I really enjoyed this! I am big lover of music and really enjoyed the references to various bands etc in the book. I loved the complex relationship between Percy & Joe, and enjoyed that it was set over a long time period.

Zoe was my favourite character and I loved her relationship with Percy too!

I think anyone that enjoyed Daisy Jones & the Six would enjoy this. I also found the way that the story was told over time, with the main characters coming together at various points in their lives quite similar to the pacing of One Day.

What’s so stunning about Deep Cuts is how it explores that bittersweet truth: sometimes, to love someone fully, you have to let them go. The emotional depth and complexity of this story is impossible to ignore, and the writing? It’s as smooth as a pop song, but with the emotional pull of a ballad that’ll leave you breathless.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7191518452

I really enjoyed this. It's relatively slight but a very believable love story. The protagonist, Percy, is an interesting, fully rounded character with a tendency to analyse life through the medium of pop/rock songs. The only slight downside was its tendency to read like an academic essay in places, as Percy takes a particular song apart and explains it. That's not to say that these sections of the book aren't interesting and impressive - they are - and someone with more knowledge of music than me might really love them. It's just that to me they felt more like a thesis than a novel!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I was really hoping to love this as it seemed like the perfect literary read for music lovers... and I enjoyed it. I had seen SO many people compare it to daisy jones and the six and despite the ensemble of messy, endearing and painfully raw characters and their, of course, infatuation with music... it was naturally VERY different.

there was so much of this story that I adored: the push and pull between the two protagonists and their inevitable heartbreaks and coming back togethers, the messiness, the setting etc. but what I didn't adore as much: the MILLION pop culture musical references every other sentence. at times, many of them landed and allowed for an incredibly realistic atmosphere. but due to the quantity of them, it absolutely took me out of the story slightly.

I appreciated this for what it was and can see MANY people falling in love with it.

Just want to start by saying that I honestly think that listening to the playlist on Spotify would have made all the difference to my experience, unfortunately I don’t have Spotify and didn’t find out about the playlist until after I had finished the book.
This is the perfect love story for music lovers, I enjoyed it but I don’t think I was able to fully appreciate it. There are so many music references that underpin the entire experience, especially Percy’s writing, and it just wasn’t for me.
Apart from that I liked the play between the characters, their truth and their growth as people worked really well. I was rooting for them, and it was agonising at times as they kept losing their rhythm.

This is an absolute banger of a debut novel from Holly Brickley. It's a love story set to music. I absolutely loved it and have reccomended it to all of my book club friends.

So to start, a personal preference.

I hate it when books feature fake songs.
I hate it when characters sing them.
I hate the lyrics in a book.

I always always skim over them and find it cringey.

So it says a lot that this book, ostensibly about song-writing, is a 5 star from me.

I absolutely loved this. I think it helps when a book is set in the early 00s which was when I was a teen and goes into the early 2010s when I was in my early 20s as it’s such a nostalgic time for me.

Percy felt so real and I loved how she wasn’t perfect. She was annoying, pedantic, condescending. I loved how well-rounded she was.

I loved her relationship with Joe and even more so with Zoe. I loved how this was about the love of a friend, not just a partner.

I love a book which progresses through time - this starts in 2000 and travels to a recognisable almost-modern-day.

This is going to be huge and I can’t wait to see its success.

5 stars.

I feel like I've been waiting to read this book for the last 20 years! As a uni student during the Brit Pop years I LOVED all the nostalgic references, I LOVED all the in depth music conversation (and strong opinions!), I LOVED the ever-changing relationships between Percy, Joe, Zoe and all the others who entered and left their lives through the years, and most of all I LOVED how it showed how music can be one of the most defining influences in our lives, loves and relationships. Occasionally the pace felt a little off, sometimes too lethargic, sometimes racing too fast but that is just the smallest of niggles as there is so much heart woven throughout that more than made up for it. Surely this is going to be one of THE books of 2025 and someone has been smart enough to have bought the rights to make this into an amazing, ensemble cast, 5 star movie!

Wow a great book and new musical loves too

I really enjoyed this book by Holly Brickley. It’s tells a story of two young people Joan and Percy who in whilst they are in college bond with their love of similar music. They write a song together and Joe goes on to become a famous musician using that song as a springboard for his career . Percy uses her musical interest to springboard a career in music journalism.
We meet the two through various time periods and their on off will they won’t they? Relationship forms the backbone of the story.
Both the main characters and the selection of cameo characters are beautifully described and seem real people you’re quickly invested in their relationships.

From the start you need your Spotify open as you will need to listen to the music from the book
I’d never heard of the band Neuutral milk hotel before but I rather loved them The Shins magic fields neutral milk hotel eel thank you so much for introducing me to these artists

Whilst , I was reading a novel I posted on social media Open I’m reading Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley the novel I dare you to read without your music streaming service open as you listen to the songs from the novel I’ve only just started and I’ve discovered new songs and rediscovered old favourites .ohh this is such fun
The only problem is I can’t listen to music and read at the same time so this book may take a while “
It’s not often that I feel the need to post before I finished a novel but this novel was one of them. I knew I found a little gem and I know this book is going to be very popular.
The author has a clear concise easily read post style making the book and easy immersive read
It is bound to be compared to Daisy Jones and the six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is published on the 13th of March 2025 by Harper Collins UK Harper fiction.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com.

After publication the book the review will also appear on Amazon UK

Between getting this on NetGalley and actually reading it, I had heard so much about this book! Set between California and New York in the 2000s, it follows Percy, obsessed with music, and her connection with up-and-coming indie musician Joe. I both liked and didn't like this as much as I was expecting: I wanted more from the romance, and all the musings on what songs meant to the characters occasionally left me cold. But I've never really enjoyed analysis of music: even though writing is my favourite thing, I've never found it an adequate medium to truly describe how music makes us feel, and I experienced the same thing with this book.

