My next 2025 read is yet another advance reading copy. How lucky can I get?! This one is described as a dramatic love story on the backdrop of music. Given I had adored Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity” and David Nicholls’ “One Day”, Holly Brickley’s “Deep Cuts” sounded quite promising, original, and right up my alley.

I was immediately drawn into the narrative as well as the incredible music references, even when those references were about bands and songs I did not know. That says a lot about the quality of the writing. The passion for music and especially for lyrics and their impacts on life was so well described that it brought me back to my youth, my teenage years, and even my early twenties, when I often lived life and reflected on my existence through lyrics.

The title “Deep Cuts” can be taken in so many different ways throughout this novel. I found it to be such a perfect title, much more complex than I expected. Brickley nails the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of going through life, and going through love, even in its different versions. It’s impossible to read this book and not be inundated by a barrage of personal flashbacks.

The real magic of “Deep Cuts” lies in the development and evolution of the main character, Percy Marks, and our accompanying her on this particular excerpt of her life’s journey. So many errors made, so many lessons learned. There is no such thing as a perfect life, just as there is no such thing as a perfect song. But Holly Brickley certainly captures the essence of that quest for musical, lyrical, and life perfection in “Deep Cuts”. A very solid debut in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book - what a cool debut for Holly Brickley!

Percy and Joe are each annoying on their own, but when you put them together, they become completely infuriating... and for some reason I couldn't get enough of it. The story is layered in the best kind of sexual tension, except that it stems from a shared and deeply rooted passion for music <spoiler>(and of course later becomes truly sexual tension)</spoiler>. Zoe is the BEST character; she's also annoying, but she has a way about her that seems to negate the general annoyingness of all other characters whenever she enters the room.

I suspect that someone with less connection to or knowledge of music might find it a bit challenging to relate to or connect with the driving forces behind this story. But for anyone who loves music, I would recommend checking out this book when it is released on February 25, 2025!

Content Warnings:
- Toxic relationship
- Infidelity
- Sexual content
- Drug use
- Alcoholism

I'm not always a fan of love stories where there's a lot of miscommunication and wrong time, right person plots, but as a millennial, I could totally relate to the 90s/2000s music appreciation/love letter that was this debut book. If pressed, I would say it was a mix of One day x Daisy Jones x The lightning bottles, and while it might not work for everyone, I enjoyed it a LOT! Told from the POV of aspiring music critic, Percy, the story starts when she meets aspiring musician Joe in a dive bar where they bond over a shared love of music. What follows is a love story for the ages that spans years as the two navigate career success and relationships with other people only to find themselves always getting drawn back to one another. Good on audio narrated solely by Jayme Mattler. I really liked this Canadian debut and look forward to reading anything she writes next! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @librofm for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

<b>The First Cut is the Deepest</b>
<i>An advance review of the Penguin Random House Canada / Doubleday Canada Kindle ARC (downloaded February 3, 2025) of the upcoming hardcover/eBook/audiobook (February 25, 2025).</i>

If you've followed my book reviews for any length of time, you'll know and understand why this would be a 5 star rating for me. Holly Brickley's first novel <i>Deep Cuts</i> is obsessively and deliriously about music and the people that perform it, the people that listen to it, the people that analyze it and write about it. But I'll also admit that this book may not be for everyone.

Aspiring writer Persephone (Percy) Marks meets aspiring songwriter / musician Joe Morrow in Berkeley in the year 2000 and over the course of several years their paths will intersect, break apart, come together as careers diverge and converge. Between them is Joe's one-time girlfriend Ella Turner who is there to build bridges and support as needed (she was actually my favourite character). A fragile songwriting partnership is formed over time, but there are resentments and jealousies as well.

<img src="https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/481185180_29573188622279875_2759981055479186660_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=B_4rWjAn8j0Q7kNvgHMmMvj&_nc_oc=AdjHAIfHXAlucp0A8Xch_tXCzZLE-oVLMhL6doVzBHQ0GAiJ85ooqcqpzmIh8HHpvHc&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&_nc_gid=AYZWTPn4TtB9P5nn6z4DCLS&oh=00_AYCUNAHOLDMvcsAqTOuPYD5t4e88oAirjDrjb98awcQ5bg&oe=67BCDC6A">
<i>The highlights of the "Deep Cuts" playlist as displayed on the book's front cover. Image clipped from a screenshot.</i>

If you are the type of person that can be obsessive about the music they love, then this is the book for you. Others may have to approach with caution, but there is still a human story of loss and connection here regardless, and about the pathways which either bring people together or break them apart.

