Thought provoking & poignant, this is my kind of trope and I loved it. Great character development and insight, really put me through my emotional paces.

Thank you so much for the copy.

This book deals with some heavy issues and personally, I think it did it well. It shows a lot of the nitty-gritty horror of addiction which might be a heavy topic to deal with for some readers. The relationship is there, but not as heavily as the addiction storyline is, really. Read for the characters first and the relationship as an afterthought.

'This is Not a Lie' by S.C. Farrow is the story of Joel Reed, guitarist of The Blackhearts, a fictional band sunken into the backdrop of the Melbourne music scene during the early 80s. An urgent search for a new singer, finds them auditioning Harry Engel.. a relative unknown who's recently moved into the area.. with a powerful voice and even more powerful presence.

Surrounded by people who want to see him succeed, Joel is still struggling. He's a high-functioning heroin addict with a secret. Living a carefully constructed lie, he's lonely and self-destructive, and desperately trying not to be discovered.. fearful that his truth would be a quick end to any hopes of making it big.. in a place and time where intolerance is prevalent.

If I'm being completely honest.. the cover of this book drew me first. There's sort of a pretty Peter Steele thing going on there.. with the softly brooding expression. You have to understand.. before I read the synopsis.. I saw someone on the cover I understood. Someone who felt familiar to me.

For several years, starting in high school, I worked professionally in the music industry. I did everything at one time or another. I managed bands, did PR, oversaw venue bookings, pitched to labels, handled marketing both internally and in the field, and even worked for a label directly. You could say I was thoroughly entrenched in the business and the lifestyle.. and truth be told.. sometimes I still miss it. But I don't miss the loss.

There's a stereotype, of course.. that creatives are often more risk prone.. and I find that to be true. Musicians.. especially. There's definitely a group within the overall mix who are there trying to fill an emptiness caused by something growing up. Not enough attention in the home, too much of the wrong kind of attention, love and loss at early ages of their own, self-loathing, feelings of being too different and too alone.. all fuel this bright burning need to be adored.

Joel and Harry are like that. Yet, at the same time.. in a way.. they're complete opposites. They both feel things entirely too acutely, but Joel hides those feelings away.. numbing himself with smack so he can ignore them, while Harry struggles through, getting back to a free-spirited, generally happy nature as soon as he's able.

Harry is magnetic even within printed pages, but I find myself unable to be objective enough to decide if that's because he feels like a friend I lost, or because of the way he's written. I will say, of all the characters in the book, he's the most well-developed. I can visualize him.. and to a degree, I can visualize Joel.. but not as well.

Emotionally, this book could have been really difficult to read, but there's a lot more telling than showing about how things happen. I really think it's a story that could have benefitted from third person over first, because hearing only Joel's thoughts just waters down some of what he's going through.. and really, that's the meaty part of the story. This character is dealing with some very heavy things.

Normally, I'd expect to feel a closer connection to someone by seeing through their eyes, but that's just not the case here. I felt closer to Harry because of the way Joel perceived him.. and I think the same could have been true of both of them, if it were just narrated differently.

Unexpectedly, but largely due to the aforementioned issue, I was very slow to warm to the book as I read. It was interesting, but moderately so, and I had no trouble walking away from it periodically. Eventually it made me cry, but even that could have been much more impactful.

I do think Farrow has a lot of potential and I'm curious to see what else she might publish. This particular story is a bit weak due to the fact she tends to overindulge in some unnecessary descriptions and then come in swinging low for what should be heavy hitting emotions. There's a good framework here, she just needs to prioritize a bit better and expand on her character and story development skills.

Still, if you're like me and have worked in the industry or if you tend to fall for broken musician types, you might want to give this book a chance. I'm glad I did.

It’s been a while since the last time I read about rock stars and heroin addiction and the messy music scene, but the feeling never changes—the helplessness, the anguish, the passion, all those things. I also appreciated the gruesome details of heroin addiction because it felt very real. It was not just a mean to make Joel look tall, dark and handsome, and it did not glorify addiction in any way (yes, I’m referring to the Afterword).

What I felt a little less was, sadly, the romance. I loved Joel, his torment and his intensity. He was a great character.
But I couldn’t connect with Harry. I liked him and his quirks, but I didn’t love him—he always felt too distant. For this very reason, I couldn’t see him fall for Joel. I know it happened and I know it was real, but the relationship—uhm, something about it was missing.
I think that it had something to do with the writing. The prose was beautiful, but sometimes the pace was off, and there was too much tell and not enough show. Also, I like continuity, so this first-third-first person POV thing didn’t work for me.

Still, I really liked the book and I stand with the author. Thank you for talking about this topic in a sensible way.

Oh my god. This is genuinely the only thing I can say after reading this amazing book. This is Not A Lie is an insanely thought provoking book penned to perfection & is quite poignant.

It is the story of the lead singer, Joel Reed, of a band, The Blackhearts. In the 1980s, being a member of the LGBTQ community was intensely frowned upon. And Joel couldn't really keep his attraction for Harry, a talented songwriter, clandestine.

The story navigates through the various struggles of Joel, Harry & the band as a whole. Joel's addiction to heroine & dependency on alcohol is not glamorized but, is shown in such a way that it touches the reader's heart & reminds them, that sometimes, even addicts have a life and career.

The novel had me hooked since the very beginning & I have to admit, I had this feeling of restlessness until I completed it. More than once, I found myself hoping against hope that Joel and the band get what they are striving for. Success and triumph.

I liked how the characters were flawed & sometimes, I abhorred them, especially Joel. But then again, these flaws in the characters are what helped in relating them to reality. The character development was phenomenal & the climax left me with a gigantic smile on my face.

I wouldn't really go into much detail otherwise I might spoil the book for most of you. But, what I will say, is that you NEED TO READ THIS. I will HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book.

(Ps. Can someone please sign this book for a TV Series? Pretty please?)

When I requested this book, I did not expect to be pulled in like that. Having read my fair share of hetero-band stories, I thought I knew what I would get. I could not have been more wrong. This book is intense. You can feel how personal this book this, how much effort the author put into this book. The book itself is written so uniquely, you can't help but stick to it. It will hit you right in the feels (it did so for me at least) and you might be needing a moment after reading this book. I have no words to properly say how much I enjoyed this book - even though I get sick of the female character who's trying to interfere with the gay couple. Considering the timeframe set for this book, I, however, can ignore it and still give this book five stars.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wowser! Rounded up to 4.5 stars!

I was completely drawn into the story of Joel, founding member and guitarist in a band which is trying to secure a recording contract in the early 1980's. Joel is also a heroin addict and closet homosexual in an era when it was still stigmatised. He knows that for the band to have any chance of success he can't be outed as gay, but he's drawn to the band's new charismatic and talented front man, Harry Engels.

The music scene and the struggles of the band drip with authenticity. I can't comment on the drug usage but it certainly seemed authentic too. The ups and downs of Joel and the band and his long-suffering but dedicated sister, Karen, who is also the band's manager, absolutely hooked me.

I was rooting for this band and every step of the way!

A beautifully written novel about friendship, music, addiction, love, hate, and being true to oneself. The characters were nuanced and wonderfully imperfect, I even found myself with tears in my eyes at the end.

Joel is the lead singer of an up and coming rock band in the Australian music scene of 1984.  But his closeted lifestyle and heroin addiction may lead to the downfall of the band, as well as himself.   Farrow does a wonderful job of recreating the early '80's, from the heavy rock bands trying to make it big to the growing fear of the rapidly spreading AIDS virus.  While drug addiction is a major focal point, the homophobia depicted that was rampant at the time is truly heartbreaking.   Highly recommend.