This is a debut novel???? It’s absolutely fantastic from beginning to end. I happily give 5 bright shiny stars to this fantastic book.

Bravo Holly Brinkley for writing my favorite book of 2025! Every other book I read this year will pale in comparison to this love letter to friendship and music.

Percy, Joe and Zoe are decades younger than I am and I could relate to everything they went through. And the songs! So many songs that I hadn’t thought about in years, and a few I’d never heard before, were immediately played on Spotify as I read. Do yourself a favor and listen to the Deep Cuts playlist as you read the book. You can thank me later.

This book is for all of the music lovers and friends out there. It’s truly a stunning debut.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s one of those stories that completely pulls you in—it’s engrossing, a little nostalgic, and full of emotion. It’s romantic in a way, but not in the typical “romance novel” sense, which I really liked. The early 2000s setting feels so authentic, like it actually captures what that time felt like instead of just throwing in references. The writing is sharp and heartfelt, and I didn’t want to put it down.

I received an ARC of this upcoming debut novel through NetGalley.

This book is about a young lady named Percy Marks. It takes us from her college years through to about age 30. The author develops this character brilliantly. As a reader, you feel like you know her and root for her like you would a best friend.

Percy loves music and rock songs, especially indie rock songs, are used as chapter titles. The Shins, The Eels, Hot Chip, Outkast, Hall and Oates, Joni Mitchell, The Beach Boys, Neutral Milk Hotel, among many others. I love the music she cited and had to listen immediately to some of the songs referenced.

Percy finds herself with a young rock musician and sort of collaborates with him (Joe) writing his songs. Their relationship is largely platonic, but the reader senses a likely change in that state.
Joe forms a band and experiences some success, aided significantly by Percy's support and constructive criticism. But life as a rock star strains Joe's relationship with Percy. Percy then tries to find her place in life, sorting through friends and jobs. But she never permanently loses touch with Joe.

The book has a definite Daisy Jones and The Six vibe. That Taylor Jenkins Reid novel (2019) was a big hit and made into an Amazon Prime TV miniseries. Deep Cuts is every bit as good if not better than Daisy Jones and The Six. FIVE STARS for sure.

What's not to love about a book with it's own Spotify playlist??? This was a unique take on the musician/friends to lovers trope, set through the early 2000's until present day - following three college friends as one drops out to become a musician, and the other's forge their way from college to career through multiple moves cross country. There's a lot more to it than that, including song writing partnership, lyric evaluation, break ups and reunions, and still m ore. I really enjoyed the writing and the wit, as well as a bit of social commentary on influencer society and marketing, all with some romantic satisfaction!

In this novel, Percy has a music critics talent while desperately wishing she had the actual lyric and singing talent of her friend Joe. As she begins to give him feedback on his music, it kicks off a partnership that spans years, wavering off and on in its intensity, passion, and pressing on egos. This book is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow if you replaced the video game aspect with music. You can tell Brickely is deeply involved in music as the insights she shares are astute to the point of being hard to understand to those of us who just enjoy music (me). But what I really liked about this book was the exploration of envy and obsession between both Percy and Joe, as well as the reliance on someone else within a partnership. I do feel like some of this may have gone over my head simply because of the deep leaning into the meaning of music, but I never felt bored by this book and was really impressed by this as a debut novel. I’ll definitely be looking out for what she rights next.

I loved this book. I'm not nearly the music fan that these characters are, but that didn't matter and in the end, the book made me want to listen to more music too, and so that's a bonus. I enjoyed these characters and their passion, and I also enjoyed reliving the 00s. Just a really enjoyable read.

I listened to an interview - I think it was Jack Antonoff on the And the Writer Is podcast - where they were talking about how there's not many tv shows or anything that capture magic of songwriting, because a lot of the time it's really internal and not something you can see or express aloud. But this book is everything I hope that process would be like anyways. It's got the creative collaboration that offers a totally unique mode of connecting with someone, for which reason I think anyone who loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will eat this up. It's got questions of college and post college what am I doing with my life in a way that reminded me of Normal People. And it's got music and songwriting collaborations, and revenge, like Daisy Jones & the Six. Ok now I've compared this book to three of my favorite ever novels, so I guess you could say I'm a fan. Oh also! The friendship arc. I'd liken it to The Rachel Project in that the friendship in this book was just as moving as the romantic love and that is something I am personally always looking for in a book. The dialogue is witty, the world is sharp and specific, and the time period which takes us through years when music distribution evolved is so fun to watch. Oh, and there's a playlist of all the songs on Spotify already so you can listen along!

If I had to describe this novel in one word, it would be "electric." This novel has a pulse, a rhythm that carried me through to the end. Once I hit the halfway point, I couldn't put it down. There's comedy, and tragedy. It's got just the right amount of early '00s cheese to make it endearing without being too much, and a gritty realism aspect that doesn't feel forced. I particularly enjoyed the music writing littered throughout the novel, as well. It was a nice touch that added a fair amount of literary value, while also adding to the narrator's character. It was a surprisingly relatable novel and one I found myself fully invested in from beginning to end.

I LOVED the vibe of this book. Gave me Before We Were Strangers energy in the best way. Loved the historical aspect and the music aspect and the ending. Perfection.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. At times, Percy was annoying. She was too much of a cool girl. She was not like other girls. She made a terrible choice at one point that turned me off from her. But what I did like about this book is that it was unique. I like that it was set in the 2000s and it felt like how I remembered those years. Zoe was the standout character.

