DEEP CUTS is both a love letter to the indie music of the early aughts and a compelling coming journey of self-discovery. This completely immersive debut begins in a Berkley college bar as aspiring songwriter Percy Marks and aspiring musician Joe Morrow listen to music from a jukebox. As Joe asks Percy for feedback on one of his songs, they are thrust into a complicated relationship that spans decades and continents. With angst and nostalgia Holly Brickley captures the tender time of finding a voice in the midst of early adulthood, betrayal, and the magnetic draw of young love.

Read this if you:
-had a favorite burned CD
-enjoy stories set in NYC
-have ever fallen for your best friend

RATING: 5/5
PUB DATE: February 25, 2025

This book is about two people meeting in unusual circumstances and becoming very important in each other's futures. Good story though

thankfully i'm a massive fan of music or else i may not have been as invested in this story as the average reader. this book is like an album that's purely for music nerds. i enjoyed reading but can see where some people might have to put it down at times.

Percy can talk all day about music, and it turns out she can write it, too. But when she falls into a "partnership," it's unclear who benefits and if feelings will get in the way.

For readers who are obsessed with music, this title will give a lot of joy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the early copy of this book.
Imagine if Daisy Jones and the Six had a baby with When Harry Met Sally, and I think that's what this book is about. If you love music, you will love this. If you love complicated relationships, you will like this.
The extra details within all the music talk got a bit much for me at times, and I found myself skimming or slightly bored, but I don't think I am the target market necessarily. It is a really well-written, enjoyable book.
Comes out February 25!

The writing was great and the storyline sweet but you have to like music to get through this. And I don’t mean, like music as in listen on the radio or sing in the shower. This requires almost a pathological like of music. Most of the band references and intense breakdown of songs went over my head and I found the characters unlikable and extremely pretentious. I got half way through and found myself desperately trying to find the story so I could finish.
Just wasn’t for me but I can’t acknowledge this would be amazing for music lovers.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Percy defines herself through music and is able to construct both insightful and revealing essays exploring the art form. As her life unfolds during university and beyond we see her connect deeply with aspiring musician Joe Morrow. The two are immediately drawn together and as they discuss songs they take the reader on a deep dive into the creative process. The boundaries between authoring, shaping, influencing and editing lyrics become blurred as the two workshop Joe's early albums. Deep Cuts is both a bildungsroman of the character's lives and also a smart examination of the differing roles that are needed in the realization of a new work of musical art. A terrific book for anyone interested in looking closely at the creative process and also for lovers of late 20th century music.

Like a favorite album, you'll want to reread and savor this one. Just as a great album tells a story with highs and lows, this book will make you laugh and cry. It's beautiful. A must-read.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley is an absolute gem that transported me straight back to the early 2000s indie music scene. Percy and Joe's connection over their shared love for music was so raw and authentic; I felt every high and low of their journey. The way Brickley captures the era's vibe is pure magic—I could almost hear the soundtrack playing as I read.

This novel is a must-read for anyone who’s ever felt the transformative power of a song or been swept up in the passion of young love. It's nostalgic, heartfelt, and left me with that bittersweet ache of a perfect melody lingering in my mind. I couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end. Highly recommend!

"Now, no matter how much she smiles or claps, her eyes harden when he sings. She wants to be the only one. She wants him as her deep cut, a B-side unearthed from a rarities bin, proof of her own specialness because she's the one who discovered it, because she doesn't know how to sing her own damn song."

Percy Marks meets Joey at a Berkely bar while verbosely waxing on about a Hall and Oats song. They have the early aughts existential debate of a perfect track versus a perfect recording. Percy, a loner never really finding her crew after moving to California from Indiana, is rapt with discussion and intrigue. Joey asks her to listen to his songs. Percy doesn't sing or play, but her opinions push and sway Joey's music--molding them into intriguing perfect pieces of indie pop. Percy becomes a trio with Joey and long time girlfriend Zoe, and the unlikeliest found family and partnership is born.

The writing set in amongst 2000-2010 brings a lot to the table. Post 9/11 panic, My Space culture, extreme niche content involving MFA programs, and above all pain of fumbling and falling in love and life in your 20s. Brickley's writing is stunning. Truly. I have not annotated text this heavily in a long time, and I will read whatever she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the review copy of this title. Deep Cuts debuts Feb 25, 2025.

The night that Percy and Joe meet, they instantly bond over their love of music. Not long after that night, Percy starts giving Joe feedback on his own songs. From there, they form an intense, competitive, productive, and passionate collaboration that ebbs and flows over the years and across cities as their egos and feelings for each other get in the way of, and help, their music.

This book is Daisy Jones and the Six meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow with a splash of Sally Rooney. I couldn't put it down. The friendship/romance was gripping, the plot was page-turning, and characters were layered. I texted my friend, at least, a dozen times as Percy & Joe's mutual friend reminded me so much of my friend!

If you're passionate about music, Deep Cuts is for you. A playlist of the music in this book would last hours, but I did so love playing as many songs as I could as they were mentioned! It was packed with music references (most going over my head) that added a level of authenticity, especially to these music-obsessed characters.

I full-heartedly recommend this book from cover to last page- the title is perfect (especially the more that you read) and it has such a strong ending. I can't believe that this book is a debut!

