A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

1/5 - Not for me.

It's very difficult to rate this book so poorly because I can tell that the author invested heavily in this narrative. It is always unpleasant to leave a negative review for something so personal. However, I signed on to this site to provide honest feedback and unfortunately the reality is that this book was not for me.

Let's cover some positive aspects of the story first. It is quite atmospheric and rooted in some spiritual beliefs, which I am sure could resonate with some readers. I appreciated the main character's raw passion for his art and his love for his little sister - their relationship felt real and special. There were also some concepts which I found valuable - for instance, distinguishing between regret and guilt, as well as choosing to take ownership of one's life and where it might take them.

However, I had difficulty in connecting with the narrative and especially with the main character. Brandon felt very volatile to me and somewhat unreliable. His voice felt overpowering - even during sections with dialogue, the other characters used very similar vocabulary and speech patterns, which made me feel like I was experiencing a one-sided story. Often, it felt like there was an overabundance of detail which interrupted the narrative and for a band focused on being unique, there was a sense of judgement for any band or brand of music that was not like theirs. But ultimately it was the spiritual ideology I could not get on board with - the idea that we are all authors of our own life is one I am happy to get behind, but when characters made choices like not seeking medical treatment after an attempted suicide or claiming to have cured cancer through willpower alone, this completely snapped me out of the story.

I do think that this book was written with absolutely raw passion and I think the author has a gift for conveying intense emotions through his words. Given the general rating, clearly the book resonated with some people and I hope more people who read it find what they are looking for.

An interesting mix of story and philosophy. I also enjoyed this as a wanna-be musician. I'm sure this will make most readers think at least a little, if not a lot, which is a very good thing.

Thanks very much for the free review copy!!