Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for an ARC of "Taylor: Era by Era"

As a huge Taylor Swift fan I was thrilled to get a copy of this book and wanted to see if I would learn anything new from reading it.

This book is chock full of interesting facts, tidbits, and quotes from Taylor herself I hadn't heard before. The author comes across as being a fan of Taylor, but it doesn't shy away from her harder eras and some more difficult topics (that line in "Picture to Burn" anyone?).

But that said, I did find that the book had some superfluous details I didn't think were necessary (I'm not super interested in how many Taylor's first guitar instructor was paid per hour over 20 years ago).

Overall, a great read for fans of Taylor!

I have been a Taylor Swift fan since the first time I heard Teardrops on My Guitar in 2007/2008. I'm not a huge Swiftie, my Eras were Fearless and Speak Now and then I just kind of followed the singles. There are still a ton of songs I've never even listened to (I'm planning a project to change this though). After last minute being invited to go to the movie theater to watch The Eras Tour movie, my awe of this woman has just grown exponentially. I've been live streaming her tour stops for the surprise songs and TTPD setlist (since the European times are much more manageable to an east coast US'er). I've been watching every tour video that comes up on my social media. Taylor's kindness and genuine excitement for what she is doing and for her fans is just amazing.
My own experience aside, I learned a lot from this book. I never followed her closely. I saw who she dated, some feuds she had, but I couldn't tell you who most people think a lot of her songs are about (besides the big ones) or the easter eggs she's dropped throughout the years. It was so fun to learn about her early years. Really all I knew was that she ran around Nashville handing out demo CD's. There is actually a lot in this book about her younger life before her debut album. It really highlighted the effort she put into this dream she created for herself when she was a preteen. This book goes in chronological order of her albums with a tiny bit of jumping around to earlier or later times that may connect to each era. It went into detail about not only her albums, but significant things that were happening in her life at the time. Things that were really important to her such as single handedly writing her entire Speak Now album because people didn't think she could write her own songs. We hear mention of several of her boyfriends, but they play a minimal part in the book. It is speculated who a lot of her songs are about, but also quoted several times that Taylor does not and has not said who they are about.
There are a ton of articles quoted along with sales numbers and where albums and singles charted, but it all fits in well and really seems like someone talking about their favorite celebrity rather than a list of quotes and numbers.
The audiobook narrator made this biography feel like a talk with a friend rather than a recollection of someone's life. While she had a slight (US Midwestern?) accent, her voice was so pleasant and again, like talking to a friend. It really seemed like she was a Swiftie excited to share all this information.
If you are a hardcore Swiftie, there probably isn't much here you don't already know, but if you are a middle Swiftie like me, you might learn a little bit from this book and become an even bigger fan! No matter your Swiftie level, this is a fun Taylor Swift biography!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I pride myself on being a Swiftie and knowing a lot about her, but I learned so much about her history via this biography. It was well written and informative. The audio was great and I really liked the narrator.

One thing I learned and found to be fun, was the fact that the book mentions that her and Hayley Williams were and remain friends to this day ... .and Paramore (fronted by Williams) opened for Taylor in part of her Eras tour in Europe! What a cool “full-circle” moment.

I love that the book touched on the 2020 elections (and her influence on the amount of voters that registered and showed up), her songwriting during the pandemic and her love for her fans.

AND TTPD being included in this, including some theories…..YES! Thank you!

This was such a fun biography. I recommend it for anyone who loves Taylor as much as I do!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of “Taylor: Era by Era” via audiobook.

I am a self-proclaimed "Swiftie" from the beginning and remember following Taylor Swift as soon as her first album was released - finally feeling as though a country artist understood what I was going through and was able to put it into a song. I feel as though I have grown up with Taylor Swift and therefore felt majority of the information was not new to me, I felt it was well organized and did a good job of giving the reader/listener a better understanding of her story from the start. Overall, I really enjoyed this audiobook and would highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I am a self-proclaimed Swiftie, but even I wanted a more critical look at TS' biography. Rather than stating all the facts and everything Taylor has accomplished, this book worked to turn people into fans. Taylor's accomplishments are remarkable but I found myself rolling my eyes at the author TELLING me how remarkable it was. Overall it's good information but felt too biased.

