This was ok. Average read. Nothing to go crazy about, didn't love it, didn't hate it. Probably wouldn't recommend.

BOOK REVIEW: Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua

Genre: Fiction

A “behind the scenes” peek into a rising young Hollywood star that is dealing with the complexities of sudden fame, as well as our own fascination with celebrity culture.

I was really looking forward to reading this brand new book from a brand new author, as I really love the story concept of this book. I was also hoping to get some insight into this often odd “relationship” we develop with people that we watch on screen.

Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to connect with this story. And I really think it was because I jumped into this book right after the previous book I read, which had left me emotionally drained.

I always believe that every book has it audience and the right time to read a story for each reader.

I am still intrigued by this story and plan to give Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua another try later on.

And I certainly hope I find myself in the right time at that time to connect with this story.…

Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua
2020 Book Release | February

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All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Books & DIY Home Ideas | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com ... Including my video tutorials for DIY home ideas inspired by recommended books to support you in bringing your favorite books to life in your life and home.

You can see my full review for Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua at https://www.thisismyeverybody.com/books/reading-wrap-up-february-2020


✨😎✨A big thank you to Dan Bevacqua, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.

The journey of Molly towards fame touches on our societies' obsession with celebrities and how its dream is misportrayed by our pop culture. No, it's not exactly "Daisy Jones and the Six", but it reminded me of some of it in some sense.

I really like the concept of this book. Just wish it hadn’t ruined the ending from the very beginning. We knew molly died before the story even started. I would have liked some type of surprise elements.

Life, Death and Afterlife - these are the parts the book is broken into. Sometimes I have problems with third person narration. I want to feel the storyline unfold and not be "told". The confusing thing here is it's mostly third person but does shift narrative to other characters. Unfortunately this is a DNF for me. It lacked character development to keep me engaged.

The fact that this book is divided into Life, Death and Afterlife sort of gives away Molly Bit’s arc. The book tells a cliched story of the rise of an actress in Hollywood, her struggles, success, marriages and the downside of fame, including a stalker. You’ve read or seen this before, and Molly is not interesting enough to make a credible case for needing to read it again. The focus of the book shifts from Molly in the last third. As much as I didn’t like Molly, I thought the book was better when she was around. Do not believe the blurb that compares this book to “Daisy Jones and the Six”. Each has a woman’s name in the title, but that is the only comparison I would draw. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A synopsis with tons of promise but unfortunately, the execution didn't quite work for me. I found myself just wanting to finish this and move on.

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

Dan Bevacqua's Molly Bit is the stunning portrait of a young artist who has "it," the price she pays to triumph and the personal sacrifices of her success. Everyone at her college wants to be famous, including Molly Bit. At 19, she sees signs from the universe that she's one of the chosen and makes a promise to herself to "chop off the old, dead parts and come out new, to burn them off, if need be, like she was a house fire."

Told through third-person narrative installments that leapfrog through her timeline (college in 1993; dues, 1997; success, 2001; etc.), Molly is well-drawn but also inaccessible--readers know her, yet she could be almost any aspiring celebrity on the rise. Molly's stardom breeds the need for bodyguards. Bevacqua is her literary bodyguard, using the arm's length he's constructed to masterful effect as Molly's life widens and contracts simultaneously. As tragedy befalls her ("You can't escape the confines of a traditional narrative story arc in a life like Molly Bit's"), the point of view shifts to one of Molly's oldest friends and the mystery of her demise.

Bevacqua's debut novel is compelling on multiple fronts. A pseudo-character study, it is a deeper examination of moviemaking, fame, violence and power, balanced by Bevacqua's wit. With descriptors that often reflect the celebrity absurd ("Finals exhaustion had lifted like a face peel." "A golden retriever bounded through the snow as if auditioning for a catalogue."), Molly Bit captivates as it lays bare the often-high costs of entertaining.

STREET SENSE: This is a quirky one - a character study, relationship piece and a look at Hollywood with a mystery wrapped in. I liked how Bevacqua told the story in pieces. I'll definitely check out his next offering.

COVER NERD SAYS: If you can pass up a clever take on the Hollywood sign at sunset, you're a stronger reader than I.

Thank you NetGalley for the free copy of this book. I found the story a little bit all over the place and hard to get sucked into. I didn't love it and found the characters difficult to connect with.

