Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review!

After reading the blurb for this book, I was already hooked. This book combined 90s rock n roll, an all-encompassing love story, an unsolved mystery, and the downfalls of fame. The main characters both have strong personalities and their own struggles. Going back and forth between the early 90s and late 90s, it gives you peeks into the childhoods & rise to fame of The Lightning Bottles while you also follow Hen & Jane on their excursions in present day. I enjoyed how this book gave you insight to how the experience of fame isn’t always what it’s made out to be.

I recommend to those who liked Daisy Jones & The Six. This is a more angsty version but includes the struggles of addiction and how artists pour their soul into the music making progress.

i...uh...didn't make it past the first few chapters. there's a HUGE "coincidence" at the very beginning that i simply could not get past. i wanted to like this so much, as i'm a huge music fan, but it seemed trite to me...maybe more YA than adult. totally DNF.

p. s. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Anyone who followed the 1990s Grunge/Alternative music scene will definitely enjoy this book. Jane Pyre was the female half of the wildly successful The Lightning Bottles, which she formed with her boyfriend, then husband Elijah. They met in her music AOL chatroom and bonded over playing music. Raised in a religious family, Jane sets off to Seattle to meet Elijah to start her career. After leaving his initial band to form The Lightning Bottles, Elijah is touted as the creative genius and soulful leader of the group - although it's Jane's writing and their collaboration that has made them so successful.

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley is a well written and very entertaining novel. It details the meteoric rise and drug ridden fall of many of these grunge musicians from the 1990s. Taking place in both 1999 and in the past, it details the connection the two musicians had and the viewpoint of a teenage fan who was lucky enough to see their last show in Berlin, before Elijah drowned in Iceland and is convinced that Elijah is still alive.

This book was so good! Maybe it's because I lived through that time, but I really enjoyed reading it.

The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley is a captivating mystery novel that pays homage to the grunge era. The premise is both intriguing and engaging: imagine if Courtney Love embarked on a journey through Europe with her tech-savvy neighbor to unravel the mysteries surrounding Kurt's death. While the similarities to Kurt and Courtney are not identical, the story keep me on the edge of my seat.

My thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Shuster for this arc.

What would you do as a teen if the widow of a supposed dead rock star moves next door to and you have information he still may be alive? Thats what Hen does when she befriends Jane Pyre and they embark on a girl's road trip.to find the truth.

Story is on 2 timelines. When Elijah and Jane meet in a chat room and achieve stardom, and present time with Hen.

I love the historical references:
1. Jane and Elijah = Curt and Courtney
2. Concert on the record company roof= The Beatles on the Apple Building
3. Singer tearing up St Francis pic=Sinead O Connor ripping up pic of Pope on Saturday Night Live
4. Dead rock star sending message = 80s film Eddie and the Cruisers

Really recommend for music fans.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. This book is a story of a grunge type band ( fictitious) in Seattle in the early 90's. It traces the start of the group- The Lightning Bottles, from their meeting in a chat room online, to their getting together , falling in love, achieving stardom and the fallout from it. When we first meet, Janet is living in Canada, with a super religious, restrictive mother. Elijah is in Seattle, in a band with his friends. They meet in a chat room and talk about music. Janet runs away when she turns 18, and travels to meet Elijah. They fall in love and form their own band. In 1994, Elijah , in the throes of addiction, is missing and presumed dead. While deemed a suicide, Janet, now Jane, is blamed by fans and media for not being supportive enough of Elijah. The second story line is set in Germany in 1999. Hen is about to turn 18 and is a big fan of the Lightning Bottles. Her mother has mental health issues and does not want to leave the house. Hen saw the last concert the Lightning Bottles in 1994 and has reason to believe that Elijah is not dead. I do not want to give away any spoilers, but the story lines go back and forth in time. It is not hard to follow, but it does bounce around a bit.It mixes real rock stars ( Bono) with fake, ( a stand in for Sinead O'Conner). It is rough and harsh and happy and exciting. It had me pretty much reading it straight thru, with some good twists and turns.It is very much for music lovers.

Music soothes the soul, gives you life long memories and tells stories that we are too afraid to tell ourselves. This book was impossible to put down and I found myself reading short passages as often as I could because Jane and Elijah’s emotional story kept me wanting more. Jane and Elijah were always meant to be together; they were soulmates, two halves of the same whole, like the lyrics and melody of a perfect song. Love, passion, and heartache fueled their creative juices which resulted in deep and personal lyrics that changed their lives forever. The more they wrote, the busier they became but all was not rosy in their real world. They were both battling personal demons that made it hard to leave the temptations behind. I cried when Elijah was struggling and I prayed that Jane could save him from the darkness.