When I first saw Taylor: Era by Era, I was extremely apprehensive to pick it up. I'm a huge Swiftie, having been listening to Taylor since the *other* version of Picture to Burn was on the radio. I have I heart ? and Id Lie on my iPod somewhere. I'm literally going across the world to see the Eras Tour in a couple of months. I thought this book would go one of two ways-either it would be a shallow look at Taylor Swift's career that couldn't possibly touch my years of acquired knowledge, or it would be judgmental and critical, possibly weirdly invasive.

I'm so happy to say that this wasn't either of those things. Even with my decades of fandom, my constant Tik Tok scrolling, and my days worth of watching grainy Eras Tour Live streams, I was happy that this was a delightful look into Taylor Swift's career. It wasn't anything groundbreaking, and it's not like it's a direct interview with Taylor herself, so it's nothing super shocking, but I quite enjoyed the little details and more in depth looks at things I didn't know. I've never been one to follow deeply into events in her life, so it was good to get some background on certain events.

If you're a new Swiftie and want more of the 'lore', I would definitely recommend this. If you're someone that doesn't *get* the Swiftie craze, you can just read the Prologue. If you're a die hard Swiftie, most of this book won't be revolutionary, but it's not a bad way to spend a few hours between the pages of a book with Taylor.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review from NetGalley.

Informative and enjoyable even for those who don’t consider themselves “Swifties.”

Going into this book, I didn’t not have any intentional knowledge of Taylor Swift. I thought by reading I could get more understanding into why so many either love her or hate her.

I better understand now why Taylor Swift is looked up to by so many. Young people who feel ostracized have a connection to others through the environment, ideals, and music. Her fan base excludes a sense of inclusivity and kinship. I can easily see how someone who enjoys the music and is looking for a place of belonging could land in the community of Swifties.

I never thought I would say this, but after reading this book I believe Swifties and Juggalos are similar in more ways than not.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of “Taylor: Era by Era”.

I am a Swiftie myself and as soon as I saw this audiobook I knew I had to request it! Even though I knew most of the information already, it was lovely to listen to it again before going to the eras tour. The narration was great as well. Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook and would definitely recommend further.

Caroline Sullivan wrote this unauthorize biography of Taylor Swift's life. She chose to stick mostly to known facts and not digging into extreme gossip, which is respectable under the circumstances. I have grown up with Taylor as a constant, from before she was known, to her opening concerts locally, to her topping the charts, to her being the mega successful business woman she is.
Katelyn Levering did a great job narrating this. I am 99.9% of the time a romance reader, but this was a nice change of pace for my workday.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this.

Huge thank you to Dreamscape Media for the gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed getting to dive into this audiobook. I thought the narrator did a wonderful job. The information was great but there wasn’t anything in it that hasn’t been seen before.

I really did love learning that her parents considered naming her Shelby and that’s my name. My parents considered naming me Taylor. I also learned she had Doberman’s growing up and so didn’t know that. I also have Dobermans. It was fun to find similarities with Taylor 🥹 but I enjoyed seeing her early career and where it is now.

The title does state that it is Era by Era but it felt like it jumped around quite a bit.

Although none of this information is new to me as I consider myself a veteran swiftie, it was nice to listen to and the narration was well done.

3.5 stars
I think this book is a good resource for people unfamiliar with Taylor Swift and want a compilation of info, instead of having to scroll down the Google hole. It was a bit repetitive and out of order/sync at times and glossed over a few things (Olivia Rodrigo & Scooter Braun). Lastly, unfortunate choice of narrators. The midwestern accent was incredibly pronounced.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advance audiobook copy.