This isn't your typical Hollywood story. Molly Bit is an actress, struggling through classes and auditions. Then, Molly is a well-known actress, nominated for awards and choosing parts that will elevate other actresses. Then, Molly wants to direct. There are marriage, divorces, bad movies, and then, death.

Molly Bit has been compared to Daisy Jones and The Six, which, honestly, hurts its chances. Daisy Jones was disappointing to me, I hated everyone in the book. Molly Bit was..at the very least, full of fun character studies. Abigail - the drug addled former friend, Diana, the hard-working assistant..... Each person has their own life, their own history.

I think that going into this, it might help to picture someone as Molly. For me, it was, randomly, Jessica Chastain. She is who I pictured as Molly - and honestly, should this ever be made into a movie, then........well, there you go.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It was the synopsis that drew me to this book along with the amazing cover art, then the recommendation to those who loved Daisy Jones....this is not that.

The dialogue is the strength of Daisy Jones and the weakness of this work. This story was hard to follow and difficult to connect with. None of the characters came off as authentic.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me give this a shot though.

I had high hopes for "Molly Bit" but unfortunately - the plot was cliché-ridden and extremely shallow. Even though I didn't like the tone or message of this novel, I must say that Dan Bevacqua has a way with words. His prose is vibrant and provocative. He has a gift of hooking the reader, but his downfall is not creating memorable, root-worthy characters.

I kept going in and out of my like/dislike for Molly. One minute, I thought she was very naïve and emotionally fragile, and the next, I thought she was manipulative and vain. She makes a lot of questionable choices which is understandable for an aspiring, dim-witted actress, but in the end, Molly irked me more than anything. I just wanted to shake her.

This novel is broken up into 3 sections and sometimes the narrative changes to secondary characters which I did not enjoy. Even though I wasn't fond of Molly, I felt the narrative should've stayed on her story and journey. All those scummy people Molly meets throughout her life felt generic and superficial. So juvenile. It was amazing how much they sounded like entitled, spoiled teenagers. Ugh. I think it's hard to connect to these kind of stories about the horrors of Hollywood because most everyday people aren't starving for acceptance and fame. Are we supposed to feel sorry for these ruthless, soulless people? Yeah, I don't think so.

Thank you, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC.

Release date: February 4, 2020

This book felt very haunting from the very beginning. Mostly told from the perspective of Molly Bit and her journey to becoming an actress. She was not the most likable character and the story was a bit all over the place, so I unfortunately didn't love it. Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

"Molly Bit" is a work of literary fiction, as both the title (with the dramatic "A Novel" appended, a feature of many modern books) and the author's description (MFA) make clear. The emphasis here is on "literary," as it rapidly becomes clear this is a book that has aims beyond a discussion of Hollywood.

On the surface, "Molly Bit" is the story of a young woman who rises to stardom in film and has to deal with the fall out from that, including broken relationships, financial struggles, and stalkers. By the time I closed the book, however, I was chewing over thoughts about what the author really wanted to tell us--about fame, about memory, about perspective and reality, about what makes someone unforgettable.

What's good: The concept does leave you closing the book with a lot of thoughts. If you have a patient book club that really likes to pick apart books, I think "Molly Bit" would fit the bill.

What's iffier: The writing at the start is almost unreadable (at least to me). It's not the actual words--it's the rhythm of short, tight, simply cut sentences, repeated in sequences like some kind of Morse Code. I can't recall the last time I was so annoyed just by the rhythm of an author's writing, but there you go. I can say by the end of the book I no longer had that issue, so perhaps it was a matter of getting to know the characters and letting go of concerns over the flat style.

What's also iffy: I didn't get a deep sense of any of the characters. At least one character with a prominent role, Molly's high school boyfriend, felt like he came from nowhere; I felt no connection to him whatsoever and I had a hard time understanding the rationale behind his section of the book.

What's iffiest: There's a "Star Wars" quote that goes, "This is not going to go the way you think." While authors aren't responsible for readers' assumptions of where a book intends to go, it still feels as if the first half of the book and the second are fundamentally disconnected from one another in tone and purpose.

Overall: The book is interesting but like, fame itself, elusive in meaning.

