Author: Ashlety Winstead
Year published: 2026
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 352 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (CA)
Summary: When record executive Theo meets the Future Saints, they’re bombing at a dive bar in their hometown. Since the tragic death of their manager, the band has been in a downward spiral and Theo has been dispatched to coax a new—and successful—album out of them, or else let them go.
Immediately, Theo is struck by Hannah, the group’s impetuous lead singer, who’s gone off script by debuting a whole new sound, replacing their California pop with gut-wrenching rock. When this new music goes viral, striking an unexpected chord with fans, Theo puts his career on the line to give the Saints one last shot at success with a new tour, new record, and new start.
But Hannah’s grief has larger consequences for the group, and her increasingly destructive antics become a distraction as she and her sister Ginny—her lifelong partner in crime—undermine Theo at every turn. Hannah isn’t ready to move on or prepared for the fame she’s been chasing, and the weight of her problems jeopardize the band, her growing closeness with Theo, and, worst of all, her relationship with her sister—all while the world watches closely. The Future Saints’s big break is here—if only they can survive it.
Review: This was one of my January Book of the Month Club picks, and it was just the right thing for me to read this week. I worried that it might be too much like Daisy Jones and the Six (link to my review), but it was different enough that it worked for me.
Rock musicians with substance abuse and behavior problems are (unfortunately) nothing new. However, in this novel, we learn the why of Hannah's angst and anger. I did get a bit tired of the drama, and the last third of the book worked best for me when the band and their manager are dealing with the problems, finding solutions that they hope will work, and coming to terms with a different future.
By the end of the book, not all is perfect (though many things are), and there are some unknowns, which I was pleased about. One thing to know about me is that I get more emotional about the happy than the sad or awful in books and movies. I think that's why the last third was better for me. People become more honest with their feelings, some (metaphorical) fences are mended, and I felt hope for them all, even though it wasn't promised.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Author)--W
- Alphabet (Title)--F
- Cover Lover--A scene you would like to step into for a day (lucky for me, I live in the land of sunshine and palm trees)
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