I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the novel. It was somewhat predictable, but it was a fun read.

What makes a book a five star read? Five stars are for books I am thankful for. Books that draw me in; give me characters who are complex, unique and make me wish I knew them personally. Five stars are also for books I can’t put down because I become so invested in their story. This Bird has Flown is a five star 🌟 read.

Jane Start is technically a one hit wonder. Ten years earlier she released a cover of a song by superstar Jonesy. What followed was a a viral record, video, and instant fame. However, when she did her follow up album, her star began to fade. This Bird has Flown is a story of the cost of fame; the struggle to cope with the imminent fall; all interwoven with a powerful love story.

Susanna Hoffs clearly has a way with words, given the unforgettable songs she has written, and this book is just as good. I fell for Jane, Pippa, Will and Tom. actually all of the characters. Their characteristics were so clearly written I felt I could see them in front of me. I felt their pain, joy and hope. I highly recommend this book and fingers crossed there will be others to follow.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the opportunity to read and review this arc.

THIS BIRD HAS FLOWN is an entertaining, charming read with real and fun characters. I loved the witty humor and the style of writing. I so appreciated that instead of following the money, fame, and security, the main character Jane follows the path where she feels free and can spread her wings. And how appropriate that Jane and Tom meet on an airplane. What a delightful debut for the author!

Many thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Do you remember the Bangles? How about lead singer (and co-founder) Susanna Hoffs? What a surprise to find she has written a novel—and a charming one at that.

The lead character is Jane Start, 10 years past her one hit, a cover of a song by a big star named Jonesy, and seven years past the unsuccessful album of her own songs. As the story opens, she’s now reduced to singing karaoke at a Las Vegas bachelor party, which must be rock bottom, right? Definitely, if you add to it that she has recently broken up with her cheating boyfriend.

Pippa, Jane’s longtime London-based agent, gives Jane a ticket to London and, on the flight, Jane’s seatmate is Tom, an Oxford professor. On that long overnight flight, there is a connection between them.

There follows several months in London and Oxford, full of romance and making new friends in Tom’s Oxford world. But there are threats to Jane’s happiness, in the form of an old girlfriend of Tom’s, and an offer from Jonesy that sounds great except that Jonesy is the ultimate unknowable control freak. (And seems clearly based on Prince.)

For quite a bit of the book, the Jane character disappointed me. For a woman in her early thirties she seemed way too easily overpowered by her emotions and lacking in any self-confidence. But she grew on me, especially in connection with the many other well-drawn and winning characters. The storyline also plays out with ratcheting tension in Jane’s personal and professional life, which kept me compulsively turning the pages.

An unexpected bonus is Hoff’s brilliant descriptions of the enchantment of music and performance.

One hit wonder Jane Start hasn’t really performed in ten years, is not only broke has recently split with her boyfriend. But her manager/friend hasn’t given up on her and gets her a gig at a bachelor party. Afterwards, with nothing else, she decides to stay with her manager in London. On the flight there, she meets Oxford professor, Tom Hardy, and there are sparks. What follows is a new life in London, possible performance on stage, but both she and Tom have secrets that may ruin this budding romance.

This is a music industry rom-com, that I enjoyed reading. This debut novel written by former Bangle – Susanna Hoffs is a pleasurable trip behind the scenes of what it is like to be a popular musician, but more important what it is like to be human.

I thought the concept for This Bird Has Flown was really interesting, but I just couldn't really get immersed in the novel as much as I had hoped. Regardless, I do think it's a book that patrons will enjoy, so we will be purchasing for the collection.

This Bird Has Flown follows has-been one-hit wonder Jane as she leaves a pathetic show gig to stay at her manager’s place in London, hoping that things will turn around for her and she’ll be able to write some new hit songs. Only, on the flight over, she meets Tom, who in the shadow of her breakup with her longtime boyfriend Alex, looks like a very interesting peer to Jane and steers the novel down the track of a light hearted Rom-com.
I expected this novel to be a quick read of amusing scenes that flew by, but I found myself struggling with this. Jane seemed like a likable character at first, but her decisions as the novel went on were frustrating (how many red flags did Tom drop and yet Jane still moved in with him after just two weeks?) and the side characters were only there to help funnel Jane towards the discovery of the “big lie”, rather than help flesh the novel out. It was irritating to see even the novel focus more on Tom and what he was hiding than on Jane’s endeavor to write a new song and get her flailing career back up and running. Even Jane’s stage fright, which was the perfect climax moment to string throughout the plot due to her agreeing to a large concert showing, wasn’t really pulled from that often in favor of wondering about Tom’s ex Amelia.
I’m not saying I expected extremely well rounded characters, but the interactions between so many of the characters themselves along with Jane’s highly questionable decisions made this book much more cringy than fun to read.

I enjoyed this smart, sexy, emotional romance between a newly-expat American singer and a British professor, from Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs, who knows all about the vagaries of pop stardom. I felt at times like it could have resolved a bit more quickly, but the characters were interesting enough to keep me engaged. The local scenes in Oxford really shone.

A solid first effort from Susanna Hoffs! No doubt that she is extremely talented, and this book was super fun, but it just didn’t click 100% with me. A mix of women’s fiction and romance, the love story is pretty depressing at the end of the day, but I did enjoy the look at the music industry from someone who certainly knows her stuff.

