This biography of Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac fame is mostly made of the author's interviews with people "close to the band', Mick Fleetwoood, and her own impressions and research.

McVie grew up with a psychic mother who exploited her intuitions to teach psychic studies to others, with a following. Her father was more humble in his endeavors. The author expounds upon Christine's childhood and tries to tie that in with her choices as an adult. Many of the anecdotes have been told before, but is lesser detail. The main gist of the book is a deeper view of McVie's inner life and desires. She openly searched for men to complete her, to mother them as her mother did not mother her, to search for the 50s Happily Ever After. The main love of her life was Dennis Wilson. Not much is said about Dennis, other than his cheating and drugging which ultimately resulted in his death.

Christine didn't seem to be involved in the animosity within the band- unlike Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. But the bad behaviour turned her away from the band to go live on her own, in her native England.

I get the feeling there is a lot unsaid in this book, and surely there are few reliable people with insight. We do learn some of what propelled her to seek men to complete her, and some spoilers for Stevie Nicks fans.

Songbird, a biography of Christine Perfect McVie by Leslie-Ann Jones chronicles the singer/songwriter’s life, loves, and career in a sometimes rambling, but quite detailed fashion designed to convey what the world/ music scene was like at particular moments of Christine’s life. Being trained in classical music, Christine discovered rock through a her brother’s Fats Domino sheet music and the rest as they say is history. The author paints a portrait of an artist who never wanted to be the spotlight; always feeling she was just one of the guys in which ever band she was playing and partying hard with. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend for every blues, rock and Fleetwood Mac fan.

I’ve been a Fleetwood Mac fan for a while and really didn’t know a lot about the rest of the band. So I was excited to read this biography about Christine McVie as she was someone that I really didn’t know about. Lesley-Ann Jones was able to create that intimate biography that worked for me and was glad I got to read this.

Songbird by Lesley-Ann Jones is a heartfelt tribute to Christine McVie, one of Fleetwood Mac's legendary voices. As a long-time fan of both the band and Christine’s work, I am deeply grateful to the author for telling her story in such an honest and raw manner. The spotlight remains firmly on Christine (or Chris, or Chrissie), making her the focus throughout the book, which I truly appreciated.

The Appendix of the book includes a full timeline of Christine’s life, a list of her best songs, and chapter notes that reference the author’s research and elaborate on the story.

Fun fact: “You Make Loving Fun" is my favorite Christine McVie song.

I will be honest: I found the tone of the book somewhat lacking in distinct style. It leaned heavily on recounting quotes and events, which left the writing feeling a bit detached. While Lesley-Ann Jones uses an eloquent vocabulary, there was a certain emotional depth that felt lacking, in my opinion.

That said, perhaps this is thing thing with biographies in general, as I’ve only ever read autobiographies. Regardless, I adored the book and would recommend it to any Fleetwood Mac fan. You'll come across some familiar stories along with a few surprises that you maybe didn’t know happened behind the scenes.

I would rate it 3 stars as I enjoyed my time reading it.

Thank you Netgalley and especially Hachette Books for providing this advanced-read copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.