Please note:  I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my reviews in any way.

Synopsis (from NetGalley):

The year is 1969, and the Bayleen Island Folk Fest is abuzz with one name: Jesse Reid. Tall and soft-spoken, with eyes blue as stone-washed denim, Jesse Reid's intricate guitar riffs and supple baritone are poised to tip from fame to legend with this one headlining performance. That is, until his motorcycle crashes on the way to the show.

Jane Quinn is a Bayleen Island local whose music flows as naturally as her long blond hair. When she and her bandmates are asked to play in Jesse Reid's place at the festival, it almost doesn't seem real. But Jane plants her bare feet on the Main Stage and delivers the performance of a lifetime, stopping Jesse's disappointed fans in their tracks: A star is born.

Jesse stays on the island to recover from his near-fatal accident and he strikes up a friendship with Jane, coaching her through the production of her first record. As Jane contends with the music industry's sexism, Jesse becomes her advocate, and what starts as a shared calling soon becomes a passionate love affair. On tour with Jesse, Jane is so captivated by the giant stadiums, the late nights, the wild parties, and the media attention, that she is blind-sided when she stumbles on the dark secret beneath Jesse's music. With nowhere to turn, Jane must reckon with the shadows of her own past; what follows is the birth of one of most iconic albums of all time.

Shot through with the lyrics, the icons, the lore, the adrenaline of the early 70s music scene, Songs in Ursa Major pulses with romantic longing and asks the question so many female artists must face: What are we willing to sacrifice for our dreams?

Review:

As someone who loves music I really enjoy books about the music industry.  Loosely based on the brief romance between Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, Songs in Ursa Major, by Emma Brodie, may be fiction, but it reads like a memoir.  With masterful descriptions of the song writing process, behind the scenes tales of recording an album, and the thrills and perils of going on tour, this book feels so real, I wish I could get my hands on the music, and listen to Jane and Jesse sing their hearts out.

What I Liked:

Song Writing Process:

I loved how the author describes the creative process of writing a song.  While Jesse and Jane each had different methods for writing, they both used imagery to bring themes of longing, love, and betrayal to their music.  Jane would get the tune first, and then use that mood to find lyrics to match.  While Jesse's song writing method was less apparent, what was clear was that both of them were poets.  I would love to hear the music that the author described.

Depiction of the Music Industry:

The book was set in the 1970's, where men ran everything.  Although she was the lead singer in her band, Jane had to contend with executives only speaking to the male members of the band, and not taking her music seriously.  There was also a vindictive record producer who tried to sabotage Jane's career.  She learned the hard way that the record industry had total control over her career, no matter how successful she was.  

Strangely, I don't think much has changed in the present.  There is still sexism, creepy record producers, and corporate greed in the music industry.  But there are also independent record labels, YouTube, and Spotify that can circumvent these influences.

Substance Abuse Shame and Family Secrets:

A major theme in this book was how the shame of substance abuse could tear families apart.  Jesse's father seemed, at first, to be an unfeeling, control freak who delighted in pointing out Jesse's problems.  But, later we learn all about what Jesse put his dad through, and we feel much more compassion for him.  

Jane's family also suffers from the loss of her mother to (possibly) mental illness.  Janes's mother disappeared when she was a child after becoming emotionally unstable.  But the secrets and shame her grandmother and aunt had surrounding the mom's actions were what did the most damage to Jane.  As this book is set in the early 1970's, this was realistic.  But it was heartbreaking all the same.

What I Was Mixed About:

I suppose it was a novel about Rock-n-Roll, and drugs and sex were a big part of the music scene.  I really liked how the book dealt with substance abuse.  The author didn't glamorize anything.  There were harrowing scenes of overdoses, and it showed the toll this had on relationships and generations of families .  Fair warning: the sex in the book was rather raw.  Again, this added to the Rock-n-Roll atmosphere of the novel, but skip this book if you don't want to read sex on the page.   

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  June 22nd, 2021

Author:  Emma Brodie

Publisher:  Knopf Publisher Group

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Page Length:  336 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation: If you love Rock and Roll, you will really enjoy this novel about the music industry.  The fantastic writing made me want to hear the music described and be a fan of Janie Q!