I enjoyed this story overall, though I found it took me a little while to get into and fully connect with the characters. Once I did, I appreciated the depth and nuance Winstead brought to the themes of grief and loss. She depicted the impact of loss in a way that felt both realistic and heartfelt, showing how Hannah holds on and copes through such a difficult time.
I also really enjoyed the strong themes of sisterhood woven throughout the novel. Ginny was such a vital part of the story, and I loved how her presence added both emotional weight and warmth to the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book! It's like a sadder, more emotional DAISY JONES AND THE SIX -- but just as fun, and with just as much rockstar hijinks. I'd read a whole separate book about Ripper and Kenny!

Thanks for the advance read. I enjoyed the story and always enjoy a new author. Good luck with the book

Thank you @atriabooks @netgalley for the free digital arc!

“We might be devils today, but I swear we’ll be saints tomorrow.”

Theo Ford is tasked with managing the band The Future Saints, who are struggling after the death of their beloved manager Ginny, the younger sister of band leader Hannah Cortland.

I am a big fan of Ashley Winstead’s thrillers so I was very excited to read her new contemporary fiction novel and I absolutely loved it! Her writing was deep and poetic and evoked every emotion, especially as a big sister. There were so many lines that took my breath away. I was laughing and crying along with these endearing characters that I won’t soon forget. I predict this book being a total hit next year! 👏🏻

Rating 5⭐️

🎸 ARC BOOK REVIEW 🎸

PUB DATE: Jan 19th 2026

My Rating : ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Energetic Stars

“I turn to the sliding glass door , tracing my lips . In the distance, the bonfire crackles in front of the waves. In the foreground, my face shines back at me . The woman in the glass can’t stop smiling .”

Can we get a Mic 🎤 Drop for The Future Saints 🙌🏼

The Future Saints is a riveting, nostalgic love story set in 2024, and fans of Daisy Jones & COHO are going to devour this one up !!

Hannah is on the brink to stardom but she is also minutes away from spiralling out of control and near death as she mourns the loss of their band manager Ginny .

With her bottle of whiskey , smokes , dark coal eye liner and an attitude that could burn bridges just by walking in Hannah is our morally grey protagonist who steals the show and she’s not making room for Theo the new band manager and she won’t let anyone tell her what to do.

Theo also known as suit has been handed a job to get rid of The Future Saints , but upon seeing them play at a little gig of about 50 people and hear a new song he can’t help but see a bright future for this out of control reckless band that has just went viral on TikTok.

Now more than ever Theo has to man up and all feelings aside save The Future Saints , but the real question is do The Future Saints want saving ?

While this story totally gives Daisy Jones vibes and sprinkled with Dirt flares , The Future Saints deals with loss , mental illness and really dove deep into the behind the scenes of the music industry.

I don’t want to give too much away but if you love rock & roll , nostalgia vibes , gritty raw characters, a little romance and yes some YA vibes then add this to your TBR because you’re NOT going to want to miss out on this untamed and unique BANGER 🖤

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books & Ashley Winstead for this Edgy ARC 🫶🏼

This book was hands down one of my favorite reads of the year, and I’m predicting this will be a favorite read of 2026. This is a 5 ✨ read for me. I could not put this one down.

Future Saints centers around an indie rock band of the same name, teetering on the edge of a breakup. The band’s lead singer, Hannah, is spiraling after the sudden death of their manager. Enter Theo Ford (ugh, we LOVE him), the label’s suit sent in to help the band record one more album and fulfill their contract before they’re cut loose.

At first, Hannah, Ripper, and Kenny are wary of Theo, but they slowly give him a chance—and what follows is a story filled with grief, healing, and unexpected love. I honestly couldn’t put this book down. Every chapter pulled me deeper into the band’s world.

Ashley Winstead has crafted such a vivid, emotional story that I found myself wishing Future Saints were a real band. The grief, the love, the passion—they all felt incredibly real. I already can’t wait to get a physical copy when it's released in January.

Huge thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC. I’ll be thinking about this story for a long time.

The vibes are immaculate here.

If you loved Daisy Jones & the Six, this is for you.

I found myself constantly imagining what the songs would sound like while reading this. Theo and Hannah, and Ripper and Kenny, are so well rounded as characters.

This is a moving story about grief and art, and how far we'll go to preserve the memory of those we have loved and lost.

Overall, this was an engaging and compelling read. The author did a good job at conveying the characters' grief and complexity of emotions, creating characters who were layered, messy, and three-dimensional--especially Hannah. She was not concerned primarily with making her characters likeable but with rather capturing the depths of their grief and transformation over the course of the story.

Her use of dual POVs made sense since Hannah and Theo had storylines that went beyond their connection and this enabled the readers to get a fuller picture of Hannah's relationship with her parents and Theo's job at Manifest Records, for example. However, at times, I felt like the strength of their connection relied on these dual first-person narrations, where the reader is told/reminded of their bond and what they think of each other, rather than make that internal process visible through the characters' interactions and dialogue.

I enjoyed the inclusion of interviews and transcripts interspersing the narrative chapters as this added another dimension to the story and made The Future Saints band and its fandom feel real.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book & am a huge fan of Ashely Winstead’s writing. This was a beautiful story about grief but in the end I found myself disappointed by how often we were teased with Theo and Hannah’s romance only for nothing to ever really come of it. I need a sequel and an update on every band member!