I don’t typically read biographies. I am more into a memoir since I love hearing straight from the person themselves. However, when I saw that there was a new biography on Taylor Swift, I had to read it to see if there was anything included that I didn’t already know. This book definitely included some information that I wasn’t previously familiar with, which is great, considering it’s an unauthorized biography. But overall, I felt like the book wasn’t told in a way that made a lot of sense. It constantly went back and forth throughout her life, which really made it difficult to follow. If you didn’t know a lot about Taylor going into this book, I’m not sure you’d have a clear picture of her by the end. It wasn’t a bad read and definitely was a quick listen, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone. The narrator was enjoyable to listen to.

So, I am someone who really likes Taylor Swift, but I'm not sure I'd consider myself a Swiftie. There's a lot of things I don't know about her and her music which exclude me from that group. This book Is for people like me! I finished feeling up to date on her start, her journey, her ups and downs, and the drama she's been involved in with other celebrities. .

If you are a Swiftie, this book is also for you. You are someone who wouldn't want to miss a biography on her, and this book so detailed, I'd bet to say you would still benefit from reading it.

This book was really interesting, well written and the narrator for the audio version was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC.

A straight forward accounting of Taylor's rise through the music world. Not a lot of fluff which I like.

I don't have experience with reading celebrity biographies and wasn't sure that starting with an unauthorized one was the best plan but my adult daughter is a Swift fan, friendship bracelets and all, so I thought I'd give it a go and see what it is all about. I even own a CD of Fearless though I haven't listened to it in years. But I do remember that I liked it.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a good job. The bio contains interesting info for someone like me that doesn't know much of the Swift history beyond the Fearless album and her currently dating a pro athlete. And I did remember the 'Me too' incident and was proud that she took a stand. But most of the info in this bio was news to me. To the avid fan, I'm not sure how much would be new.
What this bio gave me was a greater appreciation for Taylor as it showed her brilliance as a singer/songwriter but also it showed her grand ability as a show woman, business woman, her grit and determination to gain her goals and her perseverance. She deserves to be a star. She earned it with her work ethic and natural talent.
I also learned that I preferred her persona in the earlier years when she was being the role
model for other teenage girls before she got more gritty but I also haven't listened to those later albums so maybe I'd appreciate them more if I did.
Anyway, I enjoyed listening to the bio. I found the jumping back and forth in the timeline confusing but decided I didn't care enough to go back and set it all straight in my mind. It was an entertaining listen. And I think I'll dig out that Fearless CD...

*I received an audiobook through NetGalley and voluntarily chose to review it.

Swifties! This book is for us! I really enjoyed this book and all of the information was well researched and organized. The audiobook had great production and the narrator was a good choice. Perfect for any Taylor Swift fan!

I loved this audiobook. The author, Caroline Sullivan, did an excellent job of chronologically exploring Taylor Swift's career. As a swiftie, I appreciated all the details about Taylor's early career in country music, and then how she gradually transformed into the pop icon she is today. I also really liked that this was an audiobook since it was non-fiction. I find it hard to read non-fiction books, but the intimacy and captivity that the narrator provided in the audiobook were perfect. It is clear the author did her research and presented it in an easy-to-read style, which I appreciate. Another thing I enjoyed was how Caroline Sullivan used anecdotes to provide us, readers, with more insight into Taylor's journey as an artist.

The book "Taylor: Era by Era" is a beautiful look into the many "eras" of Taylor Swift, and how she has become who she is today (a major pop-icon). It's very inspiring.

Anything Taylor Swift gets 5 stars. I loved every second of this. I highly recommend this to everyone

🎧 Taylor: Era by Era by Caroline Sullivan
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: June 6, 2024
Narrator: Katelyn Levering
3.5/5 stars

Swifties fans everywhere should definitely listen to this unauthorized biography. It is all about the iconic star Taylor Swift. The author explores each album/song and explains what was going on in her life and the significance of each in relation to her life and relationships. My only complaint is the order. There is no order. The author jumps back and forth. I would have loved a chronological timeline so it would be easier to understand. The narrator did an amazing job of capturing the audience. Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy audiobook.