My thanks to the author, publisher Penguin Random House Canada / Doubleday Canada and NetGalley for this advance reading copy of <i>Deep Cuts</i> in exchange for which I provide this honest review.

<b>Soundtrack</b>
There is a complete playlist of the 120 songs which are "every song mentioned or alluded to in DEEP CUTS by Holly Brickley" which you can listen to on Spotify <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06LlT6TbNiVxRnnSrVi74T">here</a>.

<b>Trivia and Link</b>
There is an interview with author Holly Brickley about her novel <i>Deep Cuts</i> which you can watch at the Literary Prospects YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5o4Dq2OCY4">here</a>.

Oh, boy.
I probably should have DNF'd this when I wasn't connecting to anything, but alas I have an internal drive to know what happens with my own eyes and also an everlasting hope that I wind up liking something. I mean, no one goes into a book hoping that they won't like it.

I couldn't connect with the writing. I couldn't connect to the characters. I just did not like the majority of this, really. I was incredibly intrigued by the musical aspect to it, to the premise, and to the idea of exploring the need to be heard through a lyrical lens over the course of years. It just wasn't for me.

From reading other reviews, it seems like if you were a fan of Daisy Jones & the Six (which I wasn't the biggest fan of, I suppose that should have given me a clue. But again, ever hopeful and always willing to give something a chance), then you might be into this. If the summary pulls you in, and the more than a few glowing 5-star reviews pulls you in more, then I hope that you love it as much as those folks did!!

This is one of those books where I just feel too stupid to fully appreciate it. Music is a huge part of this story, and I knew that going in, but it was a lot heavier than I expected. I adored Percy and the idea that we use music to gain clarity on ourselves, but her constant, pretentious tangents deep-diving into music critiques made my eyes glaze over.

That said, the romance was so addictive! It all begins in the year 2000, when Joe asks Percy for feedback on his song. What follows is years of a passionate, complicated, codependent partnership. Their dynamic is intense, very push and pull, and borderline obsessive. To be honest, I’m not even sure I liked them together. But it was so compelling! I ate it up.

I’ve been seeing this compared to Daisy Jones & The Six, so if you liked that one, definitely give this a try. I know there are readers out there who will fully appreciate everything this story has to offer!

I'm on the fence about this book. There are things about it I liked, and things about it I disliked very much. Ultimately, I think I enjoyed reading it more than I didn't. I always enjoy a sort of more adult coming-of-age story (i.e. starting from university age vs. younger characters), and I have a real fondness for my own university experience, so that aspect of the book appealed to me greatly. Like the main character, Percy, and the author, music has always been hugely important to me, and my guess is we're the same age, so the musical references all resonated with me. The story interested me enough and I cared about the characters enough (even while I didn't necessarily like them all the time!) that I genuinely wanted to see how the book would wind up. But yeah, about those characters. Maybe it's because it's not the 2000s anymore so I'm no longer a twentysomething, but the characters often made bafflingly stupid and frustrating decisions. Most of the time, they were obnoxiously pretentious. I bristle at the idea that there's some objectively "correct" opinion about something as subjective as music, but the characters in this book sure acted like that was the case sometimes! Also, sometimes the book felt disjointed when it veered too far away from the plot and too far into the music criticism/blogging. Like, I'd be happy to read a book of the author's music essays, or I'd be happy to give another novel by her a go, but this felt like two books in one that didn't always cohere for me. I really had trouble connecting with Percy the influencer whisperer or whatever that was supposed to be. As for how the book ended up...I'd be lying if I said that I didn't know from the beginning how things would go. For most of the book, I wished that it wouldn't go that way, and I guess the (faint) hope that it might not helped to keep me engaged. When it inevitably ended the way I knew it would, I guess by that point I felt the characters might have done enough growing and reflection that MAYBE I don't completely hate it? But I think I still would have preferred a less predictable ending. But I get that people read this sort of thing for wish fulfillment and escapism and certain tropes, so I'm probably in the minority here. All in all, I'd say this book is worth checking out, with the caveat that if you're not really into music and especially indie rock of the 1990s-2000s, you'll probably want to skip this one.

