I had stars in my eyes and I couldn't see around them...
The year is 1995 and my parents have finally allowed me to take the summer to tour in a VW van across the country with my boyfriend Evan and our band. Yes, my dream to be a singer became reality. Even with Clarissa, Evan's jealous ex-girlfriend, as the lead singer, it's my presence on stage that led us to a major record deal. There are moments you'll always remember in life, but I can't imagine anything more cool than hearing your song on the radio for the first time.
But being a Rockstar isn't as easy as it sounds. Using alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms, nothing but tension surrounded me, hurting my still blossoming relationship, and continued grieving over my sister's death.
A love letter to the nineties and a journey of a girl becoming a woman, Grenade Bouquets charts the rollercoaster ride of a band primed to explode on the scene, as long as they keep from actually exploding. ~taken from Goodreads
The year is 1995 and my parents have finally allowed me to take the summer to tour in a VW van across the country with my boyfriend Evan and our band. Yes, my dream to be a singer became reality. Even with Clarissa, Evan's jealous ex-girlfriend, as the lead singer, it's my presence on stage that led us to a major record deal. There are moments you'll always remember in life, but I can't imagine anything more cool than hearing your song on the radio for the first time.
But being a Rockstar isn't as easy as it sounds. Using alcohol and drugs as coping mechanisms, nothing but tension surrounded me, hurting my still blossoming relationship, and continued grieving over my sister's death.
A love letter to the nineties and a journey of a girl becoming a woman, Grenade Bouquets charts the rollercoaster ride of a band primed to explode on the scene, as long as they keep from actually exploding. ~taken from Goodreads
Well Nico, we meet again! I loved Goldberg's first book, Runaway Train, and reviewed it back in April of this year. We didn't have to wait too long for the next installment and I was excited to find out what Nico has been up to since finishing her road trip of self discovery.
This picks up where the first book left off. Nico has grown into herself and seems to know exactly what she wants in life. She has her life together again and has goals. Her parents agree to let her go on tour with the band for the summer and Nico is excited to be on the road and singing, not to mention she gets to tour with her new boyfriend who is also in the band!
As the tour progresses and the band starts to get noticed, the dynamics between band members start to change. The prospect of fame and fortune can make or break a person, and emotions between them all run high. Nico goes through a whole new wave of self discovery in this novel and while I loved book one, the plot of this book was pretty predicable.
Don't get me wrong, this was a wild, raw, emotional ride but the entire premise of a 17 year old teenager given permission to join the grunge music world without parental or even adult supervision just seemed odd to me. This was a girl who just ran away in the last book, now her parents are like "yeah, pack up and travel in a crappy van to sing lead for a band you just met"... It just didn't sit right with me and was on the back of my mind the entire time.
The characters from the first book fill the pages of this book too. The author did a wonderful job with continuing to grow them out for the reader. We get to know the bandmates a bit more and hear some backstories about how music came to be big in their lives. The plot moves quickly though, and there were times I wish we could just pause and be in the moment- get more details about what the characters went through and how they felt instead of just breezing through what felt like a big moment.
I will admit that I was not not a fan of Nico for most of this book. I too was once a teenage girl in the 90s, but just could not relate to most of Nico's choices and actions. I know this is a time of self discovery and exploration, but Nico was downright hateful, selfish, and so immature most of the time (which added to my "where are her parents" thoughts) that it got old reading about her bad choices she makes while drinking and doing drugs.
You will need to be ready to create and/or add songs to your 90s playlist while reading! Every chapter is named after a song and band from the 90s. I was surprised that there were a couple I had forgotten about and went to immediately add to my Apple playlist! The nostalgia in this book is just as high as it was in the first book. 90s references of music, clothing, and even movies and tv shows will leave you longing for your teen years again.
The ending... just didn't satisfy. Things felt too up in the air and I look forward to seeing if book number 3 is in the works!
It took me less than a day to finish this book so I did enjoy it and recommend reading both books! "Grenade Bouquets" is out today, August 5, 2021, so get it now! You won't be disappointed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wise Wolf Books for allowing me an advanced e-copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 4 star read for me!
Happy Reading!
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