what a beautiful and creative book, I felt transported in time, far out of my own environment into a world of its own. I felt so immersed into Janes life and couldn't put the page down.

As usual in my reviews I will not rehash the plot (you will find reviews like that out there already).

This was something of a "mixed bag" for me - a curate's egg, good and bad in parts.

I enjoyed reading about the music, the music business, the festivals, and the family - and the interplay between the characters was mainly believable. It seems that parts of the book are loosely based on real people (eg Joni Mitchell) which adds depth to the characterisation.

However some parts of the novel just didn't feel authentic - I found it hard to believe that the up and coming band would suddenly start taking drugs (and a mixture of drugs at that) at a party when there had been no indications that any of them did anything other than drink or smoke a bit of weed. Also I didn't quite understand why the "mystery" at the heart of the book was kept as such a mystery - maybe I missed something.

Enjoyed the book on the whole anyway, but only three stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I recieved an ARC of this novel thanks to #netgalley.
Songs in Ursa Major is a novel centred around Jane and Jesse, folk artists who fall in love in the late 1960's, early 70's in the US. It charts their rise to fame against a backdrop of the testosterone fuelled rock scene. The characters have their own demons to battle. Jane is desperate to maintain her artistic soul while battling the corporation, whilst Jesse struggles with his mental health.
The narrative flows easily making this an enjoyable easy read. It deals with the issues of the patriarchy and the stigma of mental health in a really good way.
The novel was well researched and sometimes read like a documentary. At times the detail was a bit overwhelming and detracted from the main story of Jane and Jesse. I adored the two main characters and was desperately rooting for the pair throughout the book.
I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

This is the story of Jane Quinn and her journey through the music industry in the 1960s/70s. Jane can't believe her luck when she is recording with huge star Jesse.

A good read for fans of music in that era. I have to admit I found it a bit of a chore to read at times and did not finish.

Three stars. Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I read the description I was hooked, and this did not disappoint. Set in the 60s/70s, Songs in Ursa Major follows Jane Quinn as she navigates the misogyny of the music industry, and how this crashes into her dreams. There were several parts whilst reading this I was urged to stand alongside Jane and applaud how she carries herself. She's cool, and yet relatable.

Then there's Jesse, and honestly I could read about Jesse and Jane all day. I want to know everything. The song lyrics peppered throughout this novel really helped to bring the story and its emotion alive.

I went in with high expectations and they were certainly met.

I don’t think this was the book for me.

I remember in my late teens having a boyfriend who liked to explain music to me. This books makes me feel very similarly.
The characters were ok and it wasn’t a terribly written book but I just think I wanted more from the story.
Essentially it’s the story of Jane who is a very good singer in a band who has some minor success and then record company peril and a bad boyfriend. Nothing ground breaking.

Kept me entertained for a while though and got me thinking about why society does worship song writers etc

Songs in Ursa Major was well written with an engaging set of characters.

When Jane Quinn performed at a local music festival with her band 'Breakers', she had no idea they would soon be recording their own album and supporting popular artist, Jesse Reid on tour. There are a few different threads to the novel but they all merge seamlessly. We have the developing love story between Jane and Jesse, the story of her home life on the island and the way females were treated in the music industry at the time.

I loved that Jane was depicted as a strong character, who fought to put her stamp on her album and wasn't afraid to have an altercation with the music producer. I wondered if the book needed the story of Jane's life at home on the island but it becomes clear that it is imperative to the story. Her mother, Charlotte had written lyrics to a song called Lilac Waltz which had been plagiarised by another singer.

I enjoyed the lyrics throughout the book which gave an insight into Jane and Jesse's emotions. It would have been great to have an accompanying CD :)

The epilogue at the end was a perfect end to this enjoyable read.

Thanks indeed to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I tried but it just wasn't for me. It reads very much as a factual rockumentary with 'factoids' about lead singers of British rock groups having played a particular club, all very well but it is fiction so these rather lengthy and made up 'facts' irritated me. According to the blurb there is some 'secret' which changes everything - unfortunately my . interest evaporated before it could be revealed. It struck me as a 'Daisy Jones and the Six' tribute book, but could not quite pull off the act.