This was an absolutely delightful debut novel - such an immersive experience of the indie music scene of the 2000-2008 era (as we all now know, the best we'd ever have) via the adventures of Percy Marks, a 20-something Berkeley student and future struggling music writer/influencer scout. There are so many references to bands that defined the era (Panda Bear, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Shins, Interpol, Pulp). If you had Brooklyn Vegan, Tiny Mix Tapes or Pitchfork set to your homepage during that era, you will love this novel set in the Bay Area and NYC! The cover art in the form of a mixtape with the chapter headings is absolutely brilliant. I also had a sneaking suspicion that there should be an accompanying playlist for the novel and I was right, the author created one here. I have been thoroughly enjoying this playlist ever since I turned the final page and said goodbye to Percy & Joe! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ZN7YF1Kn24S2kaEGF5JOz?si=b4f96a5ec5f14d2a

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t for me. I am roughly the same age as the main characters and found a lot of what they discussed and listened to to be relatable but they were both off putting and kinda snobby. The pace was slow and it wasn’t a book I was excited to pick up and read. With that said, I do think a lot of people will love this and I’ll still be recommending it.

Deep Cuts feels like perfect Xennial bait. Berkeley, the year 2000, Percy and Joe are college students who both love music. Percy isn't a musician herself but Joe is a songwriter and deeply enamored of Percy. This sets off a series of events that will carry Percy and Joe through their adult life.

A book about love for a thing (in this case, music), a book about the time it's set in, a book about the complexity of ambition and passion. Perfect for readers of Jennifer Egan.

Solid 4.5.

If you’re looking for a pure rom-com, this is not the book to read/recommend. Deep Cuts almost has a gritty Gen X vibe and reminds me of the movie “Reality Bites.” It is an excellent, well-written, thoughtful novel.

I do not have words for how much I love Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley. It perfectly captures what it means to love an art form—whether it’s music, movies, or books—so deeply that it becomes central to who you are. The decade-spanning relationship at the heart of this story felt so real, so raw, and so profoundly moving.

And the playlist? Absolute perfection. It led me to some beautiful new musical discoveries that made the reading experience even richer.

This is currently my favorite book of 2025, and it’s going to take a lot for something else to dethrone it.

Deep Cuts was a gem of a novel. I am someone who gets lost in music and is passionate about it, but has no talent. This made me relate extra hard to some of the feelings our FMC was having. The author did a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the era. It is one that I’ve been itching to have encapsulated in more stories. I’m typically not a love story gal but I loved how this one was done. Our main characters go on their own self discovery journeys that just so happen to intersect rather than being completely entangled for the entire duration. This story felt unbelievably REAL and I absolutely adored it for that.

Highly recommend this book! Excellent music references, a lot of nostalgia, and a lot of heart. Definitely one I will be recommending to all my friends!

4.5 stars.
I fell right into this book. I was so attached to the characters and was glued to the pages, wanting to know where their lives would take them. Would they find success? Heartbreak? Friendship? Themselves? Each other?

Holly's writing was beautiful, lyrical, and relatable. She painted very clear images of the scenes in my mind using songs as a foundation. I actually found myself listening to the songs as I read the specific chapters. It was really captivating. It was a story that made me look back and think forward.

I enjoyed this novel, though I felt a bit old for it - I think it would have hit differently it had I read it 5-10 years earlier. I've heard it compared to Daisy Jones and the Six, but in some ways it reminded me of a lower-stakes Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - three best friends with evolving romantic attachments and a shared passion for media (music rather than video games). It also reminded me a bit of The Light We Lost, another romance with 9/11 as an interpersonal inflection point.

I appreciated the window into these characters' lives and passion for music - I'm someone who loves books (obviously!) but has never really gotten other forms of art, so that was fun, and I expect this will resonate even more with folks who love it as deeply as Percy, Joe, and to a lesser extent Zoe do. I hope that when it's published, there's a playlist that goes along with it

IT'S ME, HI, I'M THE PROBLEM, IT'S ME!!!!!! Deep Cuts written by Holly Brickley was my first DNF of 2025 at 30%. First and foremost, reading is subjective, please be respectful because not everyone is going to LOVE the SAME book. If you don't like my review or rating, please kindly keep scrolling, if you agree with my opinions, that's great, I'm so sorry you didn't love this book either, but I don't think that's going to be the case, I might be the outlier here. I was so excited to read Deep Cuts because I had seen so many raving reviews and I saw this book was being compared to Daisy Jones & The Six, but unfortunately that wasn't the case for me. I'm disappointed I couldn't finish this book because I love getting my hands on musical novels. I couldn't really get into the story at all, the pacing was so slow for me, maybe I wasn't in the right mindset, I don't know. I often found myself dozing off and getting bored. I couldn't connect with the characters on a deeper level, I could only relate to their love for music. I'm not bashing this author, not the book, and not the readers who loved this book, Deep Cuts just didn't work for me at all. Please don't let my review discourage you from reading this book because I know many people loved this book and many others will love it, but these are just my own opinions. To anyone that picks up this book next, I hope you have the best time and love it way more than I did.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND CROWN PUBLISHING FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!!