Their haunting lyrics portrayed a relationship that was passionate and sweet, intense and sensuous.Their team of “advisors” thought they knew what was best for their future, and Jane and Elijah begrudgingly had to go along with them. Too many late nights, too much to drink and too many blinding bright lights brought an end to the happiness they had when they first met. Jane mourned for Elijah’s soul, and would never be the same without him. When she met a young girl, Hen, with an unbelievable story to tell, Jane thought she was losing her mind. Hen reminded Jane of her younger self; full of dreams, excitement and the desire to be free. What transpired was a spiritual and magical friendship as they took off on an adventure to find the truth about what really happened all those years ago. What will they find on their magical mystery tour as they follow the clues to an unknown conclusion?

Jane Pyre and Elijah Hart found each other across a fledgling internet as teenagers bonding over their shared love of music. When they form a band and are rocketed to fame, Jane's dream of her lyrics and Elijah's voice reaching the masses has come true. But there's often a cost to fame and Jane soon realizes it as the press helps create a public hatred for her while fueling Elijah's demons.

When Elijah disappears and the vitriol toward Jane reaches a fever-pitch, she retreats to a new home in rural Germany only to discover a teenage Lightning Bottles superfan next door, who is convinced that Elijah is still alive and wants to help Jane find him.

This book captured my heart early on when detailing the letters that Jane and Elijah were sending to each other. The fictional parallels to what was happening in the real 90's music scene was fantastic. Even though I could hear the songs in my head, I personally would LOVE for this story to become a movie/tv show to hear them outside of my head as well. Thank you to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-book copy in advance #TheLightningBottles #NetGalley.

3.5 stars. I'm a sucker for novels about musicians, and The Lightning Bottles offers an engaging Gen X version of the genre whose tropes include the power of music, the perils of fame, and the sexism of the music industry. Using a mix of real and fictional musicians (Courtney Love and Michael Stipe are name dropped, but for some reason Sinead O'Connor and Kurt Cobain are represented by thinly veiled versions of themselves), Stapley captures that confusing time in 1990s Seattle when musicians wanted to be well known enough to be appreciated for their art, but not so famous that they could be accused of selling out.

The arcs of talented, naive musician Jane and the charismatic but emotionally fragile Elijah are largely predictable, down to Elijah's jealous best friend and the Yoko Onofication of Jane. But the involvement of Hen, a lonely teenaged German fan, who encounters Jane five years after the Lightning Bottles' disastrous breakup, provides an interesting, fresh note. And the mystery of Elijah's fate is less obvious; I'm still not sure how I feel about the resolution.

The Lightning Bottles may not be striking enough to be adapted into a star-studded TV series like Daisy Jones & The Six. But it's enjoyable on its own, less flashy terms. And the song lyrics are only slightly cringe.

ARC received from Net Galley and publisher in exchange for objective review.

This is a delightful read that grabs you from the first page. Stapley's storytelling is engaging, weaving a tale that is both heartwarming and thought-provoking. The characters are well-developed, and their journeys feel authentic and relatable. While the plot is mostly satisfying, there are a few moments that feel a bit predictable. Overall, it's an enjoyable book that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good story.

This book was all I could have hoped for—I love fictional celebrity stories, and this one had both the 90s and a hint of mystery!

The plot revolves around the mystery of what actually happened when Elijah disappeared and it is handled in a way that makes you want to keep turning pages as you grow to love the characters more and more. I liked how the two timelines let us comprehend what they had gone through.

I was immediately engrossed in Jane and Elijah's romance since they were such likable characters. They battled each other as well as their own flaws. Jane's difficulties in particular struck a chord since she was a woman living in a society that was out to denigrate and loathe her. Jane is a fantastic character, and it was simple to feel sorry for and support her.

Apart of the romance and mystery this book takes you on a journey with this young couple and how they learnt to negotiate stardom, despite its harsh themes of drug use and suicide. The pervasive misogyny in the music business has been explored, shedding light on the challenges faced by female musicians in the process of creating their art.

This intriguing book captivated me right away, and if you enjoy 90s music as much as I do, you will be too. Without a doubt, I'll be reading more of this author's work soon.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A quick look into the grunge/alt rock time frame featuring a young couple that make up The Lightning Bottles ala Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. The very best part of The Lightning Bottles was Jane being reviled by fellow musicians, the recording industry to include her own label, and the fans - the overall accuracy of that moment in musical history is painfully spot on.

