I enjoyed this engaging book. The short chapters and compelling storyline pulled me in and kept me reading. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

An excellent book and what a collaboration between James Patterson a great writer and Dolly Parton a fantastic storyteller through song with an understanding of the world in which the story is set. Bringing realism to the page.

a good idea but personally not my cup of tea took me ages to finish as just didn't hook me I think others would love this thou

I'm very torn when it comes to reviewing this book.

On the one hand I really enjoyed it. My little country loving heart adored the musical elements of this book and the story of an up and coming star.

However I really didn't enjoy the thriller side of things. I felt like it wasnt really needed and I would have wholeheartedly been content with just the music storyline.

Overall a decent read and one that I enjoyed!

Also I've just found out Kelsea Ballerini voiced AnnieLee and now I wish i had listened to the audiobook haha!

I didn't find this book very capaviting. I read a number of chapters before deciding this book wasn't for me. I just found it to be quite boring as I was expecting more of a thriller and excitement element.

I love James Patterson and I love Dolly, so I was so pleased to get to read this. Although a little cliche at times, the deliberate holding back of AnnieLee’s past adds suspense and drama to the narrative.
An easy read in typical Patterson style.

This was another anticipated read that didn’t quite live up to expectation. It doesn’t really have a mystery or a thriller feeling. It seems really quite slow going. It took over half the book for anything really to happen. Our female lead, Annie Lee was annoying and quite juvenile at times. Not taking help when it was offered. I like the male lead but he seemed older than he was meant to be. It was fun but not what I was expecting.

I got an arc of this months a go and have no idea why I'd been putting it off! Actually, that's a lie. I was putting it off because thrillers aren't my typical genre, but I'm glad I made an exception for Mrs Dolly Parton!

Run Rose Run follows Annie Lee's journey from sleeping in a park to selling out country music shows. If you picked this up on the basis of it being a thriller, you will be disappointed. This was barely a mystery. The 'thrilling' part felt like it's purpose was to build Annie Lee's character rather than be something for the reader to solve. I didn't mind this at all (as I don't love a thriller), but worth baring that in mind.

However, if you want a story about country music and found family, with a bit of a mystery, this might be a good fit for you! Also IT HAS A PARTNER ALBUM! SO IMMERSIVE!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Dolly Parton (and I guess James Patterson) for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it's so late!

A great read. Easy to follow, it’s a captivating story and it has Dolly Parton’s stamp all over it. The story follows a poor country singer trying to make it in the music industry while also running from a broken past. It had it all.

A good mystery for (obviously) fans of music and Dolly Parton. Told in typical James Patterson straightforward style this was a compelling read.

I was really looking forward to the title - two of my favourites coming together to write a novel. I have to say I was slightly disappointed - there just wasn't enough action in it for me. That said, it was an enjoyable read albeit with a slightly predictable storyline. Dolly's writes just as she speaks and I could hear her hillbilly Tennessee accent coming through in every line which was great. This was a quick and enjoyable read.

Many thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the review copy.

I am a huge fan of Dolly Parton so when I saw that Run Rose Run was available to read and review, I was so pleased! Nashville here we come! I have not read any books by James Patterson so I was also pleased to be introduced to a new author too. They make a great combination in writing a perfect book!

Run Rose Run is an absolutely brilliant book! Such a page turner yet I did not want it to finish. I felt as if I was stepping into a film set reading it as it was so realistic, you could visualise everything - the characters, the beat of the music, the atmosphere, the tension, the smells - so incredibly written. I was rooting for AnnieLee Keyes all along on her very very troubled and dark past and tough life journey. The book is so incredibly written - you can sense AnnieLee's pain, you can sense all the pressure and stress she is under, you can sense her nerves. Absolutely, a stunning sensational read.

At the start of the book, I thought I knew exactly how it was going to go but I was very happily completely wrong. Run Rose Run is such a brilliant book, very emotional and very inspiring.

I wish I could give it much more than 5 stars! At the end of the book is a wonderful Songbook with all the lyrics of the songs featured in the book. I really really hope there is a follow up to Run Rose Run and I cannot wait until the movie comes out!
Thank you very much for my advanced copy. This review is based on a NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

“The truth—whatever that may look like—doesn’t really matter. There’s only what you tell us, and what you’ll have us believe.”

AnnieLee enters Nashville determined to make it as a singer, with nothing to her name and no friends or family to speak of, only a grit to survive and a desperation to be somebody.

Despite being advertised as a James Patterson thriller meets country music backdrop with the insight of Dolly Parton, the focus is unequivocally “singer making it in Nashville” with a primary arc of AnnieLee’s musical journey. There’s a sprinkle of mystery about her past that becomes a bit more thriller esq towards the end, and it’s a bit of a switch from the small titbits we get throughout. Instead, the book reminded me more of a warm-hearted country soap or even romance- although this again is on a backseat to AnnieLee’s larger story, and it is a sweet sweet slow burn.

This won’t appease everyone but suits me perfectly. I love a bit of mystery and a few twists thrown in but with a bit of romance and a whole lot of heart. I will add that in that soap opera style there are strands and plot points which really push past realism but are perfect enjoyed with popcorn. Although, you could see Dolly’s experience coming through in the writing and it did a lot to ground the book, especially the setting and characters, where it could.

