3.5⭐️

A Season in Lights is an enjoyable, but kind of sad read. Don’t get wrong, I enjoy a good sad book. Some spoilers below!

I enjoyed the dual timeline, and following both Tom and Cammie, especially as we know their paths cross and intertwine. Both storylines showed hard times, Tom’s dealt with racism and the AIDs crisis, and Cammie’s was about finding yourself, and saying goodbye to old dreams and hello to new dreams. Tom’s character was the one who displayed how hard times were when he was growing up, the prejudice of being a black piano player, and the hard decision of choosing to save yourself over the ones you love.

This story was surprising and lovely. I find it a bit of a challenge trying to give more info without giving too much away. If you’re looking for a book about following your dreams, loss, and new paths, pick this one up!

Thank you to Lucid House Publishing, Gregory Erich Phillips, and NetGalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

For me, the cover was the most interesting part. Not sure about the ballerina book trend, but this definitely beat The Ballerinas for me

A lovely look at an artists return to the city of lights ! Really sweet and atmospheric.

Would recommend to those that love New York City!

this book was so precious! i highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a good escape story! it was just so delightful to read and i enjoyed every single second! thank you again, netgalley!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book to review.

One understands that besides being a writer, Gregory Erich Philips is also a dancer and a musician. His knowledge of these fields makes him the right candidate to write about Cammie, a dancer in her mid-thirties who has just got her first part in a show after she has arrived in New York.

She is torn between her affection and loyalty to her family and the lights of the stage. She meets and has a relationship with Tom, an older piano player who is also plagued by family bonds.

The book is certainly topical as it deals with Covid and its effect on the performing arts. Philips subtitles his book as “A Novel in Three Acts,”possibly referring to three stages in Cammie’s trajectory: the first, being her part on the stage, the second, her visit home and her depression, and the third, a return to New York and the Covid.

Philip’s writing is smooth and effective. However, his depiction of Cammie’s depression is not quite convincing. Though the characters are well portrayed the reader does not really feel involved with their fate and as a result the novel is rather disappointing.

An intriguing look into life in New York City for two artists: Tom, a pianist, and Cammie, a dancer. While I love reading about dancers and dancing, Cammie was the most selfish person and it was difficult to feel anything for her except loathing. Tom, on the other hand, had such a great story, trying to make it playing things he didn't like and hoping for the chance to play music he does. The story touches on the AIDS epidemic and then on Coronavirus but by them I was just so annoyed with Cammie that I didn't care anymore. The writing was excellent, however. It was just wasted on the most vapid of characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a dancer myself, the focus on the arts was a big draw initially but it had so much more to offer than that. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this to review.

This book has left me with a lot of thoughts and feelings to be sure. I found the writing to be captivating. Gregory Erich Phillips takes the lives of two people decades apart in age and weaves their story lines together beautifully. We see Tom, who has always wanted to be a classical pianist reaching for his dreams to be fulfilled in NYC. However, he is stuck in a Jazz cycle, working small jobs just to make ends meet. He escapes his life in the Bronx where his family was impacted greatly by drugs. All he wanted was to get out of that environment and make his dreams come true in New York. His story is beautiful. He is haunted by his past, saved by some precious people who enter his life, and changed as we see him continue to live among the many who are in New York chasing a dream.
We also follow Cammie, who moves to New York City when she is in her mid 30's to also chase a dream of dancing on Broadway. She also leaves behind family that is troubled and in poor health. She struggles to make it in the big city as well. She crosses paths with Tom and the two strike up a relationship that is both sweet and tender but also has the knowledge of not lasting for the long term.
We see Tom struggle with family issues with his brother that almost ends his dreams for good. He is struggling to survive during the 80's when AIDS hit hard, especially those in the performing arts. He sees first hand how people respond and react, even realizing some of his own misconceptions. Then 30 years later we see Covid hit hard. These are life altering issues that hit many in the hardest ways. This is a great story of the power of love and friendship as well as the need of family in our lives.
Some warnings to be aware of before reading this book: Racism, depression, suicide, AIDS, Covid, drug and alcohol abuse.

A mesmerizing book, centering on the lives of dancer Cammie and pianist Tom. The separation between them is not only in their age, but also their different paths, and how they both come to the same experience. In the setting of NYC, AIDS and coronavirus, this is an especially touching story.

DNF at 20%.

There isn't anything that stands out as necessarily bad about that book, but there isn't anything that stands out at all. The characters are fairly well developed, but they are boring people leading mundane lives. I gave it 20% and nothing of note has happened and it just isn't grabbing me.

A day in the life of a dancer and piano payer , span over the years , how they both made heir dreams come true , good read ,

In some ways, this is historical fiction, since it touches on multiple periods. The book has nice pacing, interesting characters, and good writing. There's some drama along the way. The focus on the arts and artists will be of interest for many readers. Recommended for literary fiction fans.

Thanks very much for the review copy for review!!

I am unclear if this was an un corrected proof, but one character’s spelling of her name changed at times from Elly to Ellie. I also found another type of he (hee).

Ending seemed abrupt after an interesting story that touched on performing artists, racism, AIDS and also a bit on COVID.

