I loved how accurate Marissa Stapley got the 90's in the Seattle area! We truly lived in flannel shirts, boxer shorts over long underwear with long sleeve t-shirts under a regular t-shirt and Doc Marten combat boots. The music was amazing and it was so exciting to see local "small" bands become a huge deal.

Her references to how the artists and their music felt like it was ours is so great. It was heartbreaking to lose artists that influenced our life in a time before we knew what an "influencer" was. We just knew we loved their style and their music.

Her description of the chat room is so spot on. We barely had internet and it didn't do a lot. We truly had to call or write letters. It was just such a different time!

I flew through this book! I enjoyed skipping back and forth from present time to the past years to learn the entire story. The final clues and chase to Berlin were great. I liked that this book wrapped up with an ending that I enjoyed.

“She had actually believed that Jane Pyre and Elijah Hart were magical, immortal, pure legends. Better than anything. Better than human.”

This backdrop for this book is music in the 1990s, the grunge/punk rock era.
Elijah and Jane are teenagers when they meet and begins the rock ‘n’ roll love story everybody thought they knew, but nobody did

Elijah disappeared years ago he’s presumed dead, when Jean gets pulled into a scavenger hunt with a teenager who swears Elijah is still alive and leaving her clues in all the places that meant something to them.

I so enjoyed this book, it was what I expected and not what I expected, it is my first book by this author, and it definitely will not be my last. I really loved her style of writing, her characters and this book was so well researched, and the back-and-forth in time Was seamlessly written !

The Lighting Bottles by Marissa Stapley is a captivating book about a popular grunge band’s rise to fame and their downfall. A young girl’s obsession with the two musicians also gives the story extra flavor. If you liked Daisy Jones and the Six, I believe you will enjoy the Lightening Bottles!
Elijah and Jane, two teenagers with a love of music find their way to each other through online messages which ultimately becomes the beginning of their love story, fame and fortune. Life for them is amazing, but like many others during that time period, drugs and alcohol becomes their downfall.
Woven throughout the book is the story of a teenage girl with an obsession for the duo. After Elijah has been missing for over 5 years, she discovers that Jane has moved in next door to her. She also tells Jane she has proof that Elijah is still alive and so their quest to find him begins.
I loved this book with the relationships, music, fame and downfalls that it encompasses. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that you can’t put down!! Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC.

A kind of based on Kurt Cobain-Courtney Love what-if story. If you have no idea who these folks are, then this is a nice Nick Hornby-esque YA mystery in which a teen girl joins forces with a retired, fairly hated, half of a famous 90's rock duo. The book shifts back and forth between 1999, when the girl and the hated rock star are on the case, and several years earlier filling in the blanks of who the Lightning Bottles were and how they met.

If you do know who Kurt and Courtney are then it will be a much different book, one that is rife with nostalgia and references to the 90's Seattle Grunge scene. With all the mentions of real and made up musicians, some of the fun is trying to figure out if the made up characters are based on real people. Is Kim in the book based on Krist Novoselic? Is Mikey Churl based on Johnny Depp? And Fiadh Connelly is surely based on Sinéad O’Connor...

Regardless of familiarity and knowledge of the Grunge Era, this is a fun and interesting read. Interesting in how it puts a spotlight on certain inappropriate and hateful behaviors mainstream press engaged in that are surely no longer tolerated today but were seen as totally normal and accepted at that time.

One observation, at the back of the book are lyrics from the fictional band at the heart of the story. This is the second time where I have seen this recently, the other book being Lucky by Jane Smiley, which is the same title of this author's first novel. Strange coincidence.

Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

The Lightning Bottles is overall more successful in premise than execution. Jane Pyre is an incredibly complex, interesting protagonist in the vein of other female rock musicians like Courtney Love or Joan Jett, but she is continually failed by the story around her. The rise and fall of her relationship with Elijah and their creative partnership was compelling; what is less compelling is Hen and everything taking place in the best. And the ending? What an absolute cop-out. It feels like a fantasy. Jane especially gets a raw deal.

Jane and Elijah meet in a music chat room going on to become one of the hottest new bands. But fame becomes too much and they succumb to their demons, ultimately losing the pure love they’ve had for each other. And everyone, (read all males) are determined to cast Jane as the bitch and there’s no escaping the moniker. When Elijah disappears, presumed dead, Jane changes her life for the better, and is doing somewhat okay until she moves next to a young girl as her neighbor who may have proof Elijah is alive.

Yep- I absolutely loved this. Great story, great characters, great ode to the musical women legends of the 90s. The story was a little slow at some points, but overall I really enjoyed everything.

A rock and roll story, a love story, a sad story AND a hopeful story.

Jane and Elijah were meant to be. They met online and formed the famous rock bank the Lightning Bottles. After Elijah disappears in an accident or potential suicide, Jane is demonized and forgotten. When a young fan stumbles upon Jane she sets in motion a new search for Elijah and closure.