I could not have loved this book more! Ashley Winstead is one of my absolute favorite authors, and this was definitely her best book yet. It gave major Daisy Jones and the Six vibes, and lived up to all of my expectations. The main character's journey of grief was so heartbreaking and compelling. I was obsessed with everything about it!

Wow. This book was so unexpected and full of heart and so different than what I imagined it would be.

Told in the alternating perspectives of Theo (new manager and “fixer” for the band The Future Saints) and Hannah (The Future Saints lead singer) plus interview excerpts and media coverage, this story follows the excitement and drama of the bands meteoric rise to fame in the midst of a deeply dysfunctional and tumultuous time in their lives after the death of their previous manager.

Hannah and Theo are such well written characters. Hannah’s grief is palpable and I think anyone who has ever lost someone they loved will understand her. Theo was a character I was rooting for to succeed in his management of The Future Saints and do his job well after coming to understand his motivation and why success was so important to him. Ripper and Kenny round out the band - the former sort of infuriating and the latter lovable.

The book centers heavily on grief and loss but also touches on substance abuse and mental health. I can also see how this book can shed light on how artists are treated and exploited by their labels. This is a love story with layers and not the one you would expect when you first pick it up. I wanted to keep reading about what these characters were doing and did not want the story to end.

I think comparing this book to Daisy Jones & The Six misleads a bit. At the core this story entirely centers around loss and grief. The story follows the Saints on the brink of implosion and stardom. It’s about finding hope in the darkness, sisterhood, and the chaos of the music industry. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I love a rock band novel!! This one was fun and full of characters you’d want to root for. Def daisy jones and the six vibes. The romance fell a tiny bit flat for me, hence the 3 stars, but that didn’t stop the book from being a good time.

Thank you for the ARC!

I honestly think there is nothing Ashley Winstead can’t do. This may be a new genre for her but as per usual, she nailed it. We all know I am a super fan; however, this review is unbiased. (I wouldn’t do that to you besties)

Ashley has this knack for being profoundly skilled at conveying the depths of the human heart. Her depiction of grief is raw, intimate and shows the pernicious way it ripples throughout everything in its wave of destitution. The characters are so vivid, I felt like they were real. The bond that Ashley shows between sisters and the relationship between elder, younger made me feel seen in a way I don’t think I ever have.

The dual POVs, media interviews and transcripts of the band’s stardom woven through the story made it come to life (I keep looking for The Future Saints on Spotify, okay?!) I may be biased about the location as so many of the scenes in this book were real to me being as how I have been/live so close to all of them.

This story will live rent free in my brain, playing an endless lyrical melody. It broke my heart, left me a sobbing mess and several days later, I still don’t think I have recovered.

This book blew me away. I couldn’t put it down! And honestly, forget the Daisy Jones comparisons because this is a whole different level. The emotion was raw, the connection was electric, and it all just hit so hard. I loved every second of it.

Loved the format of this book - not a straight up novel but sprinkled with the Press Releases and Articles about the band. I loved the behind-the-scenes feel of this. But, it wasn't all fluff - there are BIG emotions in this book and I love how the author wrote about them.

4.5 stars - This book was a beautiful surprise! While it is similar to Daisy Jones and the Six, this novel is more focused on grief, family dynamics, and mental health. Ashley Winstead is a wonderful writer and I will definitely be picking up more of her books in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. One of the better music stories I’ve read, fitting nicely into a genre populated by books like Daisy Jones but also strongly reminded me of the movies Country Strong and A Star Is Born. The book also has some powerful things to say about grief, and coming to terms with loss and the fact that none of us are here forever. I appreciated that the love story progressed slowly and wasn’t necessarily the main focus.

I did feel that some sections of the plot felt disjointed, such as some conflicts being resolved “off-page” and certain things that came out of nowhere. And the music aspects weren’t the strongest, with some of the lyrics and song titles a little cringey (which made it hard to get behind the band as breakout stars).

Overall, though, I would recommend this book for anyone who loves this genre! And thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. ❤️

Ahhh!! I’m still giddy after reading this Daisy Jones and the Six/Fleetwood Mac type novel about The Future Saints, a band struggling in a world after losing their manager (and sister to lead singer Hannah). After new manager Theo swoops in by the record execs to save the day, we get a first look into tension between babd members as they navigate trying to build back a successful comeback. Of course it wouldn’t be the same without sparks also flying between Theo and Hannah along the way. Loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for this ARC! Ashley Winstead’s The Future Saints is a deeply moving and immersive novel about a once‑promising band in freefall and the unexpected chance at redemption through music and love. When record executive Theo meets the Future Saints in a struggling dive bar, he’s immediately drawn to lead singer Hannah—whose grief‑driven reinvention of the band’s sound sparks a raw, emotional transformation. As their connection deepens, the novel explores sisterhood, fame’s costs, and the resilience needed to rebuild identity in the wake of loss. Richly atmospheric and emotionally rich, this story blends the allure of music’s magic with the hard truths of healing, making it both heartbreakingly real and hopeful.