Before I start, here’s the blurb…
Dave Bentley was born to be a rock star.
He’s a reincarnated Viking warrior, too…
When Dave forms his new band, Thor, there are plenty of sleepless nights for Janice, his on-off girlfriend and mother of his son. Not only must she deal with the thrills and spills of life as a hardworking single mum, but also the imminent return of singer-songwriter Ariel Swan, Dave’s one true love.
Poor Janice. Dave is still the love of her life.
Ariel Swan returns to small town life – and Dave’s heart.
She and her friend Melodie (whose ambition is to be “a celebrity”) enter a TV talent competition, so Dave and the rest of Thor decide to make the most of the opportunity for possible fame and fortune, too. This adventure brings about big changes in the lives of all of them – none of which Dave could have anticipated.
One member of Thor even ends up on The Jeremy Kyle Show..
I’m a rock chick at heart…Ask BBH, she knows my deal. So I’ve read a few ‘rock’ inspired books. Various storylines and characters. Contemporary fiction type reads. I enjoyed most of them. And I really enjoyed this one. Dream On intertwines (British) rock music, romance and the normal everyday trials and tribulations we all could face. It was the (very well thought-out) inclusion of ‘everyday life’ that made this book feel really ‘human’ to me. The earnest face of trying to make it in todays world, with the term ‘making it’ having very different meanings to the various characters. But don’t for a second that the ‘everyday’ setting makes it boring, because it really doesn’t. So, firstly let me set the scene with this excerpt from band mate Ritchie…
“I’ve said it before, I know, and I’ll say it again; one minute you’re sauntering along, happy as Larry; you’ve got a gig that night, money in your wallet and some little darling in the audience who’s only got eyes for you, and the next day you wake up next to a woman you don’t recognise who’s put on five stone, wears pyjamas to bed so you won’t get any ideas, thinks more of the kids than she does of you, and wants you to pack in your music and get some shit boring job so that you can pay for her to sit on her arse and watch Jeremy Kyle all day. I’ve seen it happen over and over again.”
This had me cracking up! You gotta love it!
One aspect that kept the book flowing was that we had a few main characters heading up their various stories and parts in the overall story. I loved that these characters didn’t just sound like they had the same voice with a different name. They all had substance. They all were real. They all had quirks, mannerisms and back stories that really came across when it was their turn to be focused on. By doing this, Terry Tyler manages to cover a lot of ground but it doesn’t get confusing or jumpy. It makes the reader feel like we are part of their world, part of their gang, that we are drinking at the pub and living it with them.
My BBH and I do read the odd entertainment blog, so we get the concept of ‘celebrity’ so I really enjoyed reading a book that touched on today’s obsession with people getting their ‘15’ minutes of fame and how the entertainment industry works the way it does. About how music shows aren’t purely about musical talent. That ‘looks’ do matter. That the role of social media can’t be underestimated. That to the world, entertainment value is everything. That there are a lot of people in competition for an opportunity. I thought this book captured all of this really well, giving you a peek into what you can imagine it would be like for contestants behind the 1 hour televised contest show installment some people watch on Sunday nights.
I don’t want to give too much away about this book; I want you to read it for yourself. If you like a good contemporary fiction read you’ll really enjoy this; I guess the theme that keeps coming through in this review is that it’s relatable. It’s real and engaging. You can hear the music, smell the beer and feel the emotions. It was a cool read and I’ll be reading the follow up, Full Circle, for sure because I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to these guys!
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