#BT: Songs In Ursa Major by Emma Brodie @emma_c_brodie @JenRHarlow @fictionpubteam @HarperFiction #SongsInUrsaMajor #EmmaBrodie

Book Synopsis:

*The must-read book of the summer*

‘Utterly transporting’ Stylist

‘A gorgeous, one-gulp novel’ Red

‘Emma Brodie perfectly channels the languorous romance of the time . . . I got chills’ Kevin Kwan, No.1 bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

Behind every greatest hit, is an even greater love story.

THE SUMMER OF 1969

From the moment Jane Quinn steps barefoot onto the main stage at Island Folk festival, her golden hair glinting, her voice soaring into the summer dusk, a star is born – and so is a passionate love story.

Jane’s band hits the road with none other than Jesse Reid, the musician whose bright blue eyes are setting hearts alight everywhere. And as the summer streaks by in a haze of crowds, wild nights and magenta sunsets, Jane is pulled into the orbit of Jesse’s star.
 
But Jesse’s rise could mean Jane’s fall. And when she discovers a dark secret beneath his music, she picks up her guitar and writes her heartache into the album that could make or break her: Songs in Ursa Major.

Set against the heady haze of the 70s and alive with music, sex and sun-soaked hedonism, SONGS IN URSA MAJOR is an unforgettable debut and the soundtrack to a love story like no other.

Songs In Ursa Major is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.

My Review:

Songs In Ursa Major is a brilliant, escaping read partly based on the real life relationship of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell.

Firstly I think this author does a great job of capturing the era with all the freedom and changes that it brought. My parent’s hay day was the 70’s so I grew up on lots of stories, and music, from that time which the book reminded me of. I so enjoyed following all the characters through this book and living precariously through them. I felt like I was able to experience the era a bit through them which was great as the 70’s is the era I’d like to be able to time travel back to.

The characters were brilliant, realistic characters that I found it easy to warm to. I particularly liked Jane as I admired her confidence and her willingness to stand up for herself. The sexism she experiences in the music industry made me very cross and I wanted to applaud her when she made a stand against it. Her relationship with Jessie was wonderfully, dreamy to read about, come on we’ve all dreamed about dating a rock star, and I found it very interesting to watch it develop. I liked that the author wasn’t afraid to put some darker plot twists into the book which made the book seem more realistic but also stopped it from being too sugary sweet and just about the budding romance between the two main characters.

The books has a great pace to it and I quickly found myself drawn into the story. I liked the huge contrast between the hectic, wild music scenes and the more gentle life on the island which helped refocus the reader at times. There was always something happening to keep my attention and some very dramatic moments which moved the story in a complete different direction. The ending was perfect in my opinion and I especially liked how everything wasn’t tied up in a bow but instead left at a realistic place.

This is the author’s debut novel and I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. There is a Spotify playlist with the same name as the book available on Spotify which is perfect to listen to whilst reading.

Huge thanks to Jen Harlow for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

EMMA BRODIE has worked in book publishing for a decade, most recently as an executive editor at Little, Brown’s Voracious imprint. She graduated from the Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program, and is a longtime contributor to HuffPost and a faculty member at Catapult. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their dog, Freddie Mercury.