"A perfect song has stronger bones. Lyrics, chord, and Melody. It can be played differently, produced differently and it will almost always be great!"

"The chorus of Fast Car by Tracy Chapman is the most moving musical moment of the eighties." -I can definitely agree with this quote, obviously I wasn't around in the eighties, but in 2025 this song is still a massive hit, but I loveeee the country version by Luke Combs, it's such a bop, especially with the windows down and your hair blowing in the wind, with the volume up on the radio, screaming at the top of your lungs.

I think the two main characters in Deep Cuts were great people, but like I stated before, I just couldn't connect nor resonate with them other than their love for music. I think music has a beautiful way of connecting people with each other, it can often bring you a new friendship. Where do I ever start with the two main characters, Percy and and Joe? Percy Marks is an English major at Berkeley. Percy has absolutely no musical talents, but she loves music. I think many people will connect with Percy, but I just didn't like her to be honest, I often found her to be very rude and snooty with those around her. Now, let's start with Joe. Joe Morrow is a "fuck my feelings" type of person, his mom was diagnosed with melanoma the summer before he started high school and she died Labor Day weekend. Joe also attends Berkeley, but as a political science major. Percy and Joe met at a bar when "Sara Smile" by Hall and Oates was playing on the jukebox, and Percy decided to over-analyze the song which she has a quirky talent for. Joe was kind of okay-ish, again, I couldn't connect with him either. I'm going to stop my review right here because again, I didn't finish this book as it wasn't working for me, so I hope y'all have better luck with this book than I did.

Deep Cuts is about a high school trio — Percy, Joe and Zoe as they grow up, go to college and enter young adulthood. Joe and Zoe are a couple in high school, but the book centers around the relationship between Percy and Joe throughout the years. Joe is a musician and Percy is an aspiring writer and together they collaborate on music and more.
I have no idea why this reminded me of THE IDEA OF YOU, but it did for some reason even though the story lines are entirely written. (This one has much better writing and it is really impressive for a debut.)

Ok, this probably would have been a 5-star debut for me if I read it in my 20s. But as a 40-something reader, I had little tolerance for the musical pretension and general pretension that these characters exhibited. Yes, I remember that phase of life and sense of being and I am so happy it passes! But I think that is part of the author’s point here? She really depicts that phase of life perfectly. The opening scene is really well done and made me say, “Alexa, play Sarah’s Smile by Hall and Oates.” I predict this one with be a hit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC! 4.5/5 rounded up.

I absolutely loved this book. I found Percy to be sometimes insufferable, but I appreciated that she seemed to have genuine introspection and development throughout the book which made her less irritating (lol).

It was so wonderful how Brickley wove in so much music history and songs—I now have several songs to listen to, too.

I’ve seen this compared to Daisy Jones and the Six but this blows that out of the water for me, it was much more complex and emotionally deep in the best ways. It felt unique and like a breath of fresh air—I haven’t read anything quite like it. I love that we got to follow Percy through so many years of her life.

I’m not sure that Percy and Joe would truly make it but I like to think they might (and I like that the ending gave me that chance).

I can’t wait for more from Holly Brickley!

This is a sophisticated love story based on music. We follow Percy through her life as she connects, disconnects, and reconnects again with her musician friend Joe. Most of the time Percy is a hot mess as she navigates her way through life and growing up. This is a well written romp from San Francisco to Brooklyn as Percy pursues her graduate education. Then she heads back to San Francisco to continue her life of writing about music and a little song writing. The music references were plentiful, and this was an enjoyable read. Great debut novel. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Deep cuts is part love story: right person, wrong time. We follow Percy and Joe through college, their twenties, grad programs, the rise of indie stardom, and their respective relationships. Their relationship with each other is messy, they’re best friends, collaborators, and despite their ups and downs, they always find their way back to each other.