4.25/5 stars! What a fun, exciting, and unique story. This reminded me a lot of the movie "Music and Lyrics." Sometimes you're just looking for inspiration for the next big song. That's where Jane is at the start of this hilarious contemporary romance. I was even more excited to learn the author is a singer herself. Nothing like life mimicking art . This was one of those books you can't put down because you're laughing too hard to stop.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Jane Start used to be a household face and name, but in the intervening years, her star has descended. It's been a week and she's endured a rather humiliating experience at a Vegas bachelor party. Jane hops on a plane to London, where she'll lick her wounds with her best friend. On the flight, sparks fly with handsome Oxford professor Tom and heartbroken Jane begins to hope. Fast forward two weeks and Tom *finally* texts Jane. They fall into a fast and furious love, but Jane can't shake the feeling Tom is keeping something from her and all evidence points to that fact.

This modern tale modeled on Jane Eyre was adorable, funny, and alluring. The characters were easy to care about - Jane was broken in all the right ways. I loved her relationships with Pippa, Will, and Tom.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I look forward to reading more novels by Susanna Hoffs. Check it out now!

Hoff writes in a lyrically wonderful style. I thoroughly enjoyed this peek backstage in the music business and her portrayal of a female in the industry who has the possibility of a comeback (in work and love!) without sacrificing who she is now.

This was a fun, sexy, sometimes silly romp in the life of a thirty-something one hit wonder, Jane. Her life is in the dumps, playing at a bachelor party in Vegas, when her luck begins to change--meeting a flirty rock star, kissing a handsome Oxford professor on a long plane ride, and possibly getting a chance to share her music again at a highly publicized concert. What could go wrong? The characters really shined in this story--I loved all the quirky characters. The story sometimes seemed to wander a bit, but I was there for it. I really enjoyed this one!

A delicious debut by singer, songwriter, guitarist and now novelist Susanna Hoffs.
Hoffs mixes music, romance, sold-out concerts and adventure as the reader traverses through the world of Jane Start. Once famous for covering a song by Jonesy, a world famous songwriter, she has been reduced to living at her parents home and playing karaoke in bars. When an opportunity is presented by her manager Pippa, Jane is heading to London. In transit, she meets a handsome professor and is enamored instantly. Inspired, her life is about to take an unexpected turn and a much unexpected connection!
Highly recommended and fun to read.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and Little, Brown for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

As a woman who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I wanted to love this book. I struggled to connect with the characters and some of the writing felt disjointed for me. There were some scenes that were fun, but ultimately, there were aspects of the story I just couldn't get on board with. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am sorry to say that I liked the IDEA of this book more than the book itself. It felt like a series of somewhat amusing incidents that didn't quite hang together as a novel. If Hoffs were to write another book I'd be interested in taking a look, but this one didn't work for me.

Lots of appealing plot elements but the book felt kind of wordy. Some scenes were overly descriptive and then I couldn't remember "how we got here" in other sections.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

From the first page, Susanna Hoffs drew me into the magical world of Jane Start. Part rock star diary, part engaging rom com, This Bird Has Flown offers up delightful characters, a delicious story and a feeling that you can’t shake off when the last page has turned.

I enjoyed the storyline, but overall felt the book was a bit too long and could have used some plot editing. Fun plot with some holes. TW: casual sex, foul language,

This Bird Has Flown has the bones for a superb debut romance novel - a meet-cute, insta-love in first class between a once-famous musician who has now hit rock bottom and a classically handsome Oxford professor of literature named Tom Hardy (nope, not that guy nor the other one), a second chance at love and life, taking back your identity and finally pursuing what you want. Unfortunately, it missed the mark... quite a bit.

I will chalk up my disappointment and negative reading experience to the advanced copy I was given. It's riddled with grammatical errors and strange non-sequiturs - the opening line had a misplaced comma that made me wince - and I think (read: strongly, strongly hope) maybe I was either sent the wrong draft or there will be a final pass that eradicates all the wrinkles before publication. But sadly, I don't think a final grammar check will take care of some glaring writing issues.

This is Hoffs' debut novel and I applaud her for it. Truly. It's terrifying to put your work out there, especially if it's semi-autobiographical (just basing this off a ton of similarities between the FMC's tumultuous music career and her own career as a co-founder of The Bangles), so it's a huge accomplishment to gather the guts to even pitch to a literary agent. Like I said, the bones are great. Casual romance readers, romance readers who prefer light literature, or die-hard fans of Hoffs will love this one. It's a promising start for Hoffs.

...I just didn't like anything about it. I almost DNF'd maybe 20% in but I liked some elements and just had to know how it ended even though I already knew. The writing is stale and reads a bit cringe-y. There's nothing likeable about any of the characters. Most of the plot is unnecessary. And unfortunately, it's really, really boring.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* I hate, hate the insta-love trope and I didn't enjoy how it was combined with the zero-communication trope here, which I also deeply loathe - the FMC is visiting London as a sort of music retreat and 2-3 weeks after meeting this dude on a plane (and the bulk of these 2-3 weeks he basically ghosted her, then invites her to move in after one date. ONE date!), falls completely in love with him, actively ignores some glaring red flags (mysterious phone calls, being vague about his past relationships, etc.) and when she finds out he was engaged, months away from the wedding but called it off because he met her, she still chooses to be with him?! Well, you've made your bed, I guess. Good luck.

It's a great effort from Hoffs and there's nowhere to go but up from here.

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: April 4, 2023