Perfect Tunes sounded like a great book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I thought my initial ambivalence/dislike stemmed from reading it during the height of the pandemic, but I came back to it recently to give it another go and it just wasn't working for me.

I ended up DNFing the book and I am sorry about that.

This novel follows Laura as she moves to New York at the start of the new millenium. She dreams of making it as a singer/song writer but she is quite shy and always seems to be in her best friend’s shadow. One night she goes to see a band and meets the singer, Dylan, and her life begins to change in so many ways. She is besotted with Dylan, wanting to spend every second with him but life has other plans for her. The novel then moves quickly forward in time as we see Laura trying to navigate life with her teenage daughter. She still yearns to be a song writer but never seems to have time to sit and be creative. She’s not inspired anymore and is instead fully focused on her daughter and making ends meet. This is a novel about falling madly in love when you’re young, of having big dreams and feeling like they really might come true but then the reality of life and how we cope when we end up on a different path. Laura is a very passive character but I couldn’t help but root for her, I know what it is like to let life sweep you along because it’s easier than pushing forward for what you want. The end left me with mixed feelings but at the same time it was a perfect ending to Laura’s story. I really enjoyed this novel and I recommend it.

An absorbing and heart felt look at the intersection of art and motherhood . It's not easy to write about making music, ,or indeed the creation of any art form but Gould manages it admirably. I hugely enjoyed this original novel

Even if it's well written the story didn't keep my attention and I feel that MC was too much passive.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

I found this an easy but forgettable read. I thought the premise was interesting but unfortunately, the characters lacked any depth and felt one-dimensional. We learn facts about Laura, the main character, but we never learn how she feels and it's impossible to feel invested in her story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Absolutely loved this book!!! Would wholeheartedly recommend to all of my friends, and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

Brilliant read - I finished it in one sitting! I loved the first part about Laura's life in New York as a young woman, this part focused more on the passion and excitement of being single, carefree and the thrill of new experiences.Then the second part was an entirely different scenario of early motherhood which I also hugely enjoyed and found very relatable and both funny and heartbreaking. The third part I connected to a little less, as indicated in my four star rating. It felt very rushed and that exploration of character than was achieved so well in the first 2/3 of the book was missing. The ending felt a little thrown together too.

Much as I enjoyed the book, I have to say that I was put off by the title - it seemed vacuous and cliched. In addition the description also gave away quite a key event that doesn't happen until almost halfway through the book which was slightly disappointing, I would have preferred for it to be a surprise.

Overall though an excellent read covering the different stages of a woman's life - thoroughly readable and I would happily recommend to friends.

I enjoyed this coming of age novel about motherhood, careers, and the tension between the two, but I didn’t love it. I think I just didn’t quite understand some of the characters’ motivations, particularly with regards to the relationship between Dylan and Laura. The novel reminded me a bit of Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane, which every was reading this time last year, so if you enjoyed that you may also enjoy Perfect Tunes.

I really enjoyed this book but I felt the ending left me hanging slightly. The tone of the book is quite sleepy and languid, and the characters can seem quite passive, I thought, but I enjoyed that. I thought the way that Emily covered the idea of having to grow up and move on, while staying attached to the past, was really well covered, and I thought she also wrote very well about the tension of parenthood. I read this book very quickly as it was very easy to, and the writing flowed really well. I just would have liked more resolution at the end.

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould is about a young woman who dreams of being a singer and songwriter and how that dream has to fit around what happens in her life as she ages.

This novel was an interesting read. I enjoyed the storyline over the years but found it slightly harder to get into than other books., how we, once it found its feet it was enjoyable. Fans of Daisy Jones & The Six, this is one for you!