Deep Cuts is a story of human connection, music, and nostalgia. Set throughout the early 2000s, it follows Percy Marks through her college years into early adulthood. One night at a bar in Berkeley, Percy meets Joe who listens to her opinions about music rather than getting annoyed by them and then invites her to listen to one of his songs. The story follows their friendship and feelings for each other through the years as Joe starts his band, Caroline, and Percy tries to get into the music writing scene. This is a story about growing up, finding yourself, and navigating complicated relationships.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I think Brickley did a great job capturing the culture, fashion, and of course the music that was popular in the early 2000s. I don't know a huge amount about indie music that was popular during the time, but I still enjoyed the book, so if someone does know a lot about that type of music I think they'll really appreciate it. The main thing for me was the characters and their relationships. The characters weren't always likable and they were often pretentious, but it felt really realistic and I enjoy those types of characters. To me, this book felt like a mashup of Daisy Jones and the Six and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, so I think this will appeal to fans of those books.

Part coming-of-age, part Indie-rock obsessed, part love story, Deep Cuts hits all the right notes. Do you ever hear a song and think back to the time in your life it was played? Percy sets her life to music and she has a talent for hearing a winning song and envisioning the lyrics that represent a story. As she matures from college student to young adult, her skills are sometimes underutilized but always there. It’s just a question of timing. I particularly enjoyed the beginning part of her journey in the university years when everything is in front of her and transformation abounds.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and Holly Brickley for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read this book - the description is great but the story fell flat after awhile. I felt like I was reading and reading and not much was happening. I was hoping it was going to be as good as a lot of the recent music fiction books I’ve read - sorry it just didn’t live up to my expectations.

I wanted to like this book because the concept sounds so good and I really liked the beginning with them meeting at the bar and talking about music. But then everyone just got annoying and pretentious.

This was a deep, intimate look at music, friendship and life. Richly written characters, beautiful prose, I truly cannot believe this was a debut. The song title chapters were a fun way to keep the music alive all the way through, too!

There's a way to talk about music....and then there's the way that Holly Brickley talked about music in Deep Cuts, her debut novel.

Percy has always been somewhat of a loner. She's passionate about music, but not in the 'I'm so cool' way. With the right conditions, any song can be a good song. In a bar one night in college, she meets her match with Joe. Joe talks about music the same way. He also writes music and wants Percy to listen to his attempts. Joe also has a girlfriend, Zoe.

Each chapter is a song title. From 80s soft rock to indie sleaze, this covers that gamut. We follow Percy from those college days to the pain of her first job and moving from one city to another. This is a story of a friendship, a love of another person, and the heart of music and it's power.

Maybe this pulled me in because all the NYC references were the same as my own - Interpol at the Bowery Ballroom, CMJ, Webster Hall, Union Pool....these are all touchpoints in my life. I felt like Percy was a friend, and I was rooting for her....even when she moved to the West Coast. :)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow. This book was incredible. Percy and Joe’s story is immediately intriguing and I found myself glued to the book the entire way through. A beautiful exploration of music, relationships and early 2000s culture. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

I will be thinking about the quote below (and several others) for a very long time:
"I think songs gave me a window into a magical life," I said. "Something bigger, or whatever, waiting out there. And I felt like the only way to get there was through the songs. Like the songs, if I listened hard enough, would show me how to get it right."

(4.5 stars)

This was wonderful, and I can't believe it was a debut. Engrossing and richly drawn with some honestly astounding music writing. It reminded me a lot of Tomorrow x3 in the way it goes so deep into a topic I know nothing about (in this case, songwriting/music production) and makes me want to swallow it whole.

Joe's character was consistently a bit out of reach for me and so I was never able to buy 100% into the thrashing passion that the story wanted to sell, which is why this isn't five stars. But it's pretty close. People are going to fucking love this when it comes out.

Holly Brickley's debut novel "Deep Cuts" is a mesmerizing exploration of music, friendship, and self-discovery that transports readers to the early 2000s with remarkable authenticity. Set primarily in Berkeley, the story follows Percy, a music-obsessed college student with a profound ability to dissect songs, who forms an intense creative connection with Joe, an aspiring musician. Their relationship—complex, charged, and deeply intellectual—unfolds against a backdrop of shared musical passion, creating a narrative that feels both intimate and expansive.

The novel's strength lies in its nuanced portrayal of artistic collaboration and personal growth. Percy's journey is particularly compelling; while she struggles with self-confidence, her keen musical insights and deep emotional intelligence make her an incredibly relatable protagonist. Brickley masterfully weaves music into the narrative, using songs as more than mere background noise—they become character studies, emotional landscapes, and windows into the protagonists' inner worlds. The supporting characters, especially Zoe, add depth and complexity to the story, preventing the novel from falling into predictable romantic tropes.

What sets "Deep Cuts" apart is its authentic representation of young adulthood, artistic ambition, and the transformative power of music. Brickley captures the delicate balance between personal dreams and collective experiences, showing how music can connect, heal, and define us. Though Percy's self-doubt occasionally frustrates, her character arc feels genuinely earned. With its rich character development, nostalgic early 2000s setting, and profound musical insights, "Deep Cuts" is a stunning debut that will resonate with music lovers and anyone who has ever struggled to find their creative voice.

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Thanks Netgalley + Crown for the ARC!