This Bird Has Flown

Susanna Hoffs, the co-founder of the amazing all-female rock group The Bangles, should have taken a course in “Romance Novels for the 21st century” before writing This Bird Has Flown. Maybe then she wouldn't have relied on tired tropes like Insta-Love, Evil Ex, and Failure to Communicate that reduce the romance in this debut novel to a giant snoozefest. The object of struggling musician Jane Start's affection, an Oxford professor who loves the exact same music, books, and films that Jane does, is virtually perfect other than the dreaded Big Secret, the revelation of which makes it hard for both Jane and the reader to forgive him.

The last 25% of the book is its strongest, focusing on Jane's complicated relationship with an enigmatic Prince-like megastar who wrote her one big hit, and the suspicious comeback performance he arranges for her. Next time I hope Hoffs leaves the romance to the experts, and instead tells us more about the power of music and the challenges of the music industry.