Songs in Ursa Major

My rating: 3 stars

Although inspired by the true story of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell, this novel feels a lot like Daisy Jones and the Six. I know that's unfair, as the true story obviously happened decades before the TJR book was published, but that's honestly all I could think of while reading this.

The story kicks off at a music festival in the summer of 1969 where local band The Breakers gets an opportunity to play the main stage when festival headliner, Jesse Reid, is a no-show. The Breakers' lead singer, Jane Quinn, captivates the disappointed audience with her rendition of Jesse Reid's current hit song. This kicks off a chain of events that ends up with Jane meeting Jesse and the two of them jumping into a whirlwind relationship. Catapulted by a successful debut album, a drug-fueled concert tour, and being hounded by the press, the relationship quickly implodes. From here, the rest of the story is a long, melodramatic (SOOO melodramatic) tale of “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” culminating in the revelation of a family secret that Jane never wanted anyone to know about.

This book was well written and the story interesting enough, but I just could not get into it. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and was even a bit annoyed by them. It was also way too much non-stop drama, with one thing after another. It just never seemed like any of the characters were having any fun and, if anything, a story about rock and roll should be fun. And again, for me, it read too much like DJ&T6.

I thought this book was just okay; I didn't hate it and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it. However, I know it won't stick with me in the long run and I would have a hard time recommending it to anyone other than maybe a hardcore James Taylor and Joni Mitchell fan.

CW: drug use