I absolutely wasn’t going to compare Taylor Jenkins Reid’s new novel Daisy Jones and the Six to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, one of my favourite reads of last year. That said, I know my fellow readers are probably wondering whether this novel is just as good. Keep reading for my honest and spoiler-free thoughts!
In 1979, Daisy Jones and The Six split up. Together, they had redefined the 70’s music scene, creating an iconic sound that rocked the world. Apart, they baffled a world that had hung on their every verse.
This book is an attempt to piece together a clear portrait of the band’s rise to fame and their abrupt and infamous split. The following oral history is a compilation of interviews, emails, transcripts, and lyrics, all pertaining to the personal and professional lives of the members of the band The Six and singer Daisy Jones.
While I have aimed for a comprehensive and exhaustive approach, I must acknowledge that full and complete accounts from all parties involved has proved impossible. Some people were easier to track down than others, some were more willing to talk than others, and some, unfortunately, have passed on.
All of which is to say that while this is the first and only authorised account from all represented perspectives, it should be noted that, in matters both big and small, reasonable people disagree.
The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle.
I’ve read most of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s work – most on audiobook – and I’m disappointed to say Daisy Jones and the Six is my least favourite novel written by her so far. While The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of my favourite books, but I don’t think my expectations for this new release were too high: Fadwa @ Word Wonders was disappointed after reading this and I knew it would be very difficult – if not impossible – to exceed my love for Evelyn Hugo.
The audiobook is narrated by a full cast, which made me even more excited to pick up this novel as soon as I could. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much for me. Despite the different narrators, I couldn’t really distinguish most of the characters. Because of the many point-of-views, I didn’t care about any of them. Additionally, while the execution is similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, it didn’t work because most characters said only a handful of sentences at a time, as opposed to one person telling their version of events. It was very much telling a story as opposed to showing us what happened, which made me feel disconnected.
While this novel has received mixed reviews so far, the majority of my Goodreads friends gave it four stars. I wish I enjoyed this as much as they did, but I have to be honest and admit I was bored. I didn’t care about the characters, the stuff that was happening…and this truly saddens me 😦 I wasn’t intrigued while reading; the story was rather straight-forward and I wasn’t looking forward to what would happen next.
Ultimately, that’s why I can’t rate this higher than two stars. It pains me to do so, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading this. I also didn’t hate anything about it though. As far as I know this book isn’t problematic, I didn’t despise any of the characters… I just didn’t care for it.
content and trigger warnings for (might contain spoilers!) drugs, drug addiction, alcoholism, abortion, character deaths, cheating
Unfortunately, Daisy Jones and the Six was a very disappointing read. I was excited to dive into this story, but I ended feeling indifferent about the characters and the plot. I still plan on reading the other Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novels I have remaining, but I doubt any will exceed my love for the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
Have you read this book? If not, do you plan on picking it up?
Thank you for reading,
slytherink 
I haven’t read this one and I don’t plan on picking it up.
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