I was attracted by the blurb but I couldn't connect to the characters and the story didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

2 stars⭐⭐

⏳𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑:⏳
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬: The novel follows up and coming actress Molly Bit from her time in acting classes to the peak of her fame.
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭: What plot? Told in "periods" of Molly's life, but lacking any sort of central conflict
𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Unmemorable (both in a good and bad way)
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Flat, unrealistic, sometimes random

👍𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬:👍
-Interesting concept sold as "Daisy Jones and the Six" meets acting
-The writing wasn't obtrusive and could sometimes move at a decent clip

👎𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬:👍
-Most of the characters seemed underdeveloped
-The hint of a plot was coming through with Molly's stalker, but it wasn't fully fleshed out so many pieces felt random
-The writing could often move very slowly or become too wordy

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua follows the life (in parts) of Molly Bit, a talented actress who goes through the initial hardships of making it famous and eventually becomes who she always knew she was meant to be.

This book first caught my attention with comparisons to Daisy Jones & The Six and throughout the novel I kept waiting to be as engaged with Molly as I had been with Daisy. I felt that it was hard to connect with her throughout her story. It was hard to not want more from her and her story at times, and I think this is why my interest waned as I continued reading. I also had a hard time with the twist and change of voice during the back third of the novel. I wanted more answers to suppress my confusion but had to wait until the very last chapter to put the puzzle together, and it was not as satisfying of a conclusion as I had hoped.

However, Bevacqua has a way with words in his debut novel and I enjoyed his voice of the varying characters. Leonard was especially fascinating to me and I loved his quote on loneliness in chapter 3.

I received a Reviewer Copy of Molly Bit by Dan Bevacqua from the publisher Simon & Schuster through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw it being compared to Daisy Jones and the Six, I thought I was going to be in for a treat. I totally do not think that is a fair comparison at all. In my opinion this was a very disjointed story and it is almost like there are two completely separate books written within the same cover.

We start by meeting Molly Bit as an aspiring actress. She is beautiful, has a ton of talent and she is almost magic when you see her act. When we first meet her she is auditioning for a couple of roles. Then we fast forward and Molly has had some success, but it looks like her career is about to explode. We keep forwarding with each chapter by years so you get snip-it’s into Molly’s career and many loves.

Suddenly you are thrown a curve ball and this book does a 180, which I will not spoil, but all I could think of is WHY?????. That is where it completely lost me. The time sequences were off, and I had an extremely hard time following it.

I think I understand what the author was trying to do, but to me it just did not work at all. I am sure there will be an audience that will love this book, and I will probably be in the minority, but this book was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Molly Bit, a girl from small town Vermont, has always wanted to be famous. This is the story of her rise in Hollywood, her death, and her legacy.

What I Loved: I really think Dan Bevacqua is a good writer. The way he frames his story is unique, splitting it up as if it were the story of a famous celebrity in the way an E! True Hollywood Story, with the life, death, and legacy portion. I appreciated the way he frames the novel. I also loved the last chapter and I think its power was especially dependent on reading the whole book.

What I didn’t like so much: I think I was set up to be disappointed, this book was pitched as Daisy Jones 2.0. It is not that. I wish that there was more character development. I didn't feel like there was any real dimension to the characters and didn't find them likeable. I also felt like characters randomly popped up and I didn't know why they had ARCS.

Who Should Read It: People who want a Hollywood story. People who want an interesting set-up.

General Summary: The rise of a celebrity and the legacy she leaves.

Thank you so much for sharing this book with me!

I am a pretty careful reader, but I admit that since I've had a baby my time and attention get divided easily. So that could be the culprit here. But -- I didn't get this book! I didn't really understand what happened to Molly Bit except that she had been murdered. What was the neighbors' role? What happened to the friend? How exactly did the murder occur? We see the killer, but we don't follow him all the way in...nor do we get any explanation of what happened anywhere else in the narrative.

I do feel a little stupid reviewing this book this way. But like I said, I usually like a puzzling plot and maybe this was just a little too puzzling for me.

The writing was absolutely beautiful and kept me floating along. I felt like the character Molly Bit was just the right kind of unlikable and the tension between her and her friend was so compelling, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. The part in the book where the friend falls from a height, and you're made to believe that she's dead for a split second was so jarring and clever.

The whole first half was set up so well and I was just waiting for it to come around, but it seemed like some plot lines were dropped. What makes Molly tick? What will become of her? She makes selfish decisions -- will she pay for these? What will happen to the murderer? What was the connection to the murderer and Molly's father.

I'm so sorry I didn't get it! I would honestly love answers if I'm just missing them! We are buying this book at my library and I will talk it up for fans of Marcy Dermansky and people who like The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acomparo, or anyone looking for a challenge. Thanks again,