4.5 cans of hair spray rounded up

I knew I needed to write this review, so I only had like, 7 beers and 2 shots.

What a fun romp through the mid to late eighties, hair metal, rock n roll excess, and cold war spy stuff! Rikki Thunder is a drummer for a go-nowhere hair metal band in LA when he meets the coolest groupie who helps him join the biggest up and coming band. Things that seem too good to be true often are, and it turns out she works for the CIA , who are trying to ignite revolution in Eastern Bloc countries through western music, specifically hair metal. I grew up with hair metal, so this book was right up my alley. It's mostly a lighthearted comedy with some action thrown in, but there are some heavy emotions tackled here and there (with humor, of course). My only real complaint is the way time progresses in the book. We think a few months have passed and suddenly Rikki says something like, "It was our first time at home in my bed in over a year." But it's a minor quibble. Rikki is a lovable quasi doofus and you can't help but cheer him on. Did anyone else sing the Whyte Python anthem, "Tonight, for Tomorrow" in their head when reading the lyrics?

If you dig this kinda thing, go check out the Whyte Python website! https://whytepython.com/

Fun fact: "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake is my karaoke jam.

Devil horns in the air to NetGalley, Doubleday Books, and Travis Kennedy for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

More YA simple than I’d hoped, an ‘80s, bro-and-I-was-like-dude stoner comedy when I’d rather the singer/lyricist be a gritty if ironic voice. It’s like Totally Kyle from the Amanda Show plus Russian spy infiltrating though that doesn’t start soon enough for me to stick around for the denude style.

Songs are cute and the foster care backstory
sweet but the pace isn’t doing it for me on top of the cliche MTV movie/doc moments. It’s not Motle Crue or GnR rowdy. There’s a love story with a blonde rock mag groupie girl.

To give an example of the humor, a band member asks for more drugs when captured by the sleeper cell, then air-guitars while looking at the clouds.

This was such a fun and wild ride with Whyte Python. The unique personalities of all of the characters made them incredibly entertaining as they all tried to accomplish different things. Money, fame, redemption… the life of a rockstar/CIA agent. Where can I buy tickets to the next world tour?

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the ARC!