From Berkley to New York, Deep Cuts follows Percey and Joe as they navigate their friendship over the years. Both love music. Joe sings and Percey is a music critic that has an ear for writing and producing.

can't believe this is a debut. all the daisy jones fans and naysayers who wished for that book to have taken a different direction, need to check this out. I suspect you won't be disappointed. i need to go and sit down and reflect bye

A self-assured debut that touches on creativity, loneliness vs. solitude and finding "your pack", on creating together, creating apart yet with the other person in mind, and how music touches us in sometimes unexpected ways.

I really appreciated how it mixes in an amazing playlist of varied songs into the story — seeing what song I could pull up next to revisit or sometimes even discover with each chapter title is part of what kept me coming back to the book even though carving time to read these past few weeks has been very tricky. On that note, the music was especially evocative as someone who grew up -albeit at a different age than the characters- also loving Fiona Apple and Outkast and Interpol and Pulp and Joanna Newsom as well as Carole King and Joni Mitchell after being put onto them by my mom. But I feel that the story will resonate even for those with a less personal connection to some of the songs spotlit by Brickley.

I found the writing in vignettes in "Deep Cuts" also helped with the flow of the story, and to believably follow these people from early college-aged to confused twentysomethings and beyond. And the snapshots of time also felt reminiscent of movies such as "A Lot Like Love" or "Reality Bites" while the exploration of being moved by music tinged this novel with strokes of "Almost Famous" at times, one of my favourite films.

Don't miss this novel if any of these elements calls to you!

Crown Publishing provided an early galley for review.

When a book is about music, whether fiction or nonfiction, I definitely am interested. That's what drew me to this novel.

Right off the bat, I like the touch of the chapter titles being song titles. It can always give me an insight into an author by the titles chosen. They can't be random; they have to be meaningful. Some are existing songs while some are songs written by the character Joe in the novel. So, in this instance, it is different from any usage of this technique that I have encountered before. There is a link on the book's website to a Spotify playlist of the real-world tracks.

Brickley has penned a character-driven tale here; it is about the relationships between Percy and those in her life (friends, coworkers, boyfriends) over the course of the first decade of the new millennium. It is also about Percy finding herself, her place in the changing world. The narrative is a reflective mirror of the times with plenty of familiar sign posts and sounds along the way.

A quick online search revealed the author's website which includes Brickley's brief bio. It isn't hard to see that Deep Cuts has some semi-autobiographical elements to it (she and Percy moved through similar locations and careers at similar times). This appears to be very much a "write what you know" scenario (something we always talk about in the monthly writing group I moderate).

A book rarely makes me want to text my ex-boyfriend immediately after finishing it. My ex was a singer/songwriter and influenced my music listening/purchasing habits HEAVILY throughout my twenties. I thought of him fondly while reading. The loving, passionate, and borderline unhinged way that Percy and Joe discuss music is so reminiscent of a kind of music criticism I miss and DEEPLY love. Because I dated someone just like Percy and Joe, I also see how that passion leads to love and sex. It's intoxicating and confusing. Music is everything. I also see how talking about music helps us understand ourselves, our culture...all of it.

Fans of Hanif Abdurraqib will love this book. Another thoughtful observer of music and the human condition. I love all of the little details: the MySpace blogging (major heart eyes!), the 9/11 politics, the invention of "influencers," my god! Everything was so well done. I want Holly to write a novel about the indie music that comes after 2008. I want her to write anything really and I will read it. New fave, what a fucking debut!!

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

4.5⭐️I really enjoyed this…it was very well written and researched. The love of music was such an important part of the story but at times I felt like the music history could’ve been dialed back to allow more depth to some of the characters.

Wow! In the best way possible, this gave strong "Daisy Jones & The Six" vibes. I loved the angst and grit and emotion readers got about Joe and Percy's relationship. Even though I wasn't familiar with most of the songs, the book still caputured the emotion behind each musical genre. My only critique is that I wish the book was slightly longer and fights more drawn out.

This was everything I wanted and at the same time, completely different from what I thought it was going to be. I absolutely adore this book. Yes, there is a vast amount of musical knowledge and details that at times feel like it's going to overshadow the plot, but it never does. It was perfect. I just know I will be thinking about this book for the longest time. My first 5 star book of the year. Obsessed.

This book is a lovely example of right book, wrong person.
With gorgeous bits of writing, and a very youthful feel to it, Deep Cuts is like When Harry Met Sally—set in the world of music, of course.
And I think if you’re in your twenties, and music is your whole life, this book could mean a lot to you. I hope it finds those people!
It didn’t quite hook me, but I can recognize that it’s a special book.

Wow, this was such a treat. Brickley's writing is excellent, especially when dissecting music. This novel had me revisiting so many albums from my teenage years, basking in the nostalgia of my youth.

Percy and Joe's years-long relationship feels so authentic. They're both hard headed and just as in love with music as they are with each other, constantly insisting they can't have both. It has all the tension of a will-they-won't-they romance while also being a faithful snapshot of the 2000s, a fascinating deep dive on music and how it is enmeshed in our lives, and the growth story of a 20-something woman who never felt like she was a part of something. I could really see parts of myself and my life in this and it was a real joy to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!