This book was so hyped up and I felt like I was so lucky to get an early copy.
I waited until the hype died down to read it and I'm glad I did... because I have an unpopular opinion.

Unfortunately this story missed it's mark with me. I found it hard to connect with the characters, hard to keep up with all the people right from the start and it just didn't grip me as I thought it would..... I even gave it a second chance with a full cast audiobook version - and that was even harder to listen to.
Perhaps it was my frame of my mind... but sadly this was not a favourite story for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Please excuse my tardiness in posting my review. My TBR list is continuously growing and I keep finding so many amazing books being requested + added to my pile! I have so much gratitude for this copy that has been shared with me.

Absolutely one of my faves of the year. A must read for music/70s fans.

Listened on audio and the full cast recording was BRILLIANT. The lush story telling of the iconic (fictional) rock duo known as Opal & Nev reads as so real that it'll have you searching Spotify for their music.

A story of music, coming of age, stuggle, and being unapologetically yourself.

emoji thoughts: 🎙🎵✊🏾🏳️‍🌈📖🤬🚬

I loved the writing style of this story, and really enjoyed the dynamic between Opal and Nev. The interview style was something new to me but easy to get used to and think it came together well with story telling.

Such a great read, a fantastic audio. Much like Daisy Jones and the Six, this one kept me entertained and that was in no small part due to the ensemble cast. I don’t know why it’s not as highly rated, the only difference I see is characters of colour in one story and none in the other. Aside from that, they were both entertaining stories.

I'm sorry that this review was not more timely. I forgot about this book until the new year when I discovered it was nominated for the Aspen Words Literary Prize which (spoiler alert!!) it WON!!!

I read the book as part of the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist where I read the entire 16 list of books. This was definitely a highlight.

From my Instagram review:
Recently awarded the Aspen Words Literary Prize (“for an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture”), this novel is about the meteoric rise of an iconic interracial rock duo in the 1970s, their sensational breakup, and the dark secrets unearthed when they try to reunite decades later. Narrated by a journalist investigating the band’s history, which includes a significant event that affected her personally, the social issues this book deals with include racism, marginalization, Black culture, cultural appropriation, sexism and freedom of expression (finding one’s voice). It’s a bold, propulsive, hugely entertaining, rock and roll history, with great depth and a plethora of interesting characters (all of whom get a chance to speak), the most interesting of which is Opal Jewel, a flawed, charismatic, fiercely independent, Afro-punk warrior from Detroit. I really enjoyed this book. It was hugely entertaining and thought provoking, and spoke to significant social issues without being preachy. That said, I never imagined it to be a literary prize contender. I guess if I was proven wrong once, I could be proven wrong again. I would not be disappointed to see it on the shortlist.

It was amazing. Everything I could have hoped for it to be. Opal was dope and Nev so crazy. I thought the story was luminous about so many black women in the 70s doing something big but doubly making a statement. Who says we have to choose one life or another. Opal shared something so unique from a character. I loved the story.

I love this style of book. A series of interviews, editors notes and foot notes. The best part of a well done book like this is how real the characters feel. I wanted to experience Opal and Nevs music.
Nev seemed like an interesting character in the beginning, but as the story progressed, he seemed to grow in the wrong direction. Not necessarily for the things he said himself, but for the way he portrayed himself.
Opal is a vibe. She’s strong and fierce, standing strong for the little guys. She’s someone that deserves the idolizations. Opal is aware of the potential she has for using her audience to better the community around her. By using her voice, her words, she can spread awareness. It’s beautiful.
My favourite character of the story was Virgil. I don’t care what anyone says, he’s the stand out. He worked so hard throughout the story, from putting together his own imaginings, to schooling to become something great.
I liked the flow of the story, and the multiple narrator style interviews. The mix of past and present played really well for pulling the story together.