Deep Cuts is also deeply nostalgic. It reminded me of the thrill of being in my teens and twenties, finding a new bands to obsess over, small venue shows that were the absolute best.

At times I found the characters to be incredibly frustrating, but I had a lot of fun with this one overall!

This is a solid 3.5 stars. While I was hoping I’d love this one as much as The People We Keep and Songs in Ursa Major I thought this one got too bogged down in technical music terms and indie music songs and musicians. Percy was definitely a flawed character which I usually love but I didn’t love that her life revolved around Joe. I felt like she was a bit too needy in relationships even with Zoe. I really wish she would have found the strength to branch out and do more music for herself whether it was song writing or producing. Ultimately, the push and pull of Percy and Joe’s relationship of will they won’t they had me hooked.

Are you a millennial that loves angsty musicians and uber smart FMC's? Then this book is for you!

Deep Cuts follows Percy and Joe through his rise to stardom and her journey to creative independence. Can one exist without the other? Can their friendship and complicated feelings towards each other survive the strain of their egos? We have some seriously flawed characters and I ate it up!

Although Percy struggles socially, it's clear her and Joe speak the same language. In fact, he has some noteworthy one liners.

Exhibit A:
"I have a boyfriend"
"Fuck him," he said. "I'm your boyfriend."

Exhibit B:
You don't know how insufferable I can be."
"Come over," he said. "I want to suffer you.

This energy... I rest my case.

The musical references were interesting and relative to the story. The perfect balance of knowledge and obvious passion. Zoe, let's give this lady a round of applause. Bless her soul for dealing with the chaos and being the true friend Percy needs through her uncertainty. Deep Cuts is in a lane of its own greatness. It's smart, introspective and captures the messy 20-somethings with a fresh take. How is this a debut?! Absolutely excellent. Coming to you 2/25/25!

I requested this book after hearing a podcaster rave about and largely really enjoyed it! I liked the messy main characters (love interests) and the fact that their journey was not a straight line (not remotely!). I liked that the author didn't stick to the usual romance/romcom tropes - this book truly felt fresh and different in an genre that prides itself on reliability and pretty rigid standards. Deep Cuts does stick to the big genre requirements for the most part, but the author really pushes the bounds of the genre, and I can appreciate that. This is a play on the 'friends to lovers' trope, but again - not a straight line. The reader really feels the tension and build up but also understands the up and down that happens - it's not manipulative of the reader, and it makes sense for the characters.

The thing that keeps me from giving this more than four stars is the thing that I think some people will LOVE about this book - there is SO MUCH music talk. I get it! It's called Deep Cuts. It's about people who are music people! They are deep into music, so it makes sense that there is an abundance of music content. But it got old for me - in the beginning I didn't mind that I missed some of the references, but by the end I was skimming these sections. I do think if you are a music fanatic like the two MCs, you will get so much more out of this book than I did, and I got a lot out of it!

Overall, I recommend this one and am thankful to Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

When Percy meets Joe in college, she has found her musical equal. The two can talk tunes all night long and when he shows her some of his music, she immediately critiques it and lets him know what needs to change. The two become a dynamic musical writing duo. When they leave school and go their separate ways, the two are still connected and Percy wonders if Joe is holding her back.

Ok there was a point in this book that I happened to be reading at the hair salon and let me tell you I went from calmly reading to full blown RAGE. Like seriously I got so freaking mad, it was actually kind of funny in the end. If you have read this book you likely know what part I am referring to. Anyway, I love music and reading how these two took mediocre songs and made them great was so much fun to follow along with. This book is so unique and I really enjoyed every single second of the read!

Thank you to @crownpublishing for my gifted copy of this book!

Thank you for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a classic tale of best friends that also have feelings for each other. But set against the backdrop of indie music in the 90s and 00s was especially clever. I was about the same age as the main characters in the story and the nostalgia was wonderful. If you enjoy romance or music, this is a must read!

This is a debut novel???? It’s absolutely fantastic from beginning to end. I happily give 5 bright shiny stars to this fantastic book.

Bravo Holly Brinkley for writing my favorite book of 2025! Every other book I read this year will pale in comparison to this love letter to friendship and music.

Percy, Joe and Zoe are decades younger than I am and I could relate to everything they went through. And the songs! So many songs that I hadn’t thought about in years, and a few I’d never heard before, were immediately played on Spotify as I read. Do yourself a favor and listen to the Deep Cuts playlist as you read the book. You can thank me later.

This book is for all of the music lovers and friends out there. It’s truly a stunning debut.