoney to Hole to Butch Vig. In other cases, real-life singers are refashioned into new characters, such as one that’s clearly inspired by Sinéad O’Connor.
- Music business and celebrity shadiness… especially for Jane. It’s well known that the entertainment world can be filled with toxicity, and this has certainly been true within the music industry. Jane faces a lot of unfair scrutiny and blatant sexism. A producer thinks she’s too difficult simply for wanting to record her parts of songs correctly. Their label doesn’t want the public to know that Jane writes and co-writes the songs. Industry types and fans alike paint Jane as some sort of horrible villain dragging Elijah down when it couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s a lot to feel angry about her, but I mostly felt sad at how misunderstood and isolated Jane was.
- Discussions of addiction. Grunge musicians in the ’90s were often, unfortunately, heavily involved in drugs, most notoriously heroin. And indeed, both Elijah and Jane deal with their share of addiction: for him, it’s heroin, for her, it’s alcohol. I’ve seen how addiction can destroy people and those around them, and my heart went out to these two dealing with their issues via self-medication (and self-destruction).
- Critical look at religion. Jane comes from a very religious background, even having played in a church band. But Christianity didn’t do her any favors. I like the critical look at how religion put a chasm between Jane and her mom and was never there to save her in her time of need. How ironic.
- Parallels between Jane and Hen. Both Jane and the German teenager, Henrietta, have troubled relationships with their mothers. Both long for escape as teenagers, feeling drawn to music and a life of creative expression. When 27-year-old Jane meets 17-year-old Hen, there are clear similarities to Jane’s own past.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- I went into this expecting a bit more of a mystery as Jane and Hen follow clues searching for Elijah. While that is an element of the book, the present timeline is actually pretty short and not as thrilling as I’d hoped. Instead, the book focuses more on all the buildup to Elijah’s disappearance—the fame, addictions, and increasing problems between him and Jane.

Final Thoughts
The Lightning Bottles is a somber but heartfelt look at a musical duo united by music yet destroyed by the fame it brings them. It’s a character study of a woman unfairly demonized, of two people struggling with addiction, and with the aftermath of it all. While there is an element of mystery as Jane and Hen search for Elijah, the main focus is on all the buildup before that. I loved falling into the music and getting to know these characters on this tragic journey.

This book was a nostalgic look into the 90s Seattle grunge music scene. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this. A rock and roll legend who has mysteriously disappeared five years ago is presumed dead. The story is told in dual timelines. It’s the story of Jane’s and Elijah’s love story from meeting in a chat room to being part of the famous rock group, The Lightning Bottles to the present day trying to solve the mystery of Elijah’s disappearance. There was lots of angst, drama, and adventure as they both dealt with addiction and the high cost of fame. The ending was PERFECT!

For anyone who is a fan of Daisy Jones & The Six then this book gives you all the vibes you need! This book was wonderfully written and truly evoked so many emotions out of me. I was laughing, crying and left constantly yearning for more. The premise of this book I thought was so interesting and creative and really combined so many elements that I love. From the mystery, the 90's rock theme and the relationship between the two women and then the relationship between Elijah and Jane. For a 90's baby as myself this was such a nostalgic read for me and I truly enjoyed this adventure. The 90's music scene will help you feel such a sense of nostalgia and joy while reading this! Any 80's and 90's babies will love the callbacks to the 90's music scenes. I also loved seeing the flashbacks of ELijah and Jane's relationship, it was so beautifully written and truly brought me to tears so many times. The hint of mystery with Elijah's disappearance made for such a fascinating aspect to the book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book!! Just want this 90s, music loving girl needed to read. Addiction is such a heavy topic to read about though. I just felt for Elijah so much, and Jane for dealing with it and trying to help. I thought how they met was fun, loved their letter writing, instant connection, really everything about them.
Hen was a good add on character, and enjoyed the ending with her updates and how the characters stayed in touch.

Readers of a certain age will feel familiar with some of the references in this book. The story of a music duo during Seattle's grunge era were played out in front of fans and news cameras. Fame came and went quickly with the influence of drugs and drink fueling burn outs and deaths. Fictional group THE LIGHTNING BOTTLES follows the same paths so many real groups lived and died through. As teenagers, Jane and Elijah would come together as partners in life and in music. Celebrity status would see them members of a society that valued nothing so much as free will. Elijah's addictions will push the two to the edge, causing him to flee, leaving no trail and disappearing. Five years on, Jane is still looking for him. Popular opinions have forced Jane to hide from their fans.
Jane's new neighbor is a Lightning Bottles fan who has information she believes will lead them to Elijah. At this point, the story will divide. The two women, one young, one too jaded to be young anymore, will travel through Jane and Elijah's musical history from town to town as Jane relives their rise to fame.
There have been a resurgance of stories centering on musical groups and their history from the 1980-1990's. Marissa Stapley has written one of the best ones I've read since Daisy Jones. If you found Taylor Jenkins story spellbounding, you'll love this one too.

I enjoyed all the musical references. It kind of put me in the mind of Jane Green's book Sister Stardust, Daisy Jones and the Six, while also resembling what was great about Lucky, Stapley's first novel. A solid mystery with a fun trip through rock and roll history along the way.

This story was more drama / suspense than thriller BUT that doesn't mean you sleep on adding this one to your library.

It has mystery and love! It has twist and turns! It has JANE and you definitely want to see her WIN! It's hard to really do a detail review without giving away some of the suspense.

I really enjoyed the writing, storyline, and even the ending. Just get ready for this emotional ride.

“I never wanted perfection. I’ve only ever wanted you.”

“Isn’t that the irony? Sometimes the best part of a dream is dreaming it.”

If you were alive for the Seattle 90’s grunge era and watched them vilify Courtney Love after Kurt Cobain killed himself then I think you will LOVE this. So nostalgic.

But the biggest question is, why does the industry do this to women? If you’ve been alive long enough to have heard the rock n roll stories or read about that one girl that simply ruined that poor southern boys life…you will really enjoy this peek into the othe side of that world. Loving a man that is beloved by fans…making you (in the eyes of the world) the one thing that is keeping him from being theirs. Ooh man it’s twisted.

Thank you so much to @MarissaStapley and @SimonBooks #SimonBooksBuddy #FreeGift.