I received a copy from NetGalley and I'm willingly leaving a review
TRIGGERS: sexual assault, F/F kissing and touching, exchange of favors via M/M fellatio, drugs.
It's a weird, very slow, disconnected story. I was lost most of the time and disagreed with probably 80% of the decisions that were made throughout. At 42%, the book explains itself: "I find myself wondering what the point is. It feels a bit scattered. We don't even have the focus...". I did love Raj's last email to Percy.

I really enjoyed this book. I can't believe that it's a debut book. This is a mash up of Normal People (write couple, bad timing) and Daisy Jones and the Six (set in the world of music, and music making). I highly recommend this book to any music lover.

Thank you to Doubleday Canada and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. I highly recommend this book to any music fan.

Best book so far this year. Although it is early in the year, this will be the marker that all other books this year will be measured against. The way Percy used music to measure the moments and milestones of her life really resonated with me. How she was so socially aware, and yet in many ways unaware of herself and how others viewed her. The first person point of view worked so well for this story because of that lack of awareness.

I often find it difficult to write a review for a book I liked this much and this viscerally. As if I, like Percy, feel like I'll be judged for coming off too strong or opinonated.

But this is a book worth reading. For its dark and somewhat obsessive love story. For the songs that play such a huge part in the narrative. For the growth arc in not only Percy, but those around her. Also, if you know any of those songs as well as I do, you'll be stuck with at least one of them in your head at the end. Not that that is a bad thing.

Thank you for the ARC book of Deep Cuts. The relationships between the friends was interesting with their interest with music.

It was an interesting read! I liked the writing style and how each chapter flows into the next. The characters weren't that interesting but the story captivated me.

Deep Cuts is the kind of book where you want to strangle the characters at every turning point yet you're so enthralled with their lives you can't stop reading. Holly Brickley breathes life into the 2000s college scene and each character is so unique you feel you're really there with them.

I quite enjoyed the autobiographical writing style (it kept making me think, did this actually happen to someone?) and all the music references.

The ending feels like a deep breath after a long journey, I loved how cathartic it made me feel.

Deep Cuts is a wonderful debut, I would devour anything else Brickley can come up with.

The novel is about a young woman, Percy, of college age, who is trying to find herself, her place in society and her vocation. Her superpower is the ability to analyze and talk about popular songs, though she has limited to no ability to play music. She is drawn to music and to Joe, the singer in the band Caroline. Joe and Percy collaborate on songs Joe is writing. The improvements catapult the songs and the band, though Percy and Joe seem to never really happen.
I enjoyed reading this book. The story felt autobiographical. The details of college living, partying and how the music becomes the wallpaper of those times, was bang on! I loved how the protagonist stumbled upon her potential fulfilling career, how Joe and Percy realized to what depths they needed each other! This is a great book by a first time author! 4.5 or 5 stars.

Rating is hovering between a 3.5 and a 4

To begin, this is an impeccable debut novel. Holly Brickley nails the atmosphere of the early 2000s (I think? I was merely an infant during those days) and the malaise of feeling nostalga for a life that you're currenty living.

We all know someone for whom music is a transcendent experience - they never just listen to a song, the evaluate it, pull it apart, and try to inhabit the mind of the people who created it. This is a story about a person like that.

The main character, Percy, would eat sleep and breathe music if she could (it could be argued that sometimes she does actually do this). And yes, sometimes that makes her a pretentious drag in conversations (She is very aware of this fact). And yes, sometimes it can alienate her from people who are just trying to connect with her. But it's her passion. Percy is nothing if not passionate. And sometimes the tiniest bit self-aware, thank god, or this book would have been truly insufferable to read.

Sometimes, though, Percy's passion can cause issues in her relationships. It hurts people and pushes them out of her life. But it also sometimes reels them back in.

This is a love story between her and Joe. It's also a story about loving words and music and being and loving messy people.

