Tuesday, November 12

Book Review: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid




Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Title: Daisy Jones and the Six
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: ebook
Pages: 369
Published: March 5, 2019
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library


Summary: 
A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity...until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she's twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she's pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.


Review:
I've eyeballed this one and funnily enough this was picked for Book Club soooooooooo sure why not. 

Told in the format of an interview we get to the heart of the raise and fall of Daisy Jones & The Six. We'll get the behind-the-scenes that everyone has wanted. 

First thing first.....the format was wildly different. You know those documentaries where they interview people to tell the story? The author attempts this here. We get multiple people telling us the story of the band. It was interesting and refreshing. It was done alright. I do wish we had more descriptives of HOW the people were talking and feeling and looking. You could assume. There were some instances of the author putting a few descriptives like "[pauses]", but there should have been more instances and more descriptives. I'm sure if I had done the audiobook, the narrator would've taken liberties and it might've helped. But yes, more would've been a great benefit, because the reader is left to pretty much assume.

The beginning had me curious...and then it lost me for a few, but after a certain scene it had me in it's grasps again. I could only read small chunks at a time, but I was hooked. I had to know what the final straw to break the camel's back was. There was SOOOO much drama in this band. It was bound to erupt, but it was just waiting for that last straw to fall. 

I hated everyone BUT I was enraptured with them all. They are all selfish, emotional, and immature. But you gotta remember....they are young and they are "stars". LOTS of ego in the room. 

The ending felt...rushed in a way. And I don't agree with a certain email. Gah. I'm just going to say it.......no I'm not.....I am. EEE. Okay [SPOILER ALERT] Billy's wife passes and pretty much gives the AOK for Billy and Daisy to reconnect and make another "song". Which YOU KNOW was her giving them permission to finally be together. Gag. They are so toxic for each other. Billy being Billy, though, he'll do it. :S Plus it felt so reductive of the characters. You can love someone but it doesn't mean that you should be together. SIGHS. Plus....I feel like Camila would've NEVER wanted that. IDK. It just didn't vibe with the whole story [SPOILER END]

Other then that ending and how I wanted more from the format.....I did like this. It was different and entertaining. Toxic characters doing toxic things in the 60s and 70s. What more can you ask for?

All-in-all, I did find myself liking this. I had some issues especially the ending little curveball. Bleh. Other than that I liked it. I can't wait to discuss this one. I'm sure we will have a lot to talk about. Rating???? Mmmmm. This has been a struggle for sure. 3....yes....3 stars seems fine. 



ONE WORD SUMMARY: Conflicting



Challenge(s):
- Library Love #31

7 comments:

Jen Twimom said...

Gah, I accidentally commented on Linda's blog! LOL. Anyhow, I hope the book club discussion is a good one - will you watch the movie now?

Northwoman said...

I couldn't get interested in this one. Maybe at a different time than when I tried it earlier.

Anne - Books of My Heart

Carole Rae said...

I can't wait to meet up with them! Gah. IDK about the movie....maybe?

Carole Rae said...

My this is a future read for you. Like in a year or two lol Or 10

Sophia Rose said...

I shied away because the high drama I could sense. Sounds like a mixed feelings about this one for you.

Blodeuedd said...

I bought this one in the wrong language so I gave it to the library

Carole Rae said...

Sophia, lots of drama.

B, awwww