I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC but after being ill for a frustratingly long time, I definitely missed the publication deadline by over a mile. But when I wasn’t at a point where I could read much and I was still sleeping a lot, I bought the audiobook and I’ve been switching between the two. While the book was still easy to read and engaging, the audiobook was on a whole other level. Hearing Dolly Parton and all the characters come alive was amazing and I would definitely recommend it for the full experience. The narrative, especially AnnieLee’s voice, is very reflective and hearing their voices alongside the great character development made me feel a sort of kinship with everyone. Plus Dolly has recorded an album of songs from the book which you can find on Spotify! Insert excited squeal from a certain Dolly fan here.

This book has so much heart and hope, mixed in with a bit of heartbreak, suspense and drama, all in the usual country music fashion. If Nashville is your jam and you have a soft spot for music-centred dreams, then you know to add this one to your TBR.

Driven, driven to be smarter
Driven to work harder
Driven to be better every day
Driven, yes you gotta be
Nothing you cannot achieve
Take the wheel and just believe
that you can change your life.

I was really intrigued by this book as I am a HUGE Dolly Parton fan so was excited to read it. I found it pretty engaging and enjoyable, but it wasn’t a favourite. I thought the characters were great but I was more invested in the side characters at points, rather than Annie Lee’s story. However, I did grow to like her and loved watching her blossoming relationship with Ethan. I did find some of the decisions Annie Lee made to be quite unrealistic, but the story moved at a good pace and kept my interest.
I loved all the country music references and content, and definitely thought this element of the book was a highlight for me. I’m a big country music fan and it made me even more keen to visit Nashville!

I wanted to read this book so much because I love James Patterson and let’s face it who doesn’t love Dolly Parton! But I hate to say it, I was a bit disappointed. The story had so much build up and so much promise, I was turning every page wanting more and wanting to know more, but then the ending just ‘fell out’ within a couple of chapters. It felt rushed, especially when the whole book had been building up to this huge moment, it almost felt ‘too easy’. I really wanted to like this book but the last couple of chapters let me down.

I really wanted to love this book. Dolly Parton is an absolute queen and I was so excited when I heard that she had written a book.

This is a classic rags to riches story. AnnieLee Keyes turns up in Nashville with nothing but a voice that could make her a star. She is sassy and determined. She refuses to take no for an answer and is determined to take her destiny into her own hand. She has a voice, the look and the talent to be a star, but she is hiding dark secrets and is cagey about her past.

Ruthanna Ryder is the retired queen of country: the huge star with a massive back catalogue of hits and a wardrobe full of sequins. When she hears AnnieLee singing she takes her under her wing and sets her off on her road to stardom.

Ruthanna is clearly the Dolly-inspired character. She is relentlessly generous with her money, her time and her experience, even when AnnieLee is actually quite rude and ungrateful.

Where I struggled with the book is that I didn’t really warm to AnnieLee. Her confidence comes across as simply arrogance. Rather than acting like someone starting out and taking all the opportunities that come her way, she is demanding and at points refuses to take the advice of people who know far more than she does. For some reason every sticks with her and continues to find her adorable and wants to help her.

This is a book of two halves. Or even thirds. The majority of the book is how AnnieLee gets her break in the music industry. There’s a lot of song writing and rehearsing. AnnieLee is always amazing. The action part comes towards the end of the book and to be honest I found it really over the top. I won’t say too much in case you are planning to read it, but it turned into an action thriller that was so out of place with the first two-thirds of the book it all seemed implausible. It gets dark very quickly.

Despite the darkness, AnnieLee seems to recover remarkably quickly and the epilogue is pure fairytale.

I have given this a generous three stars – because it’s Dolly Parton and I liked the way that song lyrics are incorporated into the story. I didn’t like the thriller aspect of the book and never really warmed to the main character. Ruthanna is a much more interesting character than AnnieLee.

Thank you to Netgalley for my gifted digital copy. If you love Dolly Parton, country music and Nashville then this is one for you.

Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton & James Patterson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.

Every song tells a story.
She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her.
She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past.

Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.

An entertaining story of a young, talented singer trying to run away from her abusive past. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrators really brought this story to life. I was a little sceptical going into this book but it was a delight to read and there is never a dull moment.

Rating 4/5

There are not too many surprises in this mystery set in Nashville. Authentically created characters, all with pasts and secrets, drive this story forward. Their dynamic is believable, as is the setting, and it's an enjoyable read. I like the location and the depth of the characters.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Who doesn't want to read a book written by Dolly Parton, global superstar and all round angel?
Run Rose Run is a collaboration between two champions in their field, Dolly Parton and James Patterson, in a searing tale of Annie Lee, a country singer who wants to be famous and leave her past behind her. On the way she meets a legendary country singer Ruthanna Ryder, who takes her under her wing, Annie faces trials and tribulations, hardships and heartbreak of course she does, she wouldn't be a country singer without that - and you know where Annie's journey is going to end up, but its such an enjoyable escapist ride to get there, written in short pithy chapters with plenty of opportunities for 'just one more page' . And it comes with its own soundtrack - how fabulous is that
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read it

To be honest, I’m not a big country music fan and I struggled at the beginning to relate to the storyline but, it’s an enjoyable read and won me over. It’s a good rags to riches, on-the-run story - not quite as traditional a thriller as I’d expect from James Patterson but you can hear and feel Dolly is central in this collaboration.