I really enjoyed listening to "Taylor: Era by Era" on audiobook. I'm a total Swiftie, so I loved the play-by-play of each era, along with the background information. The narration was great and easy to listen to, and I loved the additional details. If you're a Swiftie, this is a must-listen!


Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own!

I didn’t know much about Swift before reading this. It was well written and well narrated. For an unauthorized biography it painted her in a good light, only talking about a few things that were not positive.

Calling all Swifties! I was so excited to be approved to listen the the newest unofficial biography of Taylor Swift on Netgalley!! Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the opportunity, and what a great way to start off June's Audiobook Month!

Taylor is two years older than me, so I've grown up with her music and her story. Though this has evolved over my lifetime, I really love Taylor Swift's music, and I appreciate her as an artist. In my blog, erinkellyreads.wordpress.com, I go deep into my journey with TSwift.

"Taylor: Era by Era" tells the story of Taylor Swift's career from her very first ideas as a child all the way to the release of "The Tortured Poet's Department". I knew a lot of the events that happened throughout the book, but the beginning was really interesting to me because I had no idea that Taylor wrote most of the songs on her debut between the ages of 12-15! I was writing bad fanfiction at the time, not writing songs for a seven time certified platinum album! After the release of her debut, each chapter is titled after one of her eleven albums with each sharing what was happening around the creation of each album all the way through reception and touring. I enjoyed learning more about the business side of Taylor - she clearly is a smart businesswoman, and it sounds like she has been since she got her start. The end of the book touches on the release of "TTPD" and Taylor's romance with NFL tight end, Travis Kelce, so this must've just wrapped up for publication in the last few weeks.

Something I enjoyed about the book is that her various boyfriends across the years were barely mentioned. Mostly, they were brought up in connection to other things such as meeting John Mayer when he tweeted at her to work on a duet with him, or writing music under a pseudonym like she did with Calvin Harris and Joe Alwyn. In fact, even though we briefly mention the all important red scarf of "All Too Well", Jake Gyllenhaal's name isn't even mentioned. These men are part of Taylor's story, but it is Taylor's story. By not focusing on the hype or the speculation about which songs are about which people, we get to focus on Taylor's songwriting, evolution, and business acumen.

It is easy to tell that the author, Caroline Sullivan, also likes Taylor Swift. She writes about her accomplishments with praise, and, there were even some times where I felt she let Taylor off the hook about some of her missteps. However, because Sullivan is also a fan, it made listening to this book feel just like a conversation with a friend about Taylor, her songs, and her story. Even the bits with quotes from the industry, good and bad, or facts and figures were easy to digest and connect narratively.

The audiobook is narrated by Katelyn Levering, and she had a tone that sounded like a combination of a girl you'd meet in line at the bathroom before The Era's Tour meets Ms. Mojo (and I mean that as a compliment!) She was very engaging, and she helped keep the pace swift (pun intended). Just a note to future listeners - Levering reads this book with an American accent, but the dates (and some verbiage) were clearly written in a British vernacular. It threw me the first few times, but I did get used to it.

Overall, this is a great book for those that are interested in learning more about the history of Taylor's Swift's career through the lens of her musical eras. Whether you're a full fledged, friendship bracelet trading Swiftie or just a casual fan, you'll find something to like with this audiobook.

"Taylor: Era by Era" comes out on June 6th (while Taylor herself is performing The Eras Tour in Milan!), and you can get your copy in print or audio wherever books are sold!

Very good look into the growth of Taylor Swift as an artist, businesswomen, and person.. Although this is an unauthorized biography, it is still complimentary, as opposed to unauthorized ones that tarnish the person. The narrator is easy to listen to, although some of the British terms used in the book can be initially jarring.

As a swiftie, this was nothing new but I was very curious how Sullivan would handle the subject matter. It's quite matter of fact which makes it less "biased" if anything can ever be unbiased. Now I do want to point out that once again, there is a large focus on her relationships which I'm a little disappointed by because this is a Taylor Swift biography, not a Taylor Swift's relationships account. The same way, it doesn't actually follow along each of her eras which this book promised to do and made it slightly confusing even to someone who knows a lot about her. I just feel like it was missing what drove and still drives the woman to get where she is (heartbreak isn't a reason) and why we love her so much, what makes her so popular. Interesting for people who don't know anything about her but it feels a little incomplete even then.

Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the ARC of this audiobook. I love Taylor and getting to listen to a play by play of her life and each era was really entertaining. My biggest pet peeve was how the author organized her thoughts into eras but still continued to jump around. It was really confusing and it felt like a collection of unfinished thoughts.

I'll be honest. I've never been a mega fan of Taylor Swift. I know that is almost like blasphemy. However, I DO genuinely respect her as a songwriter, artist, and entrepreneur. Let's face it. Worldwide, she has conquered the music industry, breaking Ticketmaster when tickets went on sale for the Eras tour. She's a songwriting genius, all but singing her diary. She is a master with words, shaping lyrics and concepts in new compelling ways. To top it all off, every bit of her songs connects to people, places, relationships, and things in her life, leaving the listener with easter eggs and hints of who or what might be the real life subject of each song. Her life, tour, and albums have cause more starstruck fans than the Beatles or Elvis. Her versatility alone has allowed her life and music to be catalogued in "eras", granting her audience individual artistic, aesthetic theatrics for each one. And it all came together in her 3 hour non-stop Eras tour. GENIUS.

This unauthorized biography reads somewhat like a magazine article, taking the reader chronologically through the different eras of Taylor's life, beginning when she was 11. The book sheds light on her rise to fame, beginning with her writing her own songs with a guitar in her room and being bullied at school to her most recent studio album hitting no. 1 in 25 countries. Author and music journalist, Caroline Sullivan, charts Taylor's journey from country starlet to pop music phenomenon, including her high profile relationships and the stories behind her songs.

I bet if you are already a Swiftie, you probably know all of the facts disclosed in this biography. But you should check it out anyway and I know you will!
I listened to the audio version of this upcoming book and enjoyed discovering new facts I did not know about T.S. It was an easy 6 hour listen and I found it to be engaging and extremely interesting. Katelyn Levering does a beautiful job in this reading.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Caroline Sullivan for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not a traditional Swiftie, but I've been reading everything I can about Taylor Swift because I'm fascinated with her as a cultural phenomenon. Even though she seems like a completely normal young lady, stories about her are really interesting. I enjoy the personal stories, like how supportive her family has been, and the stories about her smart business decisions.
Taylor Swift has made a huge impact with her music and she's in turn used her wealth to make an impact on individuals and local communities. Even from a young age, she had a vision about how she wanted to portray her music. This book is interesting, too, because it goes through her life by time periods. The narrator sounds like an enthusiastic friend telling me all these interesting stories, which is great. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

Thank you to Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed listening to this Audiobook. In my opinion it was the PERFECT balance of giving lots of background on Taylor; but not going overboard.

I loved how each chapter was a different Era, and explained how it came to life, and what was going on during that specific time of Taylor’s life. It provides lots of insight into what was going on, when she was writing each Era.

The narrator was upbeat and great! I also really loved that this book included the first book commentary I’ve read on Taylor and Travis Kelce, as well as TTPD.

I think any Swiftie will enjoy this book, and the nostalgic ride down memory lane, through each and every Era.

Being a swiftie i absolutely love listening to this audiobook. The narrator did an amazing job plus the things mentioned were so interesting to hear and know about my favourite music artist.
I absolutely love this audiobook.

I loved how informative this audio book was and thoroughly enjoyed the narrator of it as well. Taylor Swift is such an impressive icon and I'm glad that little girls/teens have such an amazing role model to look up to.

Taylor Era by Era- Caroline Sullivan
Narrated by Katelyn Levering

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧

I don’t normally listen to biographies. It’s not my chosen genre to listen to, but I did find this Taylor Swift biography interesting. I enjoyed hearing about her journey through the music industry and it was sort of like going down memory lane for myself as well because as she went through each era, I was reminded about where I was in life at those times. I liked how up to date it was. There were mentions of event that’s happened literally only two-three months ago so this is probably the most accurate biography currently that exists about Taylor Swift.

Audio 6h 53m Dreamscape Media

It's probably going to depend on how big a fan of Swift you are and how long you've followed her to know how you'll react to this book. There's a wealth of information in this book that even I, as a relatively new admirer, knew, but also a great many details of her business and recording sessions that I didn't. To be honest, while I found much of it fascinating, there were also sections where I suddenly realized my attention had drifted and I needed to go back and listen again. I found this more of an issue when various albums/songs and the dates and numbers of release and charting were tossed out in rather rapid sequence than throughout, however. What can I say? I'm not a numbers person. The addition of how family support helped Taylor was a great inclusion.