Given my love for musicals, this book drew my attention immediately. While there are quite a few clichés( the pianist's brother is not only involved with some drug design nonsense but also goes to jail? There are a lot of other conflicts people have!) , the book also some has some interesting things to say about not making it in the art world, and some surprisingly comforting insights about dealing with that. There are books and other works of art that have done this better, of course. The end of the book, where the author also devotes 2 chapters to the pandemic right now, are very astute- social distancing is necessary but it's only the privileged who can avail of that. There's also been a huge economic toll on artistes, and the writer deals with that very well, as one of the first few works of fiction to deal with the pandemic, it's great that so much space has been given to explicitly stating the economic inequities that ensure which people make and who doesn't. While the book really needs spell checking, it is quite a worthwhile read.

I enjoyed this book. Cammie is a dancer, trying to make a living in NYC. She befriends Tom, a pianist who plays in a local jazz bar. The story is about both of these characters, but not really about them together which I liked.

Tom definitely has the more interesting back story and I’d have liked to know a bit more about him and what happened in between the 80s and his time in the present day. I’d also like to have heard more about Charles!

Cammie is quite self centred, but most performers are. She rang very true to me! I felt her depressive episodes were rather trivialised when they could have offered actual help and advice which would have been more useful.

The descriptions of how coronavirus has decimated the arts industry was realistic and heartbreaking. We don’t yet know how well theatre and live arts will survive and the idea of a world without it is dreadful.

The book is well written and draws you in easily. I was keen to read and discover more about the characters and felt the story was truthful. It’s a gentle, impressive tale of the realities of performance and I’d recommend it to fellow performers or those who have family members in that world- as I do. It helps to give an understanding of the challenges faced by artists now and in the past. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

I wish this whole book was written from Tom's perspective. His story was compelling; his drive to be a successful classical pianist while fighting against racial stereotypes and the pressure created by his family had true potential. Instead, we only get glimpses of Tom's past while being held hostage by Cammie's perspective for most of the book.

Cammie is a dancer in her mid-thirties. She is incredibly entitled with a serious victim mentality. Everything that happens to her is someone else's fault and she measures everyone's importance by what they can do for her. While we get to experience twinges of character development, they're few and far between. Like when she notices her poor mother working construction to be the sole provider for the family may actually be more tired than she lets on. Or the incredible realisation that moving her wedding up so that their family couldn't afford to send her sister to an exclusive art program because she was jealous that she chose not to pursue dance may have been unfair, especially considering the success of her marriage. At times it almost seems that she forgets that other people are capable of feelings and emotions.

I did find the portrayal of Cammie's 'depression' to be the worst, if not most dangerous, part of the story. She self-diagnoses her depression and the narrative flows along easily, discussing the path her depression follows every time it happens. She hasn't been to see anyone, she's not being treated or in therapy or seeking help. And as soon as things start going her way again her depression is cured. It's the most entitled, superficial writing I've ever read about mental illness.

Phillips tries to contrast the AIDs epidemic in the 80s with the COVID-19 outbreak. This has some potential, especially with how both have affected the arts community, but the characters are too far removed from either disease to leave a strong impression. Instead, Tom having a gay friend and taking an AIDs test with him and Cammie observing an empty subway system in New York City makes them both seem more like spectators rather than true participants.

I'm giving my three stars to Tom and trying to pretend Cammie was an entitled bystander and not the main character.

An interesting book about performing artists told in different times from 1986 to 2020. The characters are diverse and appealing They live through AIDS and the COVID pandemic and the readers see how they are affected..I
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from.Lucid House Publishing through NetGalley. The opinions expressed a entirely my own.
# ASeasoninLights #NetGalley

Written by a true artist, Gregory Erich Phillips (A Season in Lights paints a moving picture of artists, dancers and musicians..
I really enjoyed this book and the book dealt with with the impact of coronavirus on NYC, and ends with a surprisingly tender and uplifting finale.

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this arc copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Two parallel stories of performers trying to make it in New York City. Their lives intersect at various points over 30 years' time, but the stories are split between Cammie, a dancer from a small town in Pennsylvania who needs to decide whether to try to make it in the city or return home, and Tom, a much older Black classical pianist who is stereotyped as a jazz pianist, and also has trouble finding work.

Tom's story is set in 1986, and involves a checkered past and the burgeoning AIDS crisis.
Cammie's story is set in present day and mainly involves her relationships with her family at home and her connections to the city. The last few pages of the book touch on the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

The beginning of the book seemed promising, but I felt too many issues were touched upon and not explored. To me, it created a disjointed look at the various lives of performers who come to New York trying to make successful lives for themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lucid House Publishing for the arc of A Season in Lights.

Cammie is a dancer living in New York in 2019. Tom is a musician who moved to New York in 1986. 30 years separate their paths as artists but the story is the same. Hard work that sometimes pays off and sometimes doesn't, achieving your dreams if at all possible, and realizing that it may not all be worth it.
Phillips tells a wonderful story with two story lines set 30+ years apart. These mirror each other so well and despite different tragedies, depression and dealing with drugs and drug lords, the two stories are so intertwined and done so well.
The third act still hits really close to home taking place in March of 2020 and I think in a few years time it may be a crucial reminder or what exactly it was like and who was hurt so much during this time. The social commentary that was included in Act Three was very well done and not overpowering but still standing out and being so necessary to tell the story.
A beautiful story that deserves to be read.