But Deep Cuts was so readable, a perfect train book. My favourite thing was the evocation of early 2000s Brooklyn and Berkeley; all the little details made the time period feel so so vivid and authentic, without being a pastiche. I really liked the songwriting discussions and how much their deep love of music made Percy and Joe's bond shine. I'm much more well-versed in British indie bands than American ones, but the musical references were great – I can't wait to listen to all the songs mentioned!

Deep Cuts is an incredibly beautifully crafted book. It touches on creativity,, authenticity, innovation, passion, love, collaboration and obsession. Written is with such honesty, electricity and intensity it is an irresistible read. The reading hours passed and the time was not noticeable, What stands out is how timeless this story is and how relevant it is today.. This debut novel is a masterpiece. Joe is a star. Percy can bring out the very best in him and shape his music into something very special. How will they work with the tensions and dilemmas in their relationship?

You don't have to be a music geek to love this book (although it probably helps). The characters, the interactions, theprose - this book just works on so many levels.

Firstly, I’d like to extend my gratitude to HarperCollins UK and HarperFiction for granting me access to this ARC. The writing itself was exceptional, showcasing a talented author. However, I struggled to connect with the characters, which hindered my overall experience. The premise of young love intertwined with music, presenting an almost perfect romance with a soulmate and a satisfying ending, is undoubtedly appealing and could be exactly what many readers are searching for. Despite this, I found the pacing a bit too slow for my taste. This is simply my personal opinion and doesn’t imply that others wouldn’t enjoy it. I rated it a 4 because the writing was truly remarkable, and the storytelling was well-crafted. Yet, I felt the characters fell short of being the strongest aspect of the book.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

Let me start by saying I went from 4* to 5* and then back to 4*. The only reason it jumped to four stars is because the ending was perfect – by that I mean it ended exactly the way I wanted it to. Although that’s a wonderful thing, the novel on a whole had something that made it slightly miss the mark. Therefore, I’m settling on 4/ 4.5 stars.

I love a college almost-romance. The sexual tension, the will-they-won’t-they?, the easy repartee between two people who are meant to be together but don’t know how to be. This had all of that alongside all the craziness that comes with someone that has too much book intelligence and not enough emotional intelligence. I suppose this comes with the Ivy league stereotype. Or just the stereotype of teenagers trying to find themselves. Either way, I found the main character a little bit frustrating at times. That’s just part of her characterisation.

Music was a huge part of this novel and it was fab that the feelings/ emotions were able to be explored through this music. I felt glad that I at least knew some of the references otherwise I can imagine this might have been quite alienating for a reader. Overall, a good friendship/ love story sustained through an easy and transparent writing style by Holly Brickley which felt easily nostalgic for a time we all wish we could have done slightly differently in the moment but ends up being exactly the way it’s meant to be in the end.

Really enjoyed the journey with the characters and I look forward to reading other stories by Brickley in the future.

I did love this initially when I started reading it, especially the main three characters but eventually the huge sections of the book that go off on a tangent into music just really started to bore me!

Deep Cuts is an interesting literally fiction book. It follows main characters Percy and Joe as they work together on his music at college and their ongoing relationship over the years. There is a heavy influence of music throughout this book and as someone who does not have a huge knowledge/interest in music I did initially find this a bit off-putting. I'm sure there will be readers who love this aspect but unfortunately this was not for me and I found myself skimming the longer sections of music content. That said I'm glad I stuck with it as although I found the first third of the book a bit slow I really connected with the characters and their development in the second half of the book. I did find myself rooting for the characters and getting immersed in their story. The book is a well written character driven novel with realistic characters who were sometimes unlikeable and a bit infuriating but ultimately made for great development and an addictive read.

I have such mixed feelings about this book in the best way - I was so frustrated by the characters but in love with the writing and storytelling!

Percy and Joe have this invisible string relationship (if you could even call it that) set on the backdrop of a passion for listening, creating and critiquing music. Following their journey over the years since they meet at college transitioning into the real world of 00's America.

It felt nostalgic to have their story set to the music of the time but it did feel like at some point the music was the main character of the story (this might be your thing). At first, Percy felt like a sort of Rory Gilmore style character with her music passion filtering into her life but there was a nice departure from this archetype into someone who want to see the world through music. I wasn't sure on Joe's character but found that he the person that life happens to - they're in the right place at the right time for the adventure. The interactions between the the FMC and MMC are interesting and I only wish we got to see more of that - especially at the tail end of the story. But the star of the book for me was Zoe! I really loved her development and her character's path. I would loved to have seen more of her.

Overall, a really lovely read with a good hook and would be a warming read to anyone with a interest of the music of the time!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

'Deep Cuts' by Holly Brickley is a novel set in, and heavily influenced by, the music of the early 2000's. Percy is a girl who connects deeply with the music she listens to, but struggles to make connections with other people; while Joe has an easy charm and charisma, but events in his childhood continue to impact on him. The two find each other in a bar in Berkley, and bond over their shared musical tastes, but the friendship they develop over the following years is tumultuous.

Brickley clearly knows her music. At times I found Percy's 'essays' on the subject, which pepper the novel, a confusing interruption to the narrative. However, as the book carried on they really helped me as a reader to understand her, and as a result the story had a deeper emotional impact on me. I also enjoyed finding the playlist from the novel. I was at university at the same this novel is set and, whilst that was in the UK, I could relate to some of the neuroses of the time, alongside the music. I have to say it was a bit confronting to see this novel described as 'historical fiction'. Overall I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it.

very steamy and freaky reads from various authors! need to reread again so I can understand some of the positions again.