There's no denying Walton's passion for relationships, human connections, music, and all of the issues of the time. It is well written and tells an interesting story of Nev and Opal, I imagine most readers will be cheering for Opal and fully invested in her story. However personally the fake narrative/interview style just doesn't work for me.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Dawnie Walton for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

A beautiful story about Opal, a fiercely independent women who basically created Afro-punk, who believe she could be a star. She is talented and she is beautiful, her beauty is very unique and she know how to style herself the way it would shock people and make them appreciate her style sense at the same time. Opal was found by Nev in one of the bars she performed and they created a band. She struggles for her place in a niche of funky creative scene and ended up in a scandal with a rival band having Confederate flag during their performance. Decades later, there is a chance Opal and Nev could reunite and give a concert. The story is based on the interviews taken by a young journalist Sunny Shelton, with the idea of writing a book about Opal and her story.

Overall, it is a good and interesting story with some love, rivalry and music in it. However, while reading it I had always got back to Daisy Jones and The Six. The composition of the story is basically the same (interview type). Of course, charters go though different types of scenarios, however, even those are somewhat alike, especially in the story of Nev.

I wish I'd enjoy The Final Revival of Opal & Nev more.

The book’s form is reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six: done in an interview style of members and affiliates of a rock band, but that’s where the comparison ends. The characters are very well fleshed out, there’s less of the he-said, she-said type of discrepancies and this book is better written. The descriptions are so rich that the reader wants to google the performers to see what they look like and listen to their music; but alas, this is a work of fiction.
A white, British wanna-be performer is successfully linked up with a young, abrasive black American woman to form an avant guard duo. The story mostly revolves around the woman performer and the young black journalist who is working on a book about the personalities and the times, but it includes the whole background of the making of the music and their look, even some things about the fans.
The reader really is put into the atmosphere of the music scene of the seventies and of racial tensions. The book deals with the tough topic of racism in a thought provoking manner. Definitely a book to add to your TBR list!
4.5/5

I loved this book and spent the whole time reading it imaging how incredible Opal would have been in real life! I wanted to hear all the songs they spoke about and see the images! What a wonderful book that I can't wait to read again!

You can definitely see the comparisons to Daisy Jones here. A novel about a band that broke up from the various perspectives. So in the beginning it kind of didn't grab me, as I was caught up thinking it was just like that. But it did differ in many ways. It was more angling for a political narrative propelling the drama. It didn't have as many full on song lyrics written throughout, which I'm interested to see how those come to the screen in Daisy Jones. And then there was the personal angle of the 'Editor'. While it was generally a good story, I felt the author was working on all the different perspectives more that the story which at times fell flat. It picked up at the end of Part I and again at the end of Part II, but overall the pacing didn't keep me thoroughly engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

i read this a while ago, but for some reason I never reviewed it at the time.

This book gives off vibes of Daisy Jones and the Six. It is set in the world of music, includes sex, drugs, and rock n roll. However it is very much a different book than Daisy Jones. We learn the history of Opal and Nev, two musicians who started out as a duo but then followed different career paths. I like Daisy Jones, but I loved this one more.

RATING: 4 STARS
2021; Simon & Schuster Canada/37 Ink/Simon Audio
Narrators: Full Cast

Mary Jane gets many comparisons to Daisy Jones & The Six, but I think The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a bit closer in comparison. I listened to this one audio, and it has a full cast (every character gets a narrator) which really enhances the reading experience. I like anything that is told like an interview, or as a flashback story to be on audio. It feels like they are telling you the story.

I liked the mix of the 1970s and present day and unraveling the stories of Opal Nev, Jimmy and even the protagonist Sunny. Walton does a good job in giving each character their own voice and and tying it to an identity they are trying to portray, and another aspect that goes against it. When I read Daisy Jones, the music sounded like an album I would listen to a few times and then go in my once favourite music playlist. Opal's music sounds like that album I would have to own and decipher the lines and perform my own kitchen concerts (I like to sing while I cook or wash dishes much like my Bibi). If you are looking for a read that gives you food for thought, this is a good one to try. It entertains as much as it stirs you.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I found it too dry. I also didn’t like going back and forth with characters. I read Daisy and the Six and I guess I was hoping for that but it didn’t grip me the same..

