The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes

I wanted to love this book, but it ended up taking me 2 weeks or more to finish it, which is atypical for me. It dragged and I kept waiting for the excitement to hit. Every big plot point was dull because no stakes had been raised. For a book about one person (Cassidy Holmes), we sure didn’t get a whole lot of who she was. Truthfully it read more like a YA book than adult fiction. All the different perspectives blended together. This needed a much sharper edit, with a machete, to cut down at least 100 pages, if not 150. Eeek, this book had so much promise but I just don’t think it was executed very well.

Let’s first get this out of the way. Outside of being about a band this is not like Daisy & The Six. DATS was better. However that doesn’t mean I didn’t like this book on its own. It has a great soap opera feel with a Beverly Hills/Melrose Place (the originals) kinda vibe. I could see Gloss plying at Peach Pit After Dark and Rose getting hit on by David Silver. Lol It was a great read with interesting characters and the story line was great. Of course having it all set the music industry was a lot of fun. Cassidy herself got on my nerves at times – of course they all did – but her especially. The book over all was a bit depressing but again with the soap opera vibe, it wasn’t too much. I will say the ending wasn’t super satisfying but you can draw your own conclusions. It was a good book and over all I liked it. I just wish it had a bit more depth.

I enjoyed this!! I keep reading how Daisy Jones and The Six is a better book on the \”rock star genre\”, but I beg to differ. This was the story of Gloss, a 4 member girl group that shot to worldwide stardom around 1999 – 2002. Each Gloss girl was flawed and you get to learn about their heartbreaks, their climb to stardom, and what it ultimately cost them in their personal lives. The writing was quick, easy to follow and engaging. The story alternated between the early years of Gloss, right up to the present day. Lots of turn of the century nostalgia, deep examinations of friendship, sexism, and racism — all these were addressed without being preachy. This is just a good book ! I finished this in one sitting. It was just that engaging.

3.75 stars I had a good feeling going in I would like this book. I\’m a big pop culture junkie and I was a young adult in the early 2000s. I remember this time period vividly and so this fictional story about the rise and fall of an all female music group was right up my alley. The author did a nice job capturing the nostalgia of that era\’s music scene while also highlighting how the industry is not particularly kind to young women. The story kicks off with letting you know the ending right from the start. Cassidy Holmes, a former member of the music group, Gloss, has died. The story goes back to 1999 and leads you on Cassidy\’s journey as she experiences the rise to stardom as well as the price of fame with the group. You also get glimpses into the lives of the surviving members, Merry, Rose, and Yumi, after finding out the news of Cassidy\’s death. I appreciated the attention to details in the story, whether it be something simple like name-dropping Kitson, or a minor subplot that brought Lisa \”Left Eye\” Lopes to mind. And while the book on a surface level has a bit of a VH1 Behind the Music type feel, there\’s substance as well. The timing of me reading this book was interesting as some of the pop stars and actresses of the early 2000s have been making the news in recent days. It\’s like it just now dawned on the masses that the treatment of young female celebrities by both the media and the general public was gross and unfair. (I have other words I\’d like to use but I\’ll keep this review family friendly) This book wasn\’t a perfect read as the pace was slow at times but it was a worthwhile one for me.

DNF at 37% I tried. I gave this book 3 days, and I just didn\’t care about any of the characters or even what happens. I thought this would be a great inside look at a 90\’s pop all-girl band (think The Spice Girls) and all the things they have to endure, but it was just so flat. Also, ANYONE who compares this to \’Daisy Jones and the Six\’ should no longer be allowed to read books. This book is nothing like Daisy Jones. N.O.T.H.I.N.G I\’m giving it two stars because, while I don\’t care for it, it is somewhat readable, and there are people out there who will find this entertaining. I am not one of them. I never felt anything for Cassidy, and Rose was just awful. I skimmed the rest of the book to see how it ended, and I\’m standing by my decision to DNF this. Life\’s too short to read books you don\’t like.

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