It was great to hear the breakdown of her songs/album lists, including how hard Taylor Swift works to make her fans feel included. I found the section talking about how, as much as Swift tries, it's impossible for her fans to really know what she's feeling on that stage. It spoke of the isolation entertainers may feel when, quite frankly, their usual view is of only a few rows and then endless rows of probably bouncing light from cell phones during performances. I believe it said it was Jon Bon Jovi who once invited fans (and a music reporter) on stage for a brief set, the reporter noting that overwhelming feeling of realizing how many eyes were watching, even while acknowledging all eyes were surely on Jon, not him or the others. Nice touch by the author to help fans sense of a bit of what it's really like.Although I've never attended a Swift concert in person, I must say her ability to make it seem cozy and like she's speaking directly to you come through well, showing how hard she really does work. Loved the quip about how she handled needing to, gasp, blow her nose during a performance.

I'm not going to try to detail the contents, there's just too much and it's probably about as up-to-date as any publication can be at any point given Swift's, well, swift writing and release of new albums, usually with little advance notice. Narrator Katelyn Levering does an excellent job with a book that is heavy on info that includes lots of dates and numbers (ie numbers sold, competitive album numbers, etc), and comes across as someone who probably admires Swift. Her tone seemed gushy in sections but was probably appropriate given the words she had to speak and fans will have no issue with it. Chapter changes and titles are simply announced and then the narration continues. Do note, however, that this is titled an unauthorized biography. That means the author technically wrote it without Swift's assistance or even permission. While I'd call the book quite positive, it does delve into matters such as her contract issues and things like the Kanya incident and supposed snub of Celine Dion and the negative press they garnered, matters perhaps not best handled in such detailed but brief bits for the youngest of Swifties. For older fans, however, these little revealed aspects may prove fascinating, so it's an "it depends" note, I guess.

Bottom line, although I'm rating this a 4 star based on the sheer amount of info and up-to-date coverage, as noted, there were moments where I pretty much zoned out. There were also, obviously, more moments where I found it quite informative and thought provoking. I also liked that the author made a point of noting the positive impact of Taylor Swift tours, from simply bringing people into cities for the shows to, say, the financial benefits of bringing in people who'd eat, drink, and shop, not to mention frequently rent hotels rooms for the shows. Like the Swiftie nation, this author also seems to have Swift's back, even while sharing some not quite positives. Thanks #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for allowing me to drop in and give this an early listen. As a late comer to fandom, I appreciated all the new material and the author's attention to detail, a trait she seems to share with Swift.

I’ve been a Swiftie since day 1. I thought I knew all there was to know about Taylor Swift. This book had information I didn’t know. It was interesting and factual. I enjoyed it very much! Thank you to NetGalley for the early access to listen to the audiobook! The narrator was very interesting to listen to.

2 ⭐ 4 🎧

DNF @ 22%

An okay look at Taylor's life, but not quite what I was looking forward to. Likely because this is "unauthorized" but it's very factual and feels like it was simply compiled magazine articles by a mega fan...

My other complaint is that it's titled Era by Era, but it felt so back and forth. Travis is mentioned in the very beginning for instance. I love Taylor, but I'm not a super fan, so the constant time jumping was very hard to keep track of...

Narrator did a great job and was easy to listen to.

This was an interesting audiobook. I really liked the narrator and thought she did a great job.

I enjoy Taylor Swift’s music, but I don’t know that much about her early career. This book was a fun way to get to know her better. The book goes through the different “eras” of her life. The book jumped around a lot in the timeline, but it was still easy to follow.

I recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants to get to know Taylor Swift better. If you are already a big fan, you probably won’t learn anything you don’t already know.

I think the narrator did a great job. Her voice was easy to listen to. I’m a huge Taylor fan so I was intrigued. I felt like I already knew 97% of this from the internet and growing up with Taylor. But I still thought it was interesting. And some of the statistics and facts did surprise me. I felt like the facts where kinda all over the place at times but I did enjoy it.

Well narrated. Simple and straight to the point.
Did feel like a lot of information you could just google or find on Wikipedia