aqua1540's review
2.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this Amplified series and I couldn't wait to start this, but this was really disappointing. What mostly bothered me in this was all the problems happening so quick and the band doing terrible. We're on the first stage and it was perfection everyone was great, everyone was happy. Then we get onto the second stage and it all went downhill!
It felt a little overdone? We kept coming back to the same problems over and over again: online hate, messing up on stage, and the same arguments are repeated. When the first few problems happened I was excited, I wanted to see how they were going to overcome the situations and work together as a band and get better. But NO! We get that little portion of them getting better literally at the very end of the book. And not to mention Sean.
I'm happy we got more into their personalities but for some reason this made me not really like them anymore? Jasmine was so annoying in this book and Veta hit so many right points. It was all about her! I liked her so much in the last book even through all the lies she kept spilling out of her mouth but this one she wouldn't stop making everything about her. Veta, now this was a surprise, I don't think it was wise to give her character the just because I thought of "future" events where she acts up more on stage and I don't think it's the best suit. I just like Veta now when I loved her before. Bryn, well honestly he was never my favorite but I actually like him more in this one. Felix, ah gosh in Encore he just seemed like a little puppy I wanted to protect from the bad people but I didn't like it. And Sean, I still love and adore this boy but I felt like we were kind of getting closed off from him, we were learning things about him before but in this we didn't really dig into his personality or his past like the others because he didn't want to discuss it. And this lacked romance scenes compared to Amplified!!!
My huge main issue: THE POT. My goodness, I just hated how these characters were getting high and drunk through some of their issues. Why was it so necessary? Yes, I realize it's realistic because if you think of a rock band you could picture the band smoking pretty easily but I really really wish that was never added. I wouldn't be surprised if Jasmine became an addict with how much she urged for a blunt during stressful times.
Then, I don't feel like I got my closure. I was still iffy about what the band was gonna do, how Veta's mom was gonna handle payments, and apparently it felt like Sean and Jasmine weren't seeing each other that much because of schedules and I got upset, this didn't feel like an ending.I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third installment to this series because there was a lot left unsaid. If there were a third book I don't know if I would pick it up just because this book has officially tainted my love for these characters.
It felt a little overdone? We kept coming back to the same problems over and over again: online hate, messing up on stage, and the same arguments are repeated. When the first few problems happened I was excited, I wanted to see how they were going to overcome the situations and work together as a band and get better. But NO! We get that little portion of them getting better literally at the very end of the book. And not to mention Sean
Spoiler
is now out of the band?! Like they chemistry he and Jasmine had on stage was so great and now he's doing another thing. I want to be happy for him since he loved Marine Biology so much but what? WhyyyI'm happy we got more into their personalities but for some reason this made me not really like them anymore? Jasmine was so annoying in this book and Veta hit so many right points. It was all about her! I liked her so much in the last book even through all the lies she kept spilling out of her mouth but this one she wouldn't stop making everything about her. Veta, now this was a surprise, I don't think it was wise to give her character the
Spoiler
bipolar disorderMy huge main issue: THE POT. My goodness, I just hated how these characters were getting high and drunk through some of their issues. Why was it so necessary? Yes, I realize it's realistic because if you think of a rock band you could picture the band smoking pretty easily but I really really wish that was never added. I wouldn't be surprised if Jasmine became an addict with how much she urged for a blunt during stressful times.
Then, I don't feel like I got my closure. I was still iffy about what the band was gonna do, how Veta's mom was gonna handle payments, and apparently it felt like Sean and Jasmine weren't seeing each other that much because of schedules and I got upset, this didn't feel like an ending.I wouldn't be surprised if there was a third installment to this series because there was a lot left unsaid. If there were a third book I don't know if I would pick it up just because this book has officially tainted my love for these characters.
sakura's review
4.0
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
This is a tough book to review, not only because it could be painful to read, but also because of the depth and darkness that hides behind the usual contemporary fare. On the surface, this book does seem a tad like a cutesy road trip book, and while I was expecting it to be realistic, the way Amplified was, I wasn't prepared for how dark this book would be. I was rattled and shaken by a lot of the stuff that happened, and it was almost like a trainwreck, where you're compelled and can't look away.
I enjoyed Amplified, and liked how realistic it was, the way it didn't sugarcoat the problems or swoop everything up in a nice little bow and end it in a candy gloss happy way. So when I found out there was a sequel, of course I was excited. I admit this book is hard to swallow at many points, it tackles a lot of issues, and it hurts because everything was raw and intense. I do want to be slightly vague when mentioning specific elements, since I don't want to have previous conceptions cloud a reader's feelings towards characters, but identity, mental health, victim blaming and other issues were integral parts of the plot and the character arcs. I will note that I thought Tara Kelly did a great job with relaying the reality of misogyny in the music world and one that I can certainly confirm exists, even through the lens of being an outsider.
