This Bird Has Flown
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
A delightfully funny and romantic debut novel from Susanna Hoffs, the celebrated performer and co-founder of The Bangles
'A little bit romance, a little bit rock-and-roll-this isn't just a book, it's a love song, and it should come as no surprise that Susanna Hoffs has crafted the perfect one to put on your playlist.' Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
'...the smart, ferocious rock-chick redemption romance you didn't know you needed' New York Times
Jane Start is thirty-three, broke, and recently single. Ten years prior, she had a hit song-written by world-famous superstar Jonesy-but Jane hasn't had a breakout since. Now she's living out of four garbage bags at her parents' house, reduced to performing to Karaoke tracks in Las Vegas. Rock bottom.
But when her longtime manager Pippa sends Jane to London to regroup, she's seated next to an intriguing stranger on the flight-the other Tom Hardy, an elegantly handsome Oxford professor of literature. Jane is instantly smitten by Tom, and soon, truly inspired. But it's not Jane's past alone that haunts her second chance at stardom, and at love. Is Tom all that he seems? And can Jane emerge from the shadow of Jonesy's earlier hit, and into the light of her own?
In turns deeply sexy, riotously funny, and utterly joyful, This Bird Has Flown explores love, passion, and the ghosts of our past, and offers a glimpse inside the music business that could only come from beloved songwriter Susanna Hoffs.
'In this sexy, page-turning treat, Susanna Hoffs writes as engagingly as she sings.' Helen Fielding, author of the bestselling sensation Bridget Jones's Diary
An irresistible story of music, fate, redemption, and love...Sparks, songs and steamy scenes' E! News Online
'Part romcom, part Jane Eyre, and one hundred percent enjoyable'. Tom Perrotta, author of Election
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This lighthearted debut from Hoffs, former guitarist and singer for the Bangles, follows Jane Start, a down on her luck musician who becomes embroiled in a whirlwind romance with an Oxford professor. Ten years earlier, Jane struck gold covering a song written by the mysterious pop star Jonesy. Now, in her early 30s, she's playing bachelor parties. Her fortunes change after she sits next to Tom Hardy on a flight to London and they hit it off. Less than a month later, Jane has moved into Tom's place, and the couple are in the throes of new love. Jane is shocked when Jonesy asks her to perform with him at the Royal Albert Hall, and her newly blissful domestic life is threatened by the frequent mentions of Tom's beautiful and accomplished ex-girlfriend by others in their orbit. As a romance, the narrative hits all the expected marks, though most characters other than Jane are one-dimensional, even Tom. Still, Hoffs crafts a convincing portrayal of a musician, whether on the big stage in a climactic scene or spontaneously harmonizing with a pub singer, providing "the humble puzzle piece that goes unnoticed, but to , makes the song"; and she enlivens the proceedings with playful irreverence (a chapter dedicated to Tom is called "Hot for Teacher"). When Jane hits the stage, Hoffs finds her groove.