Jane and Elijah meet online, her from Canada, him from Seattle, Washington. They eventually meet up while still teenagers. This creates a YA vibe. But on the other hand, for those that lived through the 90's music scene there is a nostalgia here too.

The thing here is Elijah is the voice, musician, and face of the band while Jane is the writer and musician which is how she wants it. But Elijah is the one the public and press fall in love with. He is the one forgiven each and every bad behavior. In fact, in equal measures Jane is reviled and held responsible for Elijah. As in basically all music stories, drugs and alcohol take over until tragedy happens.

Fast forward 5 years and Jane is trying her best to hide from the public post disappearance of her husband Elijah. Moving to Germany's countryside, Jane finds herself inexplicably next door to a 17-year-old Lightning Bottles superfan name Hen. A connection between the two has them searching out clues to find what every happened to Elijah. The connection between the two women is tenuous for me as a reader but the adulation of a fan rings true.

The rest is told in a back and forth timeline from Elijah and Jane meeting to Elijah's disappearance and the addictions that ultimately destroy the band, music, and marriage. In the other timeline we read about Hen and Jane's following cryptic messages pointing to Elijah being alive or someone wanting them to think so.

The Lightning Bottles will appeal to fans of the grunge and alt rock genesis of the 90's who also enjoy a mystery wrapped up in a love story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books for an advanced readers copy electronically via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a very interesting and well written novel. I really like the introduction from the author, when she talks about her favorite female artists growing up in the '90s. I found it very relatable and refreshing because I also loved all the female artist she named, especially Shirley Manson. If you like Taylor Jenkins Reid, then you'll probably enjoy this author/novel. It's not my favorite novel I've read this year, but the overall story was captivating and held my attention.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. As a 90s music fan, the description immediately grabbed my interest, and I requested this ARC. I previously read 1 of Stapley's books. Some of the characters in this book are loosely inspired by actual musicians.

The parallels between Elijah and Jane with Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love are definitely there. Although the pair met online on some message board in 1989, I was somewhat skeptical of the timing. Jane leaves her strict church - attending mother to meet Elijah and start a new life. Elijah is in a garage band with his buddy Kim Beard and a few others. When Jane suggests a collaboration with Elijah - him singing & her writing the songs & them both playing guitar / bass, they become The Lightning Bottles. After suffering a devastating loss, the pair move to CA from Seattle and start playing small clubs & coffeehouse. By then, it's 1991. They get discovered and get an album deal. Just like that, they compare themselves to Jewel, who was actually discovered but lived in her car - but in real life, this wouldn't happen until 1993. The author took some liberties with timelines when mentioning actual bands / singers. Some of their success seemed to be too fast & easy.

Both characters struggle with drugs and alcohol addiction. It may be par for the course with rock & roll & drugs but these parts were less interesting to me than the December 1999 timeline, where we met Hen, a teenager and Lightning Bottles fan who meets Jane as her neighbor. The comic strip and the clues that led to the ending were more enjoyable and suspenseful to read. Elijah had been presumed dead for 5 years, but the evidence was very flimsy - at least to me as a watcher of daytime soaps & a vivid imagination. I was relieved with the ending, but the flashbacks started to get either tedious or uncomfortable. I enjoyed the 90s music and pop culture references.

TW for drug & alcohol abuse, misogyny in the music industry, and grief. 3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars. The book will be available on September 24th, 2024.

Thank you S&S and SimonAudio for review copies!

I really loved a lot about The Lightning Bottles, particularly the 90s vibes and the focus on family dysfunction, early 90s chatrooms (remember those days?) and the emergence of the Seattle grunge scene and the complementary, but overlooked, movement for strong, creative, women singers in the 90s. Stapley, for me, effectively probes the treatment of women in music and the misogyny layered into how women were/are treated in the music industry and brings in the added exploration of substance use, addiction, and the whirlwind chaos of life as a celebrity. The book for me intentionally brings back memories of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love but also for me leans into other famous music relationships (the yoko ono and lennon vibes felt real to me) and this 90s teen really enjoyed the parts of the book that explored this time.

What worked less for me, overall, was the "mystery" around Elijah's death and the role of the next door neighbor teen (she was fun, I liked her but I don't think the book needed her role and it felt distracting, particularly by the end of the book, her role changed the tone and style in ways I didn't follow). I also felt at times that the plot kept things fast and at the surface even with heavy and dark themes.... there was a lot to delve into here and perhaps a deeper dive would have been a much harder and darker read but at times I felt I was just getting the highlights, the best of hits record, without the richness of the whole story.

