Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Daisy Jones & The Six

It is the late sixties in LA. Daisy Jones is a teenager, and her parents don't really care too much about what she's doing. She is partying & gets into the groupie scene of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Everyone is always stunned by Daisy, and she is beautiful.
She is a naturally gifted singer, and wants to write her own music & sing. At twenty, she lands a record deal, but the execs don’t want her to do her own songs:
Simultaneously, The Six, fronted by the enigmatic Billy Dunne, is gaining notoriety. However, on the verge of their inaugural tour, Billy's girlfriend Camila discovers she's expecting, sending Billy into a tailspin as he grapples with impending fatherhood, his addictions, and the demands of stardom.
Daisy and Billy's fates collide when a savvy producer recognizes the electric potential of uniting them.
Daisy starts by opening shows for the Six, but eventually, they join forces & rename themselves Daisy and The Six.

MY THOUGHTS

Major Fleetwood Mac + Stevie Nicks vibes.
This is TJR’s 5th book that I’ve read. I have read: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Carrie Soto is Back, One True Loves, & Forever, Interrupted.
TJR is such an incredible writer, and I loved this one. Seamlessly flowed.
Super engrossing & engaging read. Impossible to put down.
Excellent character development. Character-driven story, and they all felt realistic & multi-faceted.
The structure & writing style was unique and excellent. It is set up as if it is a documentary or history of a real band, with compilation of interviews with all the band members. I loved seeing the way everyone has different memories of what happened.
Satisfying ending.
Impactful look at addiction.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️⭐️Major Fleetwood Mac + Stevie Nicks vibes. TJR is an incredible writer. Character-driven & beautiful story.

Content Warnings

mal_dale's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

arianatee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I remember thinking when this book came out that was not going to be for me. I'm not a fan of rock bands nor do I care much for the 70s. However, I was totally wrong. I loved the way the story is told via interviews with the band members and how everyone's telling of what happened is slightly different. Listening to the audiobook here was definitely a great move as well--the voice acting is great because you can feel that pent up anger and passion as they speak. There's a lot of sadness in the way they recall some moments, like they know they were on top of the world having the best time only for it to be tainted by all the tension and the way it ended. At the heart, this is really a story about talented people following their passion and the collision of so many impossible little moments that just create magic. Again, TJR just knows how to create that atmosphere in her novels.

I did prior to listening to the book watch the show, and I think that may have added to my enjoyment simply because the show was actually quite well done. With the show in mind I had an image for all the characters and songs in my head while reading. It did mean I noticed little differences like the absence of Pete from the show or that the song lyrics/titles are different, but since the story is told so well in both mediums the changes didn't bother me. The "vibe" of the songs were the same in the book and the show so it felt like a faithful change. Camila in the book I did feel had a much stronger presence and sort of confidence in her relationship with Billy. Billy, in the book, felt like he was very much in love with his wife as well while in the show it almost felt like he was staying with her out of obligation (being married, having kids).

The brilliance of the way the story is told, though, is that you can decide really how faithful the narrators are in telling their story. The writing style leaves that room for interpretation, and no one ever explicitly says Billy and Daisy are in a relationship even though the tension implies quite a lot itself. The show played up the romantic triangle for drama, and I get it, but its subtlety is also expertly done in the book. Both angles work well for their mediums. Highly recommend both. The book is a solid 4.25/5 stars for me. Close to Evelyn Hugo, but I just love the Hollywood glamor of that book a little bit more than this one.

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