It's a story of two people who are growing and changing and trying to figure things out (and yes, sometimes they are insufferably pretentious in the way only college students in Califormia can be). They're trying to reconcile these changes with their relationship with each other and what exactly they want from each other - even to the very last page.

I really enjoyed this story and think that it's for people who like messy love stories about messy people (that is absolutley steeped with nostalga) who take a long time to come back to each other and figure their shit out. I think this book can easily be the next Daisy Jones or Normal People.

3.5⭐️I went back and forth between thoroughly enjoying this book and feeling like I was reading a convo between college students who aren’t self aware enough yet to realize they don’t actually know everything.

I love the chemistry between Joe and Percy. Both on a personal level and the way they create together. I love Zoe and I do get the comparisons to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow as it had similar vibes to me, but to me missed some of the magic by getting lost in the music rambling at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author Holly Brickley for the advanced reading copy, all the opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy of Deep Cuts.
This book is not entirely my type of book. However, there is a market for this book. The connections made to songs was fun and made the reader nostalgic for memories of their own, Some of the references brought memories of my own, others just great music.
The book drags on starting at about page 80, but picks up again for the last half. There are many moments where I wondered what the point was, but I realized it was all about her missing relationship with Joe. A subtext of the connections between music and our relationships kept me going on.
The ending? Quite abrupt……not sure it had the desired effect.

Tʜɪs ᴡᴀs sᴜᴄʜ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴅɪʙʟʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ sᴛᴏʀʏ. Tʜᴏsᴇ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʜᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ Dᴀɪsʏ Jᴏɴᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ Sɪx ᴡɪʟʟ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀғᴜʟ ʜɪsᴛᴏʀʏ ᴏғ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘs.

Eᴀᴄʜ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ᴏғ ᴀ sᴏɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀʟsᴏ ᴀ sᴘᴏᴛɪғʏ ᴘʟᴀʏʟɪsᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ sᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴅ. Tʜɪs ᴡᴀs ᴀ ғᴜɴ ᴘᴇʀᴋ ᴀs I ᴡᴀs ғᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ. 🎶

Hᴀᴠɪɴɢ ɢʀᴏᴡɴ ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴀ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴡɪᴅᴇ ʀᴀɴɢᴇ ᴏғ ᴍᴜsɪᴄᴀʟ ɢᴇɴʀᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴғʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇs, ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴀs ᴀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ. Mᴜsɪᴄ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ʜᴜɢᴇ ғᴀᴄᴛᴏʀ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛs ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ɪᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ. I ᴀʙsᴏʟᴜᴛᴇʟʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴏsᴛᴀʟɢɪᴀ ᴛʜɪs sᴛᴏʀʏ ʙʀᴏᴜɢʜᴛ. Sᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ᴏғ ᴛʜs ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ sᴘᴏᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ

Tʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ɴɪᴄᴇ ғʟᴏᴡ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs sᴏ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇɴ. I ᴡᴀs ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪsᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs Hᴏʟʟʏ's ᴅᴇʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ. I ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛ sʜᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇs ɴᴇxᴛ.

I ʜɪɢʜʟʏ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ ᴛʜɪs ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ, ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs.

🖤 ᴇᴀʀʟʏ 2000s 🖤 ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ/ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ ᴛɪᴍᴇ
🖤 ᴅɪsᴇᴄᴛɪɴɢ ʟʏʀɪᴄs ғᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴇᴘᴇʀ ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ
🖤 Nᴏsᴛᴀʟɢɪᴀ

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I thought that I was going to love Holly Brickley’s debut novel Deep Cuts it was being compared to Daisy and the Six and Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow, I thought it was going to be like What You do to Me (one of my favourite books) it fell short of those comparisons. This is a story of coming of age, the characters are messy, tumultuous, and narcissistic. I was not invested in the characters I found them dull and did not exactly root for them one way or another …

There is plenty of music talk. I liked that Brickley knows her music but at times I lost interest. I wish there was a playlist that went along with this book. I often found myself stopping to read to listen to music that Brickley’s characters were discussing.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Good read reading about students in college being college students while loving music meeting new friends and discovering themselves.