This is a lesser known series that was described as an accurate depiction of mental illness. It consists of four books and one novella, each told from a different character’s perspective. The series follows a social circle of famous/infamous rock musicians, and the challenges that they encounter, both personally and professionally. Throughout the entirety of the series, issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, grief, suicide and abuse are covered. It is geared towards young adults, but I do feel that it has the possibility to translate to an adult audience, as many of the characters are in their mid to late twenties.
I have vastly different opinions on each book in this series. The stand-out book that I truly loved and would recommend is the fourth, Limelight. The main character was the most realistic, and his story gripped me in a way that the other characters’ did not. Additionally, this one had less of a “YA” feel to it, and it wasn’t based around romance.
The romance throughout this series was an issue for me. In every single story, the relationships goes from 0 to 10. It’s as if a part was omitted, and these characters who hardly know each other are suddenly madly in love. Additionally, I was not a fan of the female characters. They were boy obsessed to a fault (with the exception of the female love interest in Limelight) and were written to be completely unrealistic. I was so frustrated by this, that I nearly stopped reading the series all-together. It wasn’t until I got to the third book (Viper) that I felt a semi-realistic female character who was not one-dimensional was introduced.
In terms of mental health, I think that each book did an excellent job of depicting various issues. This is particularly true later on in the series. The first book did an okay job of explaining depression, but the way to support someone with depression was a bit off. Essentially, the main female decided she needed to save the depressed rockstar. Instead of recommending he seek professional help, she did the exact opposite of what you are supposed to do in that situation, and holed up in his hotel suite, attempting to “fix” him. However, I think the fourth book did an excellent job of showing how to truly help someone struggling with an addiction, and this is partially why it was my favorite.
Overall, the writing was pretty good. I laughed out loud a few times and I also cried during Limelight. These books are stand-alone, so I would absolutely recommend reading Limelight (and maybe Viper). However, I would skip the rest.
