Thank you to the publisher for the free eARC!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Hannah and her band The Future Saints are struggling through the loss of their manager…but new manager Theo and a new sound may be just what they need to find the success they’ve always dreamed about.

I will read anything Ashley writes at this point—give me any genre and any premise and as long as it has her stunning prose and unforgettable characters I am locked in.

THE FUTURE SAINTS is a new genre for Ashley, but it is one of my most anticipated releases of 2026 and I was SO right to be so excited. It’s a bit quieter and more character driven than past Winstead novels, but the characters are incredible ones. I found myself intentionally slowing down my reading because I just wanted to hang out with these glorious messed up fools (complimentary) for a little longer.

Ashley is a virtuoso at writing the human condition, and her treatment of grief is particularly stellar. I cried for so much of this book because it is so raw and so real, and Hannah’s journey is both heart wrenching and so beautiful to witness. This book split my soul open in the very best of ways, and I would line up to let it hurt me again and again.

CW: Death/grief; addiction/alcoholism; mental health; mentions of parental abandonment

I knocked this one out in a day while I was traveling alone, but I think I still would have finished it that quick at home because it was THAT GOOD. I’m so sad that The Future Saints are not a real band that I can hear and obsess over. There were so many different layers to this story beyond the music like grief, childhood trauma, social media and substance abuse and I thought each was done so well. I loved getting Hannah and Theo’s POVs and watching them slowly fall in love was beautiful. I also loved the camaraderie between Hannah, Kenny and Ripper so much. This story had me reading as fast as I could to see where the story was going to go and at the same time, I did not want it to end. I definitely cried a few times, but I loved how hopeful the book still felt. I need this to be a limited series IMMEDIATELY.
CW: grief, substance abuse, sexism, death

Thank you to Atria Books for the digital reader’s copy!

“This is a love story, but not the one you’re expecting.”
That tagline? Absolutely perfect.

I want to read this book all over again. Ashley Winstead delivers one of her most emotionally rich, character-driven novels yet, and it hit me right in the gut.

Theo is a rising star in the music industry. His latest assignment? Try to salvage The Future Saints, a once poised to be the next big thing California beach band, now imploding from grief, infighting, and burnout after the death of their manager. When Theo hears the new songs, however, he knows there’s something worth saving. The band? Not so convinced. Especially not Hannah the brilliant chaos-makers at the center of it all. This becomes a battle of wills, heart, and identity.

Winstead throws you headfirst into the world of late-night dive bars, washed-out high schools, and the unresolved emotional wreckage of your early twenties. These aren’t teenagers trying to find themselves—they’re adults who never quite grew up, still searching for a sense of purpose, still unraveling old wounds. It’s messy, raw, and deeply, deeply human.

Ashley Winstead, once again, proves she's one of the most versatile voices in contemporary fiction. If you love stories that blend music, angst, found family, and the ache of almost-growing-up, The Future Saints is not to be missed.

#TheFutureSaints #AshleyWinstead #AtriaBooks #BookReview #SiblingStories #MusicFiction #BookstagramRecs

Winstead KNOWS how to draw her readers in. The way she describes every scene draws the reader in LIKE you are there.

This protagonist Hannah is grieving, emotional and a hot mess. She is also a singer who is with The Future Saints band. She recently lost her sister Ginny who was a member of the band, and Hannah is struggling.

It only takes one video of her performance to make the band go viral. Under new management, Theo is patient and sees what others can’t see and wants to do things differently. I can see this as a movie and I am SO there!
I felt like I won the lottery when I got this approval. Hopefully I get to see her when she tours for this book. If you ever get a chance to meet her, she is so down to earth and appreciates her readers.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really have enjoyed every Winstead title I've read, and her upcoming release is no exception. Readers will be happy to kick off their 2026 reading challenges with this title!

For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, this book is a complete departure from what Winstead has primarily written in the past. It works beyond measure. While she's known for her twisty thrillers, these complex characters she has created in this book really go the extra mile. This book explores grief, fame, relationships, and nostalgia in all of the best ways. I really loved this book and while it feels at times a touch *too* reminiscent of Daisy Jones, it's done in its own way that keeps it fresh throughout the duration of the story. I was emotionally rocked (no pun intended) by this story and I think it's going to be compelling for a lot of readers next year when they get their hands on this.

The Future Saints is a raw, visceral, and fiercely tender exploration of grief, ambition, and the unrelenting ache of what could’ve been. Ashley Winstead trades the tightly wound thrill of her darker novels for a different kind of intensity—one that simmers with heartbreak, longing, and the electrifying chaos of life on the edge of fame.

At the center of it all is Hannah Cortland, a frontwoman unlike any other. She’s brilliant and brutal, a whirlwind of talent, pain, and self-sabotage. After the sudden death of her sister Ginny—her best friend, anchor, and the band’s original manager—Hannah is unraveling in real time. The Future Saints, once poised for stardom, are now barely keeping it together on stage. Dive bars, failed gigs, and viral scraps on TikTok paint the picture of a band in free fall—but also one that refuses to fade quietly.

Enter Theo: corporate suit, new manager, and surprisingly tender force of stability. His belief in the band is unwavering. He’s not here to save them in a romanticized way, but to quietly, patiently hold space for something beautiful to rise from the ashes. The dynamic between him and Hannah is filled with friction—creative, emotional, and charged with a kind of aching vulnerability that makes every interaction feel like a fuse waiting to be lit.

