Night Songs Review

 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I received Night Songs as an arc from NetGalley

This review contains spoilers

 

Night Songs by is about Rhea and her journey to adulthood and exploring the life of a mother she never got a chance to know. When Rhea turns eighteen, she is given access to the true story of her mother and a family curse. Discovering her mother was actually famous country star Belle Powers and all women in her family die at 33 leads Rhea on a journey that will wind up revealing more than anyone could predict.

 

“You are not crazy. You’re cursed.”

I found this book to be captivating at times and frustrating at others. The premise is intriguing. A family curse that only affects women? Who wouldn’t want to read that? Especially when Rhea is both discovering the curse, what it means to be an adult, and the truth of whom her mother truly was. Having said that, Night Songs focuses mainly on Rhea’s mother, Lullabelle/Belle. Most of the book follows her story of how she became a country star. Intimate scenes are described extremely poetically. Some chapters about Rhea are interspersed here and there, but the focus is mainly on Belle. Belle is a remarkable and extremely likeable character. Even though I think that’s mostly because of how similar she is to another real world country music star. Descriptions of the two main characters aren’t given immediately upon introduction. We are told that they both have tree-themed birthmarks on their chest. Their basic traits (eye and haor color mainly) are told throughout the book. As a huge Dolly Parton fan, seeing the character of Belle written as an almost exact copy of her was a bit irritating at first. Alli Dyer uses that comparison as a frame that she builds on wonderfully. Other characters are described thoroughly. I felt like that helped to flesh out the setting which can be useful in a fairly standard real world environment. Set primarily in the United States, following Rhea and Belle throughout different points of time in their lives can help add a bit more variety to a book set in a fairly familiar place. Familiar at least for me. The character descriptions we’re given as we meet the cast of the book can help to build the settings.

Ultimately this is a book about mental health and how some generational stories can lead to confusion. Especially when nobody lives to tell their own story. Seeing how having stories passed down can be both positive and negative added unexpected relatability.  Showing characters growing up in poor conditions both in location and financially added more to the story and setting. A character building themselves up and into something more than they ever thought they could is a recognizable plot that Alli Dyer writes admirably and enticingly well.

After finishing this book, I was left with a deluge of emotions and thoughts. Night Songs is a good read. I would recommend this book. Night Songs by Alli Dyer would be a perfect book club read.