I read this book a few months and I'm still thinking about this one! I continue to recommend to anyone that's looking for a great read! Why is this such a great read? WELL, it's a unique interview-style novel that many are comparing to Daisy Jones and the Six. BUUUUT this is definitely not that. This one explores many heavy topics such as agency, race and race relations, treatment of people of colour all within the rock and roll industry and beyond. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book.

Rating: 3.5/5

NOTE: I was sent a copy of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton, from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Like many other readers, I was intrigued to read The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, after seeing it being compared to Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Like that book, Dawnie Walton tells this story in an interview format. However where Daisy Jones and the Six focuses on emotional lyrics, Opal and Nev explores more of a social justice point of view.

While I don’t think that the music this unlikely pair would have released would have been my cup of tea, I could definitely appreciate how they would have made an impression with their originality. Opal especially was a strong character, although she wasn’t perfect. I liked how she became a leader for those who were seen as different and not accepted by society.

Author Dawnie Walton did not shy away from tackling difficult topics including; feminism and racial injustices. I would recommend it to readers who are looking for an impactful book that explores those topics.

This is the story of how Opal and Nev became to be. Raised in two completely different backgrounds, this goes through their early roots and what eventally brought them together - the band, the romance, the breakup, and the soon-to-be revival later in their lives.

This work of fiction is told in a interview type style, as seen in Rolling Stone magazine, and interviews fictional people (relatives, managers, housekeepers, etc.) to unravel the story of Opal & Nev.

So convincing is this book, that many times I've actually Googled to see if Opal & Nev were actually in a band.

Very unique, if you like reading biographies on bands and musicians, THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV will fit perfectly in your reading journey.

3 stars.

I’ve heard lots of comparisons between this one and Daisy Jones and The Six and while they are similar styles in the sense that it’s an oral history, focusing on musicians of the 1970s, the actual content of this book is also quite different making them very different reads.

This book was about so much more than just the sex, drugs and rock n roll aspect. In particular the scenes describing the murder of the band’s drummer, Jimmy, during the Rivington Showcase felt incredibly real and raw. This book reads a lot more like non fiction than fiction and at times I struggled to remember that Opal and Nev were not actually real people, a testament to Walton’s writing.

Opal is an amazingly well developed character who I loved reading more about. I didn’t want this book to end.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton is the fictional account of a 70s rock duo from their “bubbling under” success to their reunion decades later at a festival 20,000 strong.

If ever there would be a physically-mismatched duo, this would be the definition. Opal is a Black woman from Detroit from a religious family who starts losing some of her hair when she is young. This prompts her to shave her head and embrace her fierce side, resurrecting an activist vibe. Her musical partner Nev is a white redhead from England who makes his way to New York to try and jumpstart his musical desires.

Nev starts off as a solo artist but comes across Opal singing in a small club. Thrown together by a record label, they start to garner some traction and are booked to play a showcase event. The headliner for the event are some redneck boys who enjoy the accompaniment of a confederate flag which is something that provokes Opal & Nev no end and the showcase becomes the tipping point for events that change their lives.

Walton has written this novel in the form of a book being written about the bands trials and tribulations. The book is to be an accompaniment to a reunion tour and features interviews and notes that make up the book. So while it doesn’t read as a “normal” novel, it doesn’t leave you quizzically wondering where the plot is.

That said, I did find it a bit of a slough. It’s a powerful message, one that resonates in our times, but I felt the middle of the story drags on a bit much. It didn’t pull me back in once I put it down, something that I was surprised by. Being a big music fan, I so looked forward to this, but, pardon the pun, it fell a bit flat.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.