Release Week Review: Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie

 

Raised on an island off Massachusetts by a mother who wrote songs for famous musicians, Jane Quinn is singing in her own band before she’s old enough to even read music. When folk legend Jesse Reid hears about Jane’s performance at the island’s music festival, a star is born—and so is a passionate love affair: they become inseparable when her band joins his on tour. Wary of being cast as his girlfriend—and haunted by her mother’s shattered ambitions—Jane shields her relationship from the public eye, but Jesse’s star power pulls her into his orbit of fame. Caught up in the thrill of the road and the profound and lustful connection she has with Jesse, Jane is blind-sided by the discovery she makes about the dark secret beneath his music. Heartbroken and blackballed by the industry, Jane is now truly on her own: to make the music she loves, and to make peace with her family.

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?

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What I thought about Songs in Ursa Major

Songs in Ursa Major is the debut effort of Emma Brodie and this women's fiction tale centers around Janie Q' and The Breakers rise in the music industry.  

I was drawn to this book because of the time period -- the story opens in 1969 at a small folk festival.  A local band called The Breakers is taxed to perform in the place of the headliner, Jesse Reid who cancels at the last minute. Lead singer Janie Q has to tame an audience impatient for the pop magic they expected.  Janie wows them all, including Pegasus A&R man, Willy Lambert.  I loved Willy and his relationship with Jane.

Jane's relationship with her band was quite lovely, there was a close bond there that gave me a good feeling throughout. Family is another important theme here, with Jane's immediate family consisting of her grandmother, her aunt and cousin, along with her band members.The family dynamics here were also very relevant to the outcome of the story.

While Janie is preparing for her first recording sessions and The Breakers first album, she meets Jesse Reid, the headliner she replaced at the festival. As he recovers from his motorcycle accident, they connect over their music, starting a romance that develops further when they go on tour together.  

The story focuses on Janie's interactions in the industry and her romance with Jesse. I found this to be very interesting. I loved Janie's rebellious, feisty attitude when it came to her music and how she grew into her songwriting with the help of others. The romance was also a strong element of this story that I enjoyed.

So why not five stars?  The book ends with an update from the current day that just blew my mind, especially after the content of the previous chapter. I found myself going back, re-reading a few times, scratching my head, wondering what I missed along the way.  I don't really want to spoil it for anyone so I won't say much more, because I really did enjoy this book, I just thought the story was heading in a direction that it wasn't and it ended up surprising me in a way that took something away from this story for this reader. 

Overall, I really liked this. No one is perfect -- these characters have flaws and I loved them for it. There was one point where I thought this might be one of my top reads for the year (and it still might be).  I liked the characters and story. It had me engaged. Growing up in the time period, I thought it captured the atmosphere of that sex, drugs and rock and roll time.

Favorite line: "There's good medicine in sticking it to the man."

About the Author

Emma Brodie, is currently an Executive Editor at Little Brown’s Voracious imprint. Over her ten years in book publishing, she’s worked at Trident Media Group, William Morrow, and Clarkson Potter, where she authored over twenty gift books and games, including the bestselling Punderdome, Deal or Duel, Come As You Aren’t, and Dear Jane, and published authors including Awkwafina, Anna Drezen, Nathan W. Pyle, Marlee Grace, Leah Rachel, Conn Igguldon, Ash + Chess, Deborah Hanekamp, Ginny Hogan, Rebecca Fishbein, and Emma Gray. 

Emma is along time contributor to HuffPost and a faculty member at Catapult, Co. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their dog, Freddie Mercury. 

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