Book 6/30.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I started my third Taylor Jenkins Reid read on the 3rd of the month and the numbers + calendar lover I am loves that for me 🤩😍🤓
Furthermore, this is my second 5 star read of the year, the first being The Girl with the Louding Voice which was my book 3/30, and I am loving all the 3s showing off in this review. But, I digress.
Daisy Jones & The Six won the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction in 2019 and you could be forgiven for thinking TJR wrote this about a real 70s band because the characters are sooo real they just leap right off the pages and grab hold of you, demanding your full attention and daring you to try and put the book down and go back to the real world. Or maybe that was just me 😅 because this was unputdownable AF!! I understand how and why Reese Witherspoon devoured this in a day because it was just sooo good!!!
Daisy Jones & The Six chronicles the rise to superstardom of the (shockingly!) fictional band that came to define rock ‘n’ roll in the late 70s, as well as the troubles that subsequently led to the band splitting up and its members never playing together again after a performance at the Whisky on July 12, 1979. Their story is told via interview transcripts from band members, some of their team and various family and friends, a format some Goodreads reviewers say made the book impersonal and emotionless, but I fucking loved it! I also loved the author reveal towards the end of the story. A story that transports readers to the most iconic age of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll and it’s a strong testament to the author’s skill that she was able to create nuanced, multi-faceted characters in a band and world that felt incredibly real from a story told solely in interview style.
Ever since The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo TJR has carved a niche for herself by writing about badass women in highly patriarchal industries, and this was no exception as all the women in this book are so powerful and dynamic. There are sooo many strong messages about women empowerment, women supporting women, taking no one’s shit and demanding credit where it’s due.
I was quite hesitant to read this as I was wary of the interview style and so I put off getting a copy for a long time, but turns out I had nothing to worry about and everything to gain from reading this. That said, the only “problem” I have with this book is I found the reason the band broke up to be very anticlimactic and it could have, should have, been stronger compared to the rock-solid build up. But maybe the author wanted to remind us that breakups and the reasons behind them, whether in professional, platonic or romantic relationships, aren’t always big, dramatic events. That sometimes breakups, and their reasons, are quiet and understated but that does not mean they hurt any less than the big, dramatic ones. Or have less of an effect on your life. I don’t know 🤷♀️ What I do know is that the anticlimactic reveal did not in any way, shape or form take away from this incredible, unputdownable read.
As mentioned, this was my third TJR read, the first being the extraordinary, unputdownable Evelyn Hugo that was my book 30/30 in 2019 and a major 5 star read. It is one of the few reads that make me smile when I come across it on social media while also making me jealous of anyone reading it for the first time. One True Loves, my second TJR read, was my book 30/30 in 2022 but it was a 4 star read. Whether it fell one star short on its own merit, or because I was comparing it to the incomparable Evelyn Hugo, I’m not quite sure 😐🤷♀️ Daisy Jones and The Six is my third TJR read and, just like my inaugural TJR, a major 5 star read. I am now dyyyiiiiiiinnngggg to read Malibu Rising and Carrie Soto Is Back. DYYYIIIIIIINNNGGGG!!!
PS: And yes, book 6 and Daisy Jones & The Six was verrrryyy intentional 😅
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing
Lwile the Leo 