Where is Elijah? Is he still alive? If so, why did he leave.
It's a romantic story for any rock and roll lover.
#simon&Schuster #lightningbottles #marissastapley

WOW. I could not put this book down. I loved the grunge, rock & roll, music feel of this book, the darkness that can surround music & addiction, and of course the 90s! I read this book in 2 days. Wow. Even better than 'Lucky'.

3.5 stars

If 'Daisy Jones and the six' and a John Green novel and maybe 'The Notebook' got together and had a baby, this book would be it. The misunderstood teen who escapes her boring life to become something bigger. The rise and fall of a rock band. It's all in there folks.

I liked the book, and didn't mind the jumping back and forth in time. (Sometimes it can get confusing!) And I liked the characters ok enough, but my problem comes with the ending.

Overall, it was a good read.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

When I think of female rock legends: Chrissy Hynde, Courtney Love (love her or hate her), Blondie, Stevie Nicks, the list goes on.
The Lightning Bottles is a dedication to all of these female rock heroes, which is a fairly quick read (similar to her last book Lucky, which I finished in a day).

Essentially about two musical artists on a road trip, reminiscing about their lives, how they got here, and how to move forward. While it's an easy read, the characters were neither lovable nor did I hate them. Jane and Elijah share a lot of heartbreak and a familiar relationship trope.

I had high anticipation for this book, but it fell flat. I didn’t feel the sense of nostalgia that I expected. I didn’t really care about any of the characters. Could’ve been a really good read.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. It’s such a love letter to the rock/grunge era of the 90’s. Jane and Elijah were such a mess, but I adored them anyways. I honestly think this would make a great limited series a la Daisy Jones & The Six. I wish I could give the media and all the hateful people a middle finger for how they treated Jane. Misogyny is still so prevalent in today’s society.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you @Simon&Schuster and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #TheLightningBottles. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Fictional band/music/origin stories have been popular for a few years now (Thank you TJR & Daisy Jones) and I tend to like them, especially when it's set during a time I've lived through with music and/or bands I appreciate. The Lightning Bottles is a great addition to this sub-genre.

The book centers on Jane, a music loving teen with a religiously strict mom who thinks her music is sinful. She finds connection with Elijah, a like-minded musician, in an on-line chat room. Jane decides to pursue her dream and escapes to Seattle where she moves in with Elijah's family. They eventually start their own band, get a record deal and become famous. But Jane and Elijah struggle with fame and their relationship starts crumbling. When Elijah disappears and is presumed dead, the fans dislike of Jane intensifies and she retreats from the spotlight, renting a house in the German countryside where her new neighbor is a Lightning Bottles fan with an interesting theory that Jane has to pursue.

Set in the 90's during the emergence of the Seattle music scene, this is a story about the impact and importance of music; about the relationships that define us; and about fame - it's glory and it's destructive power. As always with these books, it's fun to speculate on what real life artists the characters are based on (loosely or otherwise).

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely loved this book while also finding it sad and I couldn’t put it down. So glad I came across it.

This was a delight to read for this 1990s teen with ties to Ontario. I really liked Daisy Jones and the Six but that felt like straight Fleetwood Mac cosplay. The characters in this book have shades and characteristics of real artists from the era but also stand alone as true fictional characters. The plot isn't groundbreaking but it is super charming.

3.0. Interesting story loosely based on some real life artists in contemporary music. Unique plot and pretty good character development. A little choppy as it continues to place the reader in different phases of the characters’ lives. Music, love, friendship, addiction, obsession, and loyalty are themes. Recommend.

My review is kind of spoliery, look away if you want to read this book.



I find it kind of funny that this book is dedicated to a lot of female rock icons and the main character is the most limp and washed out woman I've seen as a protagonist in a while. This book feels like it wants to be Daisy Jones and the Six, right down to a good samaritan saving the alcoholic character in a bar seconds from relapse, but it's not. Jane's entire personality is Elijah. At any moment she is considering his feelings above hers. The entire book is her trying to shoulder his addiction as she succumbs to hers. She has no one else in her life except Elijah. I guess you could say her manager, but it's only implied they have a friendship. None of that is shown. In fact, we don't even get to really examine Jane's life outside of Elijah. She spiraled into addiction, got better. Then, I don't know, moped around for a bit until Elijah decided to pop back in to her life. Then she takes him back, no questions asked? Your partner faked his death for five years and that doesn't even warrant a serious conversation? Therapy? Yikes girl!

This book is a quick read, and if you're mildly nostalgic for nineties music you might enjoy it? Or you like train wrecks?

Jane is alone and bereft since her husband Elijah went missing (presumed dead). When she ends up next door to a teen who is convinced she has seen recent art by Elijah, Jane doesn't believe it. Through flashbacks, we learn how this famous musical duo met and fell in love, and how they were parted. Can they ever be reunited? Soapy and satisfying, fans of romance will adore it.

I absolutely love this author and everything she writes. This book....I devoured like all of her others. Thank you so much for the ARC!