5 ⭐️ for the story but 4⭐️ for all the rest.
Getting a peek into the lives of those who become rock stars when they are way too young to handle the pressures is so sad because the result is so often true. A lot of the fallout of drug use/alcohol abuse, legal issues, and jealousy among friends is again played out in this novel. It does have two strong central characters which keep the narrative moving. The love/loyalty between them and the muse of creating music are really the focus. The fun part was recognizing other musicians and bands as they appeared in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

As a 90s girl, I really enjoyed this moody throwback to the early 1990s music scene! With the story featured around a musician couple and their almost star crossed fate, in settings such as Seattle, Berlin, and the coast of Iceland, it spoke to that inner high school girl in me. I feel like the novel was more YA focused, but it still works as a bit of a nostalgia trip, with an unsolved mystery at the core. With heavy themes such as drug use and suicide, it takes you on a trip with this young couple and how they learned (or didn't) to navigate fame. Highly recommend for music lovers. 1990s lovers etc.

At one point in life, Jane had it all. Half of a dynamic rock ‘n’ roll duo that had reached the height of the international music scene, Jane and Elijah seem to have it all. Then Elijah disappeared, and Jane has been left dealing with the aftermath ever since.

Hated by their bereaving fans, Jane finally moves to the country to get away from it all and find peace. She finds as a teenage Superfan, who is her new neighbor and insist that Elijah isn’t gone and has been reaching out to Jane for years. As the two set out to track down the messages from Elijah, they connect and the story unfolds even more.

I actually a little heartbroken while reading this. It really highlights the way that women are treated verses men and the music industry, even if it’s the woman who was the one behind the success of a group or duo. In the end, was greatly moved by Jane’s journey. This was a wonderfully written and thought-provoking read for me.

The book checks a lot of boxes for me: set in the 90s, grunge/alternative music scene, unlikable female MC, complicated family dynamics, blah blah. Unfortunately the execution kind of missed the mark for me.

It's clear to me that the author was taking a lot of inspiration from actual celebrities of this time, and I think that the main characters (Jane and Elijiah) were modeled a bit off of Kurt and Courtney. Okay, fine. The two of them meet in an internet chatroom as teenagers, fall in love, and form a band. How very 90s. From there, the duo experience a meteoric rise to fame in the rock scene and suffer the various pitfalls that you'd expect: alcohol/drug addiction, fame destroying relationships, etc etc.

The story is told in alternating time lines: past and present, so we ge glimpses into the early 90's when their band was rising to fame, as well as present day. In the present, we know that Elijiah is missing and presumed dead, and Jane has been on her own in the intervening years. Most people don't like her and blame her for Elijiah's death.

One thing that I do think the book got right, and that I appreciated, was the depiction of misogyny and sexism against Jane. It was interesting to be told how things really happened and contrast that to how things were perceived by the general public, espeically with fans basically blaming her for Elijiah's issues and eventual downfall despite it not having anything to do with her. (a la Courtney Love)

The main plot point of the book is that it turns out that Elijiah maybe faked his own death, and Jane (along with a teenage fan, Hen) set out to discover the clues he has been leaving throughout Europe (????) to lead her back to him. I wanted to be able to set aside how bonkers this is as a concept, but man, I couldn't. To be frank, <spoiler> the relationship between Elijah and Jane was toxic and I think it's weird as hell for the "love story" to be that he fakes his own death and lets her be miserable/mourning for FIVE YEARS only to then lead her on a wild goose chase across various countries to prove that she'll "always find him" or whatever the fuck. Okay??? Idk man this didn't strike me as romantic, personally. </spoiler>

I was also hoping for a bit more actual 90s nostalgia but for me this story didn't deliver on the "sense of time" that I expect from a story intentionally set in a specific era.

Giving it 2.5 stars because for whatever reason I was invested in Jane and enjoyed the beginning parts of the story (though didn't love how this story resolved).

Jane Pyre is a musician who played in the Seattle grunge band The Lightning Bottles years ago. When her bandmate and love Elijah went missing, everything went wrong. Years later she travels to Germany and surprisingly meets a young woman who claims to know what happened to Elijah.

I wanted to read this novel because I love fiction about music and about the rock world. The description of this book is very intriguing!

This is a compelling, stay-up-too-late-reading, sometimes heartbreaking read. I loved it and other rock fans - who also love brilliantly written novels - will too!