Winstead doesn’t sugarcoat Hannah’s grief. It’s jagged and unrelenting, often expressed through the guttural power of her new music—a sound that the label hates, but the fans cling to. This is not a rags-to-riches story of rockstars who found themselves. It’s a story of loss and reinvention, of creative identity forged through fire, and the lingering question: when the person who held your world together is gone, who are you without them?

For readers who like:
-Grief-driven characters
-Rock band dynamics
-Emotionally charged prose

Final Verdict
The Future Saints is a masterclass in emotional storytelling. It thrums with the pulse of live music and the ache of dreams deferred. Winstead has given us something beyond a band-on-the-brink novel—she’s given us a meditation on loss, art, and survival. I closed the final page wanting to mourn, scream, and sing all at once. Unmissable.

Grateful to NetGalley, Atria Books and Ashley Winstead for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping, emotional, and satisfying read - I loved it! When everyone has written off the once promising Future Saints, music executive Theo steps in to squeeze one last album out of them. His motives change as he witnesses how talented they actually are and how much unfulfilled potential they have. However, the Future Saints, especially their lead singer, Hannah are grieving the loss of Hannah’s sister and seem determined to thwart all of Theo’s efforts to get them on the right track.

This was great—the author conveys Hannah’s grief in a moving and visceral way and the relationship between Hannah and Theo kept me turning the pages. Readers get Hannah’s and Theo’s perspectives as well as some news articles covering the band’s trajectory. Highly recommended!

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

A fast enough read, however I really wasn't invested in all the characters. I liked the interview and article format, which helped break up the longer chapters.

Definitely giving Daisy Jones vibes!! I love that Winstead can do any genre and she really hit it out of the park with this one. I found myself invested in the romance and the plot within pages. Highly recommend!

I was beyond grateful to receive a ARC of this incredible book from Ashley Winestead and boy or boy did it not disappoint. Ashley knows how to weave such an incredibly compelling story and also write about emotionally vulnerable characters in a way that has your rooting for them and making you care so deeply for them at the same time. Told through the duel POV of Hannah the lead singer in her rock band and Theo the record executive who is send to her their manger after their previous manager and Hannah’s sister died in a tragic accident. After an incident on stage goes viral Hannah and Theo are forced to navigate the band’s new found successes, write an album and deal with the bands interpersonal issues. This book was so amazing and had me in tears throughout the last few chapters!

I needed to think about this book for a bit before talking about it. Ashley Winstead is one of my favorite thriller writers (I don’t read her romance books because I just can’t do romance.) but Future Saints was different than any romance book I’ve ever come across. This was not straight romance. It was the story of the band the Future Saints. Hannah is the lead singer and we follow her through her band’s rise to stardom, all while she is grieving the death of her sister/manager of the bank.

Once again, Ashley’s writing about grief and love is so beautifully done. Only someone who has experienced such grief can write about it so well. The connection of love and grief she feels for her deceased sister is heartbreaking.

I’m used to Ashley’s books with murder, so if there had been a murder thrown in with this story, it would have been 5 🌟 for me. But Ashley never disappoints me and this just adds to hear incredible library of books.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this arc.

WOW! Ashley Winstead's venture into women's fiction raised the bar for every other book in the genre. This book tackled the exploration of grief in such a unique, realistic way. Hannah's bargains with the world lead readers to connect with her on levels beyond the normal reading experience.

As promoted, this book reminded me of Daisy Jones and The Six. There is something inspiring about a female main character acknowledging and embracing her mess, then going on to use it for the greater good of connection and movement.

Whole reading this book, I noticed that the beginning felt like we were being told a story. Many of the descriptions were superficial and direct, leaving little to no room for readers to imagine the depth of said descriptions. By the end, Winstead's writing was much more figurative and allowed me to create my own pictures and connections with the story and world she created.

I look forward to when this book releases and I can partake in other discussion around it. I am already excited to recommend it to others!

...𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆...𝑻𝒐 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆...𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑰 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑨𝒓𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔.

Marketed as 'a novel about sisterhood, friendship, and the ghosts that haunt us,' I found THE FUTURE SAINTS to be so much more, something so visceral and tormented that it defies words. Think of Stevie Nicks and her guttural performance of "Silver Springs" and the haunted look Lindsey Buckingham wore; the opening riff of the song that reminds you of of your life before everything became so complicated and uncertain.

The Future Saints, once on the upward trajectory to fame, are in a downward spiral, playing at dive bars that are far beneath their talent. But it's not the same old sad story of drugs and alcohol that's dividing the band--it's grief. Their tour manager tragically drowned, and each member of the band is riding the waves of sorrow in their own way. For dynamic lead singer Hannah, it means departing from their alt-punk sound and diving into growling, vulnerable performances of new material that strangely resonate with their audience.

Record executive Theo is sent to rescue the group and remind them that they still owe the label another record, and while their new sound might resonate with the fans, it's not what the company wants. Theo sacrifices everything because he believes in the direction the band is going, and with superstardom within reach, Hannah begins to doubt everything that drove her to the band's new sound, and she becomes Icarus flying too close to the sun, reckless and impetuous.

This book came at the perfect time. I had just spent hours watching footage of Ozzy Osbourne's final concert with so many revered musicians of my teenage years paying tribute to this industry giant. But it was watching him pass the torch to Youngblud that made me the most emotional. I guess because it was realizing that something you truly love never dies when its beauty is passed on to someone else.

So many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this absolutely stunning early read. Look for this one January 1, 2026.