The truth is...they're calling you fat because you're not skinny. And that's all we can be—too fat or skinny. They're calling you a bitch because that's what you call a girl who isn't behaving. They're calling you a whore because that's just what most girls are. In their eyes, we will never be right.
The character relationships in this book are quite well-done, from the romantic one between Jasmine and Sean to the friendships that Jasmine has with the other band members and the intertwining different levels of trust they entail. Out of all the relationships, for me personally, the one between Jasmine and Veta was the one that was the most searing. Veta goes through a heavy character arc in this book, and Encore doesn't make the friendship between her and Jasmine easy. The romance in this book is understated, and while Sean is a pivotal character in the book, the central bond of music and the band is front and center.
The plot could be a little rocky at times, but it doesn't lose the hard work and tarnished hope that Jasmine and the rest of C-Side holds for their musical dreams. It takes off the glamour and glitz of the music world and grounds it in the ugly reality that I'm sure many musicians face. It makes this book that much more memorable in the face of all the rock star books that must exist in the new adult genre.
I mentioned above that Tara Kelly tackles misogyny in the music world, that exists in any professional stage. There are some dark moments in this book where Jasmine is harassed online, and it is ugly. I wish that this wasn't a reality but anyone who has ventured online knows the reality of how online anonymous (or not) comments and users can be vicious and relentless.
And, more importantly, I'm not going to watch another girl get burned at the stake over some guy's world. A fucking rumor. How many times have we heard this story? How many decades have we said we're going to do something about it? And yet, here we are...
I would say that the ending of this book is quite open-ended, but it leaves the reader with hope. Dreams, especially ones that are big as this band's, aren't going to magically come true, and though it would be nice to maybe see something happen in the future for them, I like where the book leaves them. For the scrappy crew who makes up this band, I wish them nothing but happiness and success.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the review copy.
This is a tough book to review, not only because it could be painful to read, but also because of the depth and darkness that hides behind the usual contemporary fare. On the surface, this book does seem a tad like a cutesy road trip book, and while I was expecting it to be realistic, the way Amplified was, I wasn't prepared for how dark this book would be. I was rattled and shaken by a lot of the stuff that happened, and it was almost like a trainwreck, where you're compelled and can't look away.
I enjoyed Amplified, and liked how realistic it was, the way it didn't sugarcoat the problems or swoop everything up in a nice little bow and end it in a candy gloss happy way. So when I found out there was a sequel, of course I was excited. I admit this book is hard to swallow at many points, it tackles a lot of issues, and it hurts because everything was raw and intense. I do want to be slightly vague when mentioning specific elements, since I don't want to have previous conceptions cloud a reader's feelings towards characters, but identity, mental health, victim blaming and other issues were integral parts of the plot and the character arcs. I will note that I thought Tara Kelly did a great job with relaying the reality of misogyny in the music world and one that I can certainly confirm exists, even through the lens of being an outsider.
The truth is...they're calling you fat because you're not skinny. And that's all we can be—too fat or skinny. They're calling you a bitch because that's what you call a girl who isn't behaving. They're calling you a whore because that's just what most girls are. In their eyes, we will never be right.
The character relationships in this book are quite well-done, from the romantic one between Jasmine and Sean to the friendships that Jasmine has with the other band members and the intertwining different levels of trust they entail. Out of all the relationships, for me personally, the one between Jasmine and Veta was the one that was the most searing. Veta goes through a heavy character arc in this book, and Encore doesn't make the friendship between her and Jasmine easy. The romance in this book is understated, and while Sean is a pivotal character in the book, the central bond of music and the band is front and center.
The plot could be a little rocky at times, but it doesn't lose the hard work and tarnished hope that Jasmine and the rest of C-Side holds for their musical dreams. It takes off the glamour and glitz of the music world and grounds it in the ugly reality that I'm sure many musicians face. It makes this book that much more memorable in the face of all the rock star books that must exist in the new adult genre.
I mentioned above that Tara Kelly tackles misogyny in the music world, that exists in any professional stage. There are some dark moments in this book where Jasmine is harassed online, and it is ugly. I wish that this wasn't a reality but anyone who has ventured online knows the reality of how online anonymous (or not) comments and users can be vicious and relentless.
And, more importantly, I'm not going to watch another girl get burned at the stake over some guy's world. A fucking rumor. How many times have we heard this story? How many decades have we said we're going to do something about it? And yet, here we are...
I would say that the ending of this book is quite open-ended, but it leaves the reader with hope. Dreams, especially ones that are big as this band's, aren't going to magically come true, and though it would be nice to maybe see something happen in the future for them, I like where the book leaves them. For the scrappy crew who makes up this band, I wish them nothing